Suburbs swallow bitter pill
Eastern Suburbs football team have felt the full competitiveness of the Stirling Sports Premiership with their first season coming to an agonising and disappointing end on the weekend.
The side’s fate in the competition hinged on Sunday’s game between Hawkes Bay United and Hamilton Wanderers - Suburbs hoping Wanderers would do the unthinkable. But it wasn’t to be, with a 4-0 win to Hawkes Bay ensuring Suburbs finished two points behind the fourth and final playoff spot.
It brought an end to a season which had Suburbs constantly challenging the top four. In fact, last weekend was the first time all season Suburbs hadn’t been in the playoff position.
Meanwhile, their Auckland companions, Auckland City, will contest the semifinal against Hawkes Bay at Kiwitea Street this weekend.
For Suburbs coach Malcolm Mcpherson, not making the playoffs hurt.
‘‘We can’t blame anyone else, but we are disappointed if I’m being honest,’’ Mcpherson said.
‘‘It’s a sense of achievement for the club [finishing fifth], but we can’t help but feel disappointed that we’re not playing this weekend, especially with our results against those teams that are in the top four.’’
Indeed, Suburbs surprised most this season, leading the league at certain stages and getting wins against Team Wellington, Waitakere, and Hawkes Bay - all who finished above them in the standings.
They also pushed Auckland City, coming within one goal on both encounters with the league leaders. For Mcpherson, it was a season of moments, with many games coming down to just one or two decisions, often ruing missed opportunities.
‘‘There were quite a few situations where we can say one or two things didn’t go our way,’’ he said.
‘‘But the fact it’s so close, with so many teams, there were always going to be those situations.’’
But that just further highlighted the competitiveness of the competition, Mcpherson said.
‘‘There are just no easy games. That was the key message for us this season.’’