WCFC Big Orange 1sts (2) v Wanganui Athletic (5)
Kyle Graham
Ants Bell
Saturday saw the start of the 2018 football season kick off with The Big Orange Wanganui City First team back in the Federation league taking on the Wanganui Athletic on number one at 2:45.
We went down early conceding a penalty. We played some entertaining and enterprising football but were unable to find the back of the net. Shortly before halftime we conceded another from a free kick a deflection that had come directly off a city players boot. 0-2 going into halftime.
The second half saw us again press on and put pressure on Athletic but conceded another goal. Showing heart and desire the boys pressed Athletic into their half and won a free kick which Kyle Graham-Luke put in the top right corner over the flapping goalkeeper from a fair distance out (if you haven’t seen the video check it out here).
Again within four minutes Ant’s Bell stole the ball on the back of a team press and put Matt Calvert the keeper on the ground, then went round him to slot home 2-3 and looking good. Unfortunately a second yellow to James Barnes saw us down to 10 and still keen to press for the draw. We conceded two late goals to lose 2-5 which wasn’t really a true reflection of the game but we proved that we can and will foot it in this league again.
Also check out the latest chronicle write up here
WCFC Wrightway Design Hammers (3) v Marist Shamrocks (2)
Shaynne Thompson
Eli Fleming
Mark (Knuckles) Hetherington
Coming off the back of a successful 2017 “Champions League” campaign the newly named Wrightway Design Hammers were looking to start the 2018 Roly Taylor Championship with a statement. Instead, in classic Hammers fashion we just managed to limp over the finish line against an unassuming Marist Shamrocks outfit who were clearly out to upset one of the league’s big dogs. With the scores locked at 1-1 at half time the Hammers looked to their sizable new summer signing Eli ‘gouty’ flemming to put them ahead 2-1 but the Shamrocks weren’t done yet, sneaking one through the usually impenetrable Hammers back 4 to level the scores with 10 to go. But the Hammers never panicked and called upon all their superior experience and fitness when Mark “knuckles” Hetherington calmly slotted home the winner after some world class lead up play through the middle. Final score hammers 3 – shamrocks 2.
WCFC Thirsties (1) v Rivercity Chiefs (0)
Conner Piercy
The Thirsties enjoyed a good return to football with a 1-0 win over Rivercity Chiefs. Connor Piercy scored the only goal with the whole team putting in a game winning performance.
WCFC Women (6) v Marist Women (1)
Rose Davidson (5)
Courteney Nixon
The women started out the season looking sharp in their new strip, proudly sponsored by Gonville Garden Center. After losing a few valuable players but gaining some handy talent, the girls had a tidy win over Marist women’s team. It took about 15 minutes for the girls to settle in, and after stringing some nice passes together, it eventually payed off, with Rose opening the score sheet. The city girls were dominating possession and Marist were struggling to get past our defence line with our new signing Eden Proctor calmly cleaning up any ball past the half way line. The majority of play was in Marists half and before long, our handy striker Rose put away another goal. Courteney also added to the score card bagging a nicely placed goal off Rose’s corner
Going into the 2nd half 3nil up there were a few changes to the lineup, with our other new addition to the team, Eden Dalton, putting on the goalie gloves to let Briar have a bit of a run. There were some awesome runs along the right wing with Eva (another new signing and our now youngest player) playing some handy balls into the box, she was unlucky not to get her name on the scorecard. Paris also unlucky not to score after some awesome chances just going wide by millimeters. Rose bagged a hat-trick in the 2nd half and Marist scoring a runaway goal brought the final score to 6-1. A promising start to the season, and an enjoyable game. Up next week we’ve got the defending senior cup winners, Athletic, so will be a good tough match.