Hoyle’s late winner stings Eastern Suburbs
Canterbury United goal-scoring hero Stephen Hoyle lauded his team’s fighting spirit after they rallied from 2-0 down to upset Eastern Suburbs 3-2 on Sunday.
Hoyle blasted home the winner in the third minute of added time to earn the injury-ravaged Dragons their first victory of the ISPS Handa Premiership season at English Park.
The English forward also knocked in the equaliser in the 83rd minute as Canterbury hauled themselves back into the game in the second half, having trailed 2-0 at halftime.
Canterbury were desperate for victory after beginning the season with two losses and a draw. It was their first match since talismanic midfielder and former All White Aaron Clapham withdrew from the squad after the round three loss to Auckland City to spend more time with his young family.
Hoyle, who is fast developing a reputation for his last gasp specials, having done so against Tasman and Hawke’s Bay United last season, praised the Dragons’ tenacity and believed it was the kind of showing that could launch their campaign.
‘‘We’ve got a courageous group. We’re quite brave when things go against us. In the first half, some teams would lie down, but we’re not a team who’s going to do that,’’ Hoyle said.
‘‘I kept telling [skipper Gary Ogilvie] let this define our season. Coming back from 2-0 down, it makes you believe we can keep doing this every week and it says a lot about the team. Hopefully, that momentum it kick-starts our season.’’
Canterbury overcame a suspected broken wrist to youngster Seth Clark in the 20th minute. His replacement Andreas Wilson then hobbled off on the hour mark with a nasty knee injury.
The Dragons also lost midfielder James Pendrigh to a groin issue late in the match, who had enjoyed a fine national league debut, scoring Canterbury’s first with a low, bumpy free kick. Pendrigh, who grew up in Christ-
church and played in the Swedish third division after a US collegiate stint, looks a capable performer at this level.
Eastern Suburbs, whose side included former Dragons’ attacking midfielder Andre de Jong, would have been filthy to have surrendered a 2-0 advantage.
They were in complete control at halftime and should have killed off the contest early in the second half with a third, but allowed Canterbury to get back into the game.
After being outplayed for most of the first half, Canterbury awoke for the second half and dominated long passages, while enjoying greater possession.
Hoyle benefited from accurate delivery from Travis Nicklaw and Futa Nakamura for his goals, getting free in the box and smashing both past the diving Zac Speedy. He described his strikes as instinct efforts, thinking nothing else, but burying them into the back of the net.
‘‘It’s the best feeling in the world for me to go out there and score in the last minute. I think the game becomes more open in the last five or six minutes.’’
As one of Canterbury’s senior statesmen he didn’t put any extra pressure on himself to deliver following Clapham’s departure.
‘‘I don’t think you can ever replace Aaron Clapham in a Dragons’ shirt. As a collective we’ve got to come together.
‘‘It’s not about one player or two players or five. It’s about everyone in the squad. I’ve got the easiest job, at the end of the day. If they get it in the box, I’m the one, who puts it in the net.’’
Canterbury will realise victory is just a small step in the right direction. They must back up the result against national league strugglers Hamilton Wanderers at English Park on Sunday.
Having suffered a costly 2-1 home loss to Wanderers last season, which hurt their top four finals chances, they won’t need any reminder about not taking them lightly.