Wednesday, August 1st 1973
Win For Ngaruawahia in Soccer by George!
Ngaruawahia Green met Affco Rangers in the fourth division soccer match at Horotiu on Saturday and Ngaruawahia Junior soccer came of age.
Ngaruawahia kept Affco well under control for most of the first half. Early in the game Affco conceeded a penalty, giving Ngaruawahia a chance to take the lead. It was missed, but soon after Steven George netted the first of his three goals for Ngaruawahia. He scored twice in the first half giving Ngaruawahia a 2-0 lead at half-time and once in the second spell.
Play in the second half turned a bit scrappy as Ngaruawahia tired but the thought of their first win (other than that against Ngaruawahia Red) spurred them on. Steven George scored his hat-trick and this was very closely followed by one from captain Jeffrey McLaughlin.
Affco netted twice in the second half also but Ngaruawahia had the initiative and held on.
Rex McCowatt showed improvement over past form and had a solid game.
Wanderers Win
Ngaruawahia Red put up a spirited fight when they went down 7-0 to an older and more experienced Wanderers team from Hamilton on Saturday. Wanderers confidence wilted slightly when they found themselves with only a 1-0 lead at the turn.
Defensive work by Alex Henry, Courtney Edgar and Peter Williamson kept the opposing forwards at bay.
Newcomer to the goalkeeping berth was Mark Prendergast, who had a good day.
Murray Bond and Tommy Gavin had a few chances each but each time the Wanderers keeper moved smartly out of goal to smother the attack.
Red tired quickly in the second half, but gave it everything they had.
Eureka!
Ngaruawahia United found form on Saturday with a convincing win over Otorohanga at Ngaruawahia in the Waikato second division soccer competition.
Coach Charlie Gorman instructed the team to revert to the old 5-3-2 system of play rather than the unsuccessful 4-3-3, and with two new players in the squad it succeeded. Sandy MacDonald was moved from centre-back to centre-half to partner George Sunnex, who had moved out to left-half. Adrian Turner was shifted from half-back to inside forward, a move that paid a triple dividend.
Ngaruawahia lost the toss but gained the end of the field they would have chosen anyway – facing the setting sun.
Adrian Turner set up the first goal by drawing the keeper to his right then sliding the ball across to Neil Gorman to power home into an empty goal.
Bill Burston netted with a shot that only he is capable of. He approached the goal along the goal-line to net a further acute-angled shot, making it his fourth such goal this season.
Turner headed the first of his three goals by cutting between two defenders. The last goal in the first half was a penalty taken by (Sandy) MacDonald.
Ngaruawahia led 4-0 at half-time.
Coach (Charlie) Gorman cautioned his team against slacking off in the second half and they abided by his instructions to net the ball five more times.
Burston put a copy-book cross over from his wing for Turner to head home from five yards out.
The next two goals came from the boot of Geoff Brunning – a 20-yard drive in both cases finding the net.
Turner tripped as he went for a cross but managed to head the ball into the net for his third and his teams’ eight goal. MacDonald blasted one over the bar (well over) from seven yards out and scraped the upright shortly after with a 45-yard curling drive.
Ian Todd completed the score with a penalty.
The final score was 9-1.