Halley Hat-trick powers Manakau United to Victory
A second half hat-trick from teenage striker Atain Halley proved to be the decisive factor at Manakau Domain on Saturday as Manakau United “Hui Mai” beat Levin Masters 3-1.
After the wet weather in mid-week, Horowhenua turned on a pristine autumn day on Saturday, and the Manakau Domain was picture perfect for a game of football. The first half proved to be a bit of an arm-wrestle between the two local clubs, with both sets of players probing for gaps in the defence but generally having to settle for long range shots that were comfortably handled by the goalkeepers, and halftime arrived with the game still scoreless.
The deadlock was broken 15 minutes into the second half when Halley ran onto a through-ball from Peter Rowe and calmly slotted his shot past the stationary Levin keeper to give Manakau the lead. That soon became 2-0 when some sterling work from midfielder Jackson Murray created another chance for Halley, and the youngster made no mistake placing his shot just inside the far post for the second goal of the day.
Levin reacted strongly to going two goals down, forcing the play, and it took some solid defensive work from brothers Ben McHugo and Kimbal McHugo to weather the storm of attacks. But Levin were not to be denied and with 15 minutes to go, the visiting side forced a corner that resulted in a well taken goal with a powerful header at the far post giving the Manakau defenders no chance to keep it out.
Game on then – or so it appeared – but it only took the lethal Murray / Halley combination 60 seconds to create a 3rd goal for Manakau, with Murray making a mazy run down the right hand side and providing a perfect cross for Halley to header home the final goal of the game.
With a two-goal lead restored, time ran down, and the referee’s final whistle was greeted with cheers from the country club’s supporters as their Manakau “Hui Mai” side remain unbeaten in Horowhenua Division Two league.
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