Central United edged ever-closer to their targeted top-four finish in the Northern Premier League on July 12, as they overcame their plucky, relegation-threatened neighbours, Metro, 5-2 at Kiwitea Street, in a Central Auckland derby graced by five outstanding goals.
Metro began the match strongly, and gave Central a few scares before forcing fifteen-year-old debutant goalkeeper Patrick Berry into his first save in the eighth minute, the youngster getting down well to smother Gerrard Smith’s twenty-five yard drive.
Central hit back in the best possible manner - a goal with their first attack of any consequence. A beautifully worked one-two between Blagoja Spirovski and Miro Major saw the latter provide the former with a peach of a return pass, which allowed Spirovski to bear down on goal at pace. Craig Wilkins hurtled off his line, but his opponent was too clever for him, slipping the ball nonchalantly past the advancing goalkeeper to open the scoring.
After Berry had got right behind a fine shot on the turn by Smith, after Richard Beeston and Nigel Curteis had combined to set up the fit-again striker, Central doubled their advantage in the 24th minute.
Major’s pass forward to Spirovski invited the goal scorer to run at Metro once more, and he duly did so, before slipping a pass into the path of makeshift striker Jesse Van Kekem. The lanky front-runner, seen more often as a defender for Central, took his chance well, finishing deftly past the advancing Wilkins, while holding off Peter Hendriks’ strong challenge.
At 2-0 down, Metro needed to score next or this game would have been beyond them. And on the half-hour, the visitors dragged themselves back into the match with a cracking goal, one which, ironically, highlighted Van Kekem’s shortcomings as a target man.
The Central player received a clearance from Cameron Knowles, and turned it into Michael Hoeft’s path with a splendid first-time lay-off. Hoeft returned the compliment, which Van Kekem promptly directed straight to the feet of Smith, who said “Thank you very much indeed”.
One defence-splitting pass later, and Central could only look on in dismay as Barry Donnachie raced through the inside-right channel to thrash the ball beyond Berry and give Metro a much-needed lifeline - 2-1.
It was the shot in the arm Metro needed, as they proceeded to make Central look very ordinary indeed for the rest of the half. Soon after scoring, Donnachie turned provider with a gem of a pass which sent Beeston scooting through United’s defences. But Berry was off his line quickly to clear the danger, although he didn’t have a chance of stopping the second goal, five minutes before half-time.
Noel Kilkenny forced a corner on Central’s left which was taken by Beeston. His delivery saw Donnachie out-jump team-mate Duncan Clark to send a ten-yard header bulleting into the top left-hand corner of the net, with Central’s defenders conspicuous by their absence in contesting possession.
Stung, Central charged at Metro straight from the kick-off, the outstanding Spirovski somehow weaving past three opponents on the right before laying the ball back for Major. Clark blocked his shot, and Metro breathed again.
Indeed, the visitors nearly completed a most remarkable comeback with virtually the last kick of the half. Curteis and Donnachie combined on the left, the latter clipping a cross into Bradley Newall’s path. The gangly target man’s header was grabbed by Berry, as Smith homed in looking for any spillages.
Save for a viciously struck Major free-kick which Wilkins saw late, and did well to turn over the crossbar, the second half took a little while to get going, but when the action kicked in, it kicked in big-time.
In the 63rd minute, concerted Metro pressure resulted in an Aric Kuibicki drilling in a low cross which zoomed across the face of goal - unfortunately for the visitors, no-one was on hand to steer home what would surely have been their third goal of the match.
Instead, Central had the honour of being the first team to net three times in this encounter, seconds later. The subsequent clearance of this close call found its way to Steve Callinan, who did well to make some space for himself near the right-hand corner flag before firing in a cross to the near post. Wilkins, inexplicably, dropped it, and half-time substitute Daniel Mortensen moved in for the kill.
Wilkins somehow recovered to paw the ball away for a corner, which Major flighted towards the throng at the near post. Wilkins got a hand to the sphere, and the danger was seemingly over for Metro.
Not so, as the ball dropped invitingly for Spirovski. From twenty yards out, he let fly with a technically superb volley, keeping the ball low while administering a savagely swerving effort which careered through the crowded penalty area and didn’t stop until it crashed into the left-hand corner of the diving Wilkins’ net - it was a stunning 65th minute strike.
It was followed three minutes later by a splendidly worked three-man move which was almost impossible to defend against, such was the quality of both passing and off-the-ball movement which graced it.
After Wilkins had raced off his line to thwart Callinan, who had ghosted past one opponent on receipt of a Spirovski pass, Metro’s failure to clear their lines culminated in Major latching onto the ball thirty yards out from goal. The playmaker spotted Callinan’s intelligent angled run and played a delightful pass towards the striker, only for Callinan to check his run and drift away from the covering Cameron Gray.
The reason for doing so was Marko Stilinovic, Central’s substitute having raced through to latch onto Major’s pass. Showing great awareness, the youngster slipped a first-time pass into Callinan’s path, giving the striker time and space aplenty to steer the ball past the stranded Wilkins - 4-2, Central.
To their credit, Metro came storming back, with Donnachie only denied a hat-trick by Dean Tallentire, who blocked the fifteen yard drive of Metro’s most impressive performer. The subsequent clearance saw Callinan racing towards the visitors’ goal, only for Gray’s sturdy challenge to send him tumbling inside the penalty area.
Referee Hayden Sentch, with what was probably his only blemish in an otherwise excellent display of officiating allowed play to continue when a free-kick was fully merited.
Not that Central were too perturbed - they simply regrouped and went about making it 5-2. And this goal was unquestionably the pick of the bunch!!
Seven minutes from time, Major and Stilinovic worked a one-two which presented the former with a shooting chance. Wilkins saved this effort at the second attempt, but a minute later, he could only ruefully shake his head, having been beaten all ends up by one of the most memorable individual goals this writer has seen at Kiwitea Street.
Major sparked the move, spraying the ball out wide to Callinan, who held it up well before support arrived. It came in the form of Spirovski, who upon receipt of the pass, still had to evade the clutches of Hendriks and Clark.
Somehow he spirited his way between them, engineering enough space just inside Metro’s penalty area in which to let fly. But confronting him was Wilkins, who had come off his line and closed to within five yards of the hat-trick hunter.
Expecting a full-blooded drive, the goalkeeper was completely flummoxed by the ace Spirovski had up his sleeve. Flicking the ball off the turf, the striker then administered a second touch to the sphere, which directed it over the ‘keeper’s left shoulder and into the corner of the net - a quite brilliant finish, and an outstanding way in which to complete a hat-trick.
Before the final whistle, Wilkins saved Mortensen’s close-range header, while Callinan had a goal disallowed for offside, this after a rasping Jason Beeston drive had crashed off the outside of Berry’s right-hand post. But while Metro weren’t three goals worse than their opponents, their grit and determination, on this occasion, were no match for the technical excellence of Central, most notably that of the superb Spirovski.

Central: Berry; Greenhalgh (Mortensen, 46), Tallentire, Knowles, Waitzer (Otter, 82); Callinan, Major, Vodanovich, Hoeft; Spirovski, Van Kekem (Stilinovic, 57)

Metro: Wilkins; Clark, Gray, Hendriks; R. Beeston, Donnachie, Curteis (Dundas, 82), Kilkenny, Taylor (Kuibicki, 10); Smith, Newall (J. Beeston, 82)

Referee: Hayden Sentch

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