Wednesday, April 21st 1976
Woman Referees Soccer Match
It is not often that the wife of a soccer player has the opportunity to do something about a foul on her husband. Such was the case in the first division match between Ngaruawahia and Cambridge. In what is thought to be the first occasion in which a woman has refereed a senior soccer match, Mrs Elizabeth Gorman controlled the game to her credit. Both teams had the highest regard for her knowledge of the sport and their respect in her decision making.
When her husband, playing striker for Ngaruawahia, was flipped in the penalty area, she had no hesitation in pointing to the spot for the penalty.
Ngaruawahia took a five minute lead over their 1975 Northern League opponents through M. Liddle. R. Bradley of Cambridge equalised from the left and on three occasions pegged back Ngaruawahia’s goals. Jeff McLaughlin and Sandy MacDonald (penalty) were the other Ngaruawahia scorers.
Ngaruawahia took their first points of the season off Cambridge in their 3-3 draw.
3rd Division
It took 70 minutes before Ngaruawahia broke through Te Aroha’s defence and then Sonny Clark, Steve McLaughlin and Tony Armstrong combined to gain the 3-0 win.
Sonny Clark worked hard all game and deserved the goal he gained from a wide-angle drive that bounced off the far post. Rod Dennis, Ngaruawahia’s apprentice keeper, proved his worth, especially with the high crosses, which he took in true basketball fashion.