Halswell United Bills 0 V Methven FC 6
A welcomed hot and sunny afternoon was the setting for this encounter. Methven assumed control as they often do from the start. Halswell, already aware of the threat the visitors pose, sat back in 2 banks of 4, Camping in their own half, in the attempt to stifle and frustrate the Mountaineers. Twenty minutes in and the deadlock was finally broken by the midfield maestro, Gareth Saltmer, with a cool bottom corner finish, 0-1. Methven had complete control of the game but often it was the final ball that let them down. Sometimes the passes were rushed, and others were not made early enough; but the top guns carried on in their pursuit to find another breakthrough. As before, Saltmer provided the answer and made it 0-2 before half time.
The restart saw Methven come flying out the box and a beautiful one, two exchange with beast man Liam Hett, flicking the ball back into the path of Saltmer, who applied the devasting half volley into the top corner, 0-3.
Now the flood gates had opened, and possession was being converted into goals. A superb build up started with John Peneycad leaping highest and powering his header towards Hett, he squared it to Saltmer who continued the one touch onslaught to find Wes Torres, who captivated the sublime move with a confident finish, 0-4.
On came Juan Stimolo for the final moments and he too got in of the festivities, all be it, in fortunate circumstances. With the the Bills defence now looking legging and longing for the final whistle, Stimolo was put through by Hett and by hook or by crook he found a way after being tackled and then the ball ricocheting back into his line to apply the easy finish from a one on one situation. It is true, lightening can strike twice and 2 minutes later the exact same thing happened again, making it a final score 0-6.
Catch Methven FC next Saturday when they take on Coastal Spirit, 2:30pm kick off at Methven Domain.
Finally, the Methven Reserves had something to smile about as they won 6-2 at home to FC Twenty Army. They did get a stroke of luck when the visitors turned up with only 8 eligible players but in the words of skipper OJ Dodson ‘a win is a win’
In other business the Methven 14th grade were left bitterly disappointed to lose 2-3 to Costal Spirit 14A, unable to hold onto a 2-1 lead with 5 minutes left to play. To rub salt in the wound the visitors were awarded a very late and extremely contentious penalty for which there was no time to recover from.