Manakau United manage the mud to win again

Manakau United Manage The Mud To Win Again

Manakau United travelled down State Highway One on Saturday afternoon, and outlasted at tenacious Waikanae side and a mud-pie of a pitch at Jim Cooke Park to win 3-2 and maintain their unbeaten start to the season.

A bright and breezy afternoon in Waikanae could not undo the damage that 48 hours of rain had done to the playing surface, with water ankle deep in places, and the mud already starting to “turn” before kickoff. But for the first twenty minutes of the game the players made light work of the conditions, scoring four goals in an entertaining period with some cracking goals included.

Firstly, Manakau striker Atain Halley ran onto a Paul Kulhavy through ball, and easily beat the Waikanae keeper to open the scoring, and five minutes later it was Halley who made the score 2-0 by converting a penalty awarded for handball.

However, Waikanae struck back quickly with two goals of their own, both goals coming from breaks down the left hand side, and hard driven crosses which were expertly finished giving Manakau no chance.

Then the mud started to play its part in proceedings, a cloying thick surface which made passing football a difficult task. Two players who did make the most of it were Chris Temperton and Nick Cudby on the right hand side of the park, as the pair put together a series of well worked moves in the first half to create some space.

But, no-one was able to rise above the mud for the rest of the first half, and although Manakau created a series of chances in the second half, some determined Waikanae clearances kept the game level with only 10 minutes to go.

That was until a Peter Rowe clearance found Halley on halfway, and the young striker flicked the ball on into the path of James Hoskins who collected the chance and sped through on goal. Hoskins slotted the ball past the stranded goalkeeper, and both sides watched as the shot clipped the inside of the right hand upright before finally resting in the back of the net.

That proved to be the decisive moment of the match – and Manakau held firm to claim a narrow 3-2 victory.