2011 Awards - Golden Boot - Josh Sannazzaro

Josh Sannazzaro proved to be a worthy addition to the Manakau United FC Hotel side in 2011, leading all scorers in the third division team to claim the Golden Boot.

Josh's all action style created chances upfront for both himself and his team-mates.

His first goal was a late winner at the Manakau Domain to help the Hotel side beat Waikanae Youth 6-5 back in June and he followed that up with a blistering 25 yard effort against KCU 4ths just a week later.

Plate Q/F - Paekakariki A 1-5 Manakau United

Atain Halley and James Hoskins both scored twice as Manakau United outclassed Paekakariki A to win their HK Plate quarter-final clash 5-1 at Mazengarb Park on Saturday afternoon.

Paekakariki took an early lead in the game when a long range effort deceived Manakau’s Paddy Sannazzaro in goal – and just managed to trickle over the line to score – but Manakau came storming back to dominate the game thereafter.

Manakau penned Paekakariki back in their own half for long periods of the first half but, despite a barrage of shots and corners, it looked like Paekak would escape with their goal intact until Hoskins popped up in the penalty area just before halftime to powerfully shoot home a measured cross from Gavin Saunders.

With the score line tied at 1-1 at halftime the stage was set for a tense second half, but Manakau tore the game open with four more goals in 15 minutes to put the result beyond doubt.

Halley ran onto a through ball to lash home the second goal, and then profited from another good pass to add the third goal just 5 minutes later. A fourth goal soon followed squeezing through a forest of legs, and Hoskins added the fifth goal on the hour mark, pouncing on a loose ball in the six yard box to score his second of the match.

There were countless other chances as Manakau continued to attack but the score line remained 5-1 through until the final whistle.

Bowl Q/F - Waikanae Youth 4-1 Manakau Hotel

Manakau Hotel gave a brave performance in the HK Bowl competition, taking the lead against the highly ranked Waikanae Youth side, before bowing out 1-4.

The opening 45 minutes was a very competitive affair, and both sides created chances, but the game remained scoreless at the halftime interval. Manakau broke the deadlock early in the second half scoring through James Wylie, but Waikanae responded almost immediately to level the scores.

The quick equaliser lifted Waikanae who raised their game during the second spell and eventually the tiring legs of the Manakau side could not keep the youngsters out – although it must be mentioned that the “Youth” side did need to bring on a couple of “dads” to finish the job.

Waikanae were worthy 4-1 winners in the end – but Manakau had certainly played a big part in a very good match.

HK Cup : Manakau United 1-0 Paekakariki Harlequins

Manakau United kept their seasons unbeaten streak at the Manakau Domain going with a 1-0 victory over Paekakariki Harlequins in the second round of Horowhenua Kapiti Cup action on Saturday afternoon.

The Harlequins came into the game on the back of an 1-0 victory over 1st division Levin reserves last weekend and had their own 10-match unbeaten streak, but found the going tough against Manakau.

Manakau totally dominated the first half of the match, using the breeze to good advantage to play almost all of the opening 45 minutes in Paekakariki’s half, however the visitors were very solid in defence, and the match remained scoreless at halftime.

It was more of the same in the second half, with Manakau dominant throughout, and eventually the experienced Mike Urlich found a way through the tenacious Paekak defence to score the only goal of the game on the hour mark with a 10 yard shot that sped past the goalkeeper.

James Hoskins picked up the man of the match award for Manakau with an energetic display in the centre of the park, with Urlich and Chris Temperton also influential.

HK Cup : First Round Grading Games

The Manakau United football club did not meet with the best of success in the opening grading round of the Horowhenua-Kapiti Cup over the weekend – coming up short against higher ranked opposition in both matches.

Playing at the Manakau Domain, the 3rd Division Manakau Hotel team faced 2nd Division Levin Sports and found the going tough against the visitors who were fitter and faster to the loose ball. James Wylie and Craig Vidulich got on the score sheet for Manakau, but Levin were always in control and ran out 6-2 winners.

In the other match, Manakau Hui Mai travelled to Otaki’s Haruatai Park to face 1st Division Otaki and the match turned out to be a hard-fought affair with goal scoring chances at a premium at both ends of the pitch.

Otaki grabbed the lead midway through the first half, pouncing on a loose ball in the penalty area and smashing it home but there was little to choose between the sides. Manakau pressed hard in the second half with Jackson Murray and Jamie Allcock standing out but the Otaki defence stood firm to claim a narrow 1-0 win.

The Cup continues with two more rounds of grading games before the knockout phase begins on September 10th.

Division Three : Otaki Combined 5-3 Manakau Hotel

Manakau Hotel played an entertaining 90 minutes of football against unbeaten Otaki, but were not quite able to pull off the shock result, going down 3-5.

Otaki started very well, and scored freely in the first half running out to a 4-1 lead by the time the teams turned around. However, Manakau gave as good as they got in the second period, scoring two good goals and giving Otaki a solid challenge.

(End of season celebrations at the Manakau Bowls and Sports Club prevented your correspondent getting a more detailed report of this game - and Simon Ryding and Josh Sannazzaro failed to deliver on their promise of a match report)

Division Two : Manakau United 5-0 Paekakariki

Manakau United closed out their division two league season with a comfortable 5-0 win over Paekakariki at the Manakau Domain on Saturday.

Manakau’s striker Atain Halley was dominant in the first half, grabbing a hat-trick before halftime with a combination of pace and skill in the opening 45 minutes.

Halley opened the scoring the 8th minute, collecting a through ball and sidefooting it past the keeper, and made it 2-0 after 25 minutes when he curled in a clever free-kick from the edge of the penalty area that left the Paekak goalkeeper standing rooted to the spot.

Gavin Saunders provided the assist for the 3rd goal, slipping a pass into the box and Halley weaved past two defenders before calmly shooting into the net just before the break.

Saunders was instrumental in the 4th Manakau goal as well, delivering a well flighted corner that Paul Kulhavy nodded past the static visitors defence and into the goal – while Mike Urlich wrapped up the scoring late on running past his defender and then drilling the ball into the net.

Chris Reed put in an energetic display up front getting involved in a lot of play, while Willie West and Mark Tiumalu-Faleseuga were outstanding in defence, and took opportunities to get forward and use their pace on several occasions.

The Manakau Hui Mai side just missed out on winning the league – ending with a 12-2-2 record for second spot and possible promotion to Division One - a very good effort after winning promotion to Division Two last season.