Pendrigh double drives Dragons past Hamilton
Homegrown midfielder James Pendrigh may have proved Canterbury United’s good luck charm with his three goals in two games coinciding with the Dragons’ national football league revival.
Canterbury scored three goals for the second consecutive week in beating Ricki Herbert’s Hamilton Wanderers 3-0 at English Park on Sunday.
Striker Stephen Hoyle also netted to match Pendrigh with three goals in the last two ISPS Handa premiership rounds.
The Dragons remain in eighth place but are just two points off the top-four and coach Willy Gerdsen said they could take confidence from ‘‘two home wins in a row’’.
‘‘It was a deserved win. I was really pleased with the way we played after from the second part of the first half when we lost a little but of concentration, but we corrected that in the second half.
‘‘I was happy with our workrate and we looked good going forward.’’
Gerdsen was full of praise for ‘‘our engine room’’ – captain Gary Ogilvie and ‘‘Christchurch born and bred’’ former Asia Pacific Football Academy buddies Pendrigh, 23, and Francis de Vries, 22.
Pendrigh, a Ferrymead Bays and Nomads United junior, looked sharp on debut last week with a goal in a 3-2 win over high-flying Eastern Suburbs.
He gave the Dragons a valuable early lead against Hamilton with his 15th minute shot thudding off goalkeeper Matthew Oliver’s chest before crossing the line.
Back from playing in the Swedish third division, Pendrigh added the vital second goal four minutes after the restart.
Wanderers failed to clear their lines, allowing the central midfielder to slot home a shot from the edge of the goal area.
But Pendrigh played down his own efforts. ‘‘Scoring three goals in two games isn’t bad, but it’s a really a team effort.
‘‘We’ve been working hard at training and I’m just happy I can help the team.’’
Pendrigh has been training with the Dragons ‘‘for about three weeks’’ and is ‘‘weighing up my options’’ longer term.
‘‘If the right opportunity came to play in Sweden or the the United States, I’d definitely consider it.
‘‘But I’d also be very happy to finish off the season with Canterbury.
‘‘It’s a good standard, it’s got better from when I was last around
it. There are some very good players in this league.’’
Pendrigh, who was at Drake University in Iowa before shifting to Sweden, is enjoying the chance to play in front of ‘‘mum and dad and family and friends’’ and link up again with de Vries, who made his debut against Hamilton after returning from a spell at Major League Soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps.
De Vries made his mark, barely missing a tackle before he was substituted for fresher legs later in the game.
Gerdsen said Hamilton Wanderers – who have conceded 18 goals in six matches – were ‘‘better than their [bottom] place on the table indicates’’.
‘‘Credit to Ricki and his team. They had some chances.’’
Canterbury were well in control after Pendrigh’s second goal with Hoyle hammering home the final nail in the 80th minute.