Conceding three goals in a nine-minute spell late in their eighth round Ansett National Club Championship encounter with Miramar Rangers at Albie Turner Field has left Delta Tapware Metro facing an uphill struggle to avoid finishing last in the first season of the new competition.
The final 4-0 scoreline flattered the visitors, as Metro proved themselves a more creative combination, but one lacking the finishing power to do justice to the non-stop promptings of midfield general Sean Hird.
Where the home side was found wanting, however, was in the defensive third of the field. While he may not be the most skilful of players on the ball,  the physical presence of Stuart Mair was sorely missed in Metro's rearguard, the efforts of those entrusted with giving goalkeeper Grant Schofield a quiet day at the office in his absence being, at best, meek.
At worst, they were non-existent. There were certainly no Metro defenders to be seen in the fifth minute of the match, as Gary Minshull's cross from the left arced towards the far post. In their absence, Wiremu Patrick and Andy Barron couldn't believe their luck, the former heading home unchallenged.
Yet Metro could have been in front by this time, James Pritchett's second minute cross resulting in a goalmouth scramble in which Rangers' goalkeeper Angus Campbell more than played his part in thwarting the efforts of Aaron Beckham and Graham Green.
The visiting custodian certainly had to be on his game soon after, both Nigel Curteis and Justin Worsley being denied by Campbell in the ten minutes following the goal, a period in which Schofield, at the other end, produced a fine save to divert Patrick's rasping twenty yard drive over the crossbar, after more slipshod defensive work by the home side.
Twelve minutes after Sakdy Phommahaxay narrowly failed to make contact with a teasing Pritchett cross, Simon George sent the ball sizzling over the crossbar on the half-hour, after Curteis had headed an Andrew Rennie header off the line.
Throughout the first half, and again during the second spell, Metro were being driven on to greater heights by Hird, a player without whom it would seem this current side cannot afford to operate. Sadly for the local faithful, too few players responded to his promptings in this encounter, and there were occasions when he certainly (and with some justification) let his frustrations be known to those who failed to measure up to the standards he helped establish at the club during his six-year reign as player-coach.
There were a couple of noteworthy exceptions, however, namely Pritchett and Curteis, who came closest to dragging Metro back into the match on the scoreboard during their most dominant period of the match, around the hour mark. The latter's chance came first, Pritchett supplying the 58th minute cross which Curteis was unable to convert, a result of Rennie's timely intervention. Six minutes later, Pritchett himself was thwarted at point-blank range by Campbell, after Hird and Curteis had combined with Graham Green to prise open Rangers' defensive web.
These efforts aside, and a Pritchett-inspired chance for Mark Foster in stoppage time, Rennie and friends reigned supreme, forcing Metro to chance their arm from distance, often inaccurately.
Rangers, meanwhile, were looking to exploit the home team's defensive frailties, having gained confidence from Patrick's opening goal, and the opportunity he only narrowly missed five minutes into the second spell, prompted by George's strong forward surge.
Fifteen minutes from time, Miramar's probings paid dividends. A quickly taken Tim Butterfield free-kick caught Metro napping, and George gained due reward for his incisive run from deep by turning to crack a beauty across the advancing Schofield and in beside the far post.
2-0 quickly became 3-0 six minutes later, Schofield having somehow prevented Curtis Bernard from scoring at point-blank range, following a Patrick cross. The resulting Butterfield corner wasn't cleared, and Nik Longley hooked home from inside the six-yard box to secure a Miramar win.
The bonus point-grabbing fourth goal came just three minutes later, as Metro's rearguard gave up the ghost with barely a whimper. They stood and admired Barron's through ball, and by the time they reacted to the fact that it had been pounced on by Bernard, it was too late to prevent the inevitable.
Schofield did his best, in the absence of those immediately in front of him, but Miramar's import from Barnsley found the net unerringly - 4-0 to the visitors, much to the disappointment of the vast majority of the appallingly low attndance of 110, easily the lowest crowd seen at this level of football in Auckland.

Details:

Metro: Schofield; Phommahaxay, Ogg, Field; Pritchett, Worsley (Maguire, 57), Hird, Curteis, Beckham (Foster, 78); McHenery (booked, 77), Green

Miramar: Campbell; Barron, Rennie, Longley, Minshull (booked, 70); Brown, George (Jacobs, 85), Butterfield, Adams (Candy, 78); Bernard, Patrick

Referee: Bruce Grimshaw

Scoring: Miramar: W. Patrick (5), S. George (75), N. Longley (81), C. Bernard (84)

Arcus Trophy: W. Patrick (Miramar) 3; S. Hird (Metro) 2; A. Rennie (Miramar)  1

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