A Ryan Dawkins strike a minute from time secured an overall deserved 3-2 victory for Imago Waitakere City over Delta Tapware Metro at Albie Turner Field on July 4, the winners coming from behind to secure another three points to climb to fourth place on the North Island Soccer League table.
The game began brightly, both sides having found the net inside the first six minutes. Darren McClennan put City in front after just two hundred seconds, hooking the ball home after Paul Stephens' persistence had paid off near the byline.
Metro's defence were content to let the ball run out of play for a goal-kick, but Stephens kept chasing and managed to pull the ball back for his striking partner, who took full advantage of Grant Schofield suddenly finding himself out of position.
The home team responded in kind within ninety seconds. Hoani Edwards delivered a free-kick to the far post, where Kara Waetford was on hand to steer in a low cross. Stuart Mair let fly from close range, leaving Bruce Plunkett beaten all ends up.
Waitakere weren't put off by this, and continued to press forward, without truly threatening Schofield's goal. Metro weathered the storm, and in the seventeenth minute, Sean Hird released Stu Davidson with a peach of a pass down the right. The midfielder sent over a vicious low cross which only needed a touch from an incoming team-mate to give Plunkett problems. Unfortunately for Metro, no-one was in the danger zone, and the chance went begging.
Five minutes later, Plunkett saved superbly at full stretch from Edwards' well-struck free-kick, as Metro enjoyed a spell on top. The tide quickly turned, however, with City in the ascendancy just three minutes later. Darren Young sent McClennan scampering down the left, and the former All White striker looked up to find Stephens in support, with Liam Mulrooney arriving on the scene, having made a tremendous surging run from deep.
McClennan whipped in the cross which Stephens left for his incoming team-mate, leaving Mulrooney with just Schofield to beat. The midfielder didn't quite time his first-time shot to perfection, however, and the goalkeeper was left to make a comfortable save.
On the half-hour, Andrew Campbell surged out of defence and carried on running ... and running ... and running ... until eventually he reached the edge of Metro's penalty area. His low cross for McClennan saw the striker, at full stretch, denied by Schofield, who, three minutes later, was relieved to see Stephens firing over the top on the stretch after McClennan had pounced on a wayward Sakdy Phommahaxay back-pass and crossed for his striking partner.
Metro responded by taking the lead in the 34th minute. Edwards delivered a corner into the danger zone, and Waitakere's penalty area briefly resembled a pinball machine, until Danny McHenery took control of the situation and rifled a shot into the roof of the net to put his side in front, 2-1.
Plunkett, while beaten on that occasion, came up with the goods in tremendous fashion five minutes later, as Hird sent Stu Roberts away down the left past Zynal Sahib, a 37th minute substitute for Peter Hendrix, who had been the victim of a crunching Edwards tackle which went unpunished, much to Waitakere's frustration.
Roberts' cross picked out Edwards, whose shot was parried by Plunkett. The 'keeper recovered quickly to prevent Davidson from capitalising on the rebound - a fine double-save.
McClennan twice went close before the interval as Waitakere sought an equaliser, while Hird's curling twenty-five yard free-kick zoomed narrowly past Plunkett's right-hand upright, as the half drew to a close with Metro ahead on the scoreboard.
The visitors, by this time, were becoming more and more agitated with some of the decisions being made by referee Derek Rugg. The official booked six Waitakere players - three in each half - and one Metro player all told, and sent coach Steve Cain from the bench as the teams trudged off at the break, after the visitors' mentor, in light of Edwards' challenge on Hendrix, had expressed his disappointment regarding the consistency with which the official was applying the Laws of the Game.
(Cain received a strong vote of confidence from his opposite, Metro's player-coach Sean Hird, after the game, in one of the most eloquent and honest after-match speeches this writer has heard, one which struck a chord with many present, given the warm applause "the wee man's" sentiments, and rightly so).
Back to the action, and it was virtually one-way traffic in the second spell, as Metro seemed content to sit on their lead. Given that the mood Waitakere were now in, with everything seemingly going against them, was akin to that of a cornered lion, this was tantamount to footballing suicide. Needless to say, City didn't hesitate in testing their opponents' resolve.
Metro held firm until the 65th minute, City's attacks, to this point, having failed to threaten Schofield's goal. But when Hamish Carmody turned Waetford this way and that in the penalty area, suddenly an opening appeared. Carmody's low cross was stopped by the retreating Hird, and Nigel Curties looked to clean up the loose ball, but succeeded in slamming it against the chest of the impressive Terry Torrens, from where it spun into the net.
City started celebrating, only for referee Rugg to silence their pleasure within seconds, as he ruled Stephens offside - through the mayhem, he had spotted the striker standing in the shadows of the crossbar, with no Metro players between him and the goal as the ball passed him on its way into the net.
That was virtually the last straw for City, as McClennan and Carmody found their way into the referee's notebook within minutes. Indeed, "The Mac Attack" was fortunate to avoid a second yellow card a little later, for injudicious use of the elbow when contesting possession with Mair in the air, something the defender let everybody know about in no uncertain terms!
City finally drew level in the 72nd minute. Carmody and McClennan teamed up on the right, the latter slipping the ball through for Stephens. His first-time shot was parried by Schofield, and Campbell was first to the loose ball. His shot crashed against the crossbar, but dropped down nicely for the midfielder to chest home the rebound.
Not done with yet, City pressed for a winner, with Mair making a couple of timely interventions to foil McClennan-inspired raids. After Curties had gone close for Metro with an 87th minute header - very much against the run of play, this effort - Stephens had a great chance to wrap things up, after Torrens and McClennan had combined on the right. But the striker could only direct his header straight at Schofield, and a point apiece looked very much on the cards.
City kept on coming, though, and inside the last minute of running time, a Young corner picked out Torrens, lurking twenty yards out from goal. Through the throngs flew his piledriver, which Schofield did well to even see, let alone save. He could only parry it, however, and Dawkins was first to react, thrashing the loose ball home for a deserved Waitakere winner, 3-2 the final score.

Metro: Schofield; Phommahaxay, Mair, Waetford, Malcolm (Thompson, 72); Davidson, Curties, Hird (booked, 75), Edwards; McHenery, Roberts.

City: Plunkett (booked, 33); Hendrix (Sahib, 37 (booked, 45)), Miller, Dawkins; Campbell (Gage, 82 (booked, 84)), Torrens (booked, 42), Mulrooney, Young; Stephens, McClennan (booked, 65), Carmody (booked, 68). Referee: Derek Rugg

Scorers: Metro: S. Mair (6), D. McHenery (34)

City: D. McClennan (4), A. Campbell (72), R. Dawkins (89)

Arcus Trophy: Terry Torrens (Waitakere) 3; Paul Stephens (Waitakere) 2; Hoani Edwards (Metro) 1. 

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