Controversial goal sees Nelson Suburbs draw
The ‘‘hand of Ross’’ helped Nelson Suburbs eke out a 1-all draw with Ferrymead Bays in their top-ofthe-table Mainland Premier League clash in Christchurch yesterday afternoon.
It was not quite Diego Maradona’s infamous 1986 ‘‘hand of God’’ goal, but AMI Nelson Suburbs’ remain on top of the ladder following a contentious goal scored by striker and player-coach Ben Wright in the 10th minute.
The ball had previously made contact with the hand of Suburbs’ 15-year-old forward, Ross McPhie, and as Bays stopped to implore the referee to blow his whistle, Nelson played on. McPhie calmly made the pass to Wright who slotted home the goal that would secure them a competition point.
The goal went in the book and Suburbs drew for just the second time this season, but the debate over the non-call continued well after the match. Ferrymead Bays coach Mick Braithwaite said even some players from the visiting team had commented on the goal.
‘‘I think it was summed up by [Nelson Suburbs player] Michael White’s comments to me walking off the field, which was that the opening goal for Nelson should never have been allowed.
‘‘There was two handballs that the referee’s just missed. I don’t know how they can miss important decisions like that in big games.’’
Nelson Suburbs co-coach Paul Brydon naturally had a differing opinion, but one it seems that was shared by the match official.
‘‘He’s [Braithwaite] whinging about it, but there is nothing to whinge about. We carried on playing, Ben got the chance and buried it. They all stopped which didn’t help.
‘‘It was more that the ball was kicked into the hand where it wasn’t intentional and the referee played on.
‘‘We played on and scored and I thought the rule states that if it wasn’t intentional it’s play on and that’s what the referee stated.’’
Braithwaite maintained there had been a second touch to control the ball. However, despite the controversy, both coaches said that a draw was probably a fair result based on the balance of play, which saw Suburbs’ fastpaced attack and Bays’ wellorganised structure effectively cancel each other out.
Ferrymead controlled possession well as Suburbs struggled with the hard bumpy pitch at Barnett Park. Suburbs countered that well using the long ball to good effect, targeting Wright, White and Denis Ifunaoa in a 4-3-3 formation. The Nelson side continued to look most dangerous on the fast break.
After going into half-time 1-0 up Suburbs created more chances immediately in the second half.
The workload and organisation of man-of-the-match midfielder Mark Johnston helped to breakdown the best defence in the competition, a suffocating 3-5-2 formation with a sweeper and Canter- Nelson Suburbs Ferrymead Bays Cashmere Technical Coastal Spirit Halswell United Western FC Twenty 11 Christchurch United bury United goalkeeper Adam Highfield.
Wright and Ifunaoa misfired to squander early chances in the second before Ferrymead drew level through a well-taken goal from Chris Murphy, a standout down the right-hand side for the home team. Bays midfield duo of Glen Collins and Craig Harrison were always a threat, and when a ball through from Collins found Murphy on an angled run to the rightedge of the box, he scored on the short angle at the near post.
Suburbs goalkeeper Coey Turipa had another outstanding game, organising well from the back and dealing with the height and physicality of the Bays set piece, coming off his line to deal with the ball.
Up front Wright was a strong target and McPhie was all-class before a niggling injury cut short his day. At the back, the defensive line coped well with the size of the Bays players.
Brydon said that he was more than impressed with the effort his team put in after an uninspiring performance last weekend.
He also said that his team would have the measure of the opposition when they play them at home in the final round.
‘‘They [Ferrymead Bays] are quite a physical unit and that’s why teams struggle against them. But if we can move the ball quicker and on a decent pitch at home, we should be too good for them.
‘‘They are quite well organised and hard to break down but I thought we did that well. We could have had a win if we took all our chances.
‘‘It wasn’t to be, but we will take the point.’’
Elsewhere in the mainland league, Coastal Spirit drew 2-all with FC Twenty 11 to drop to fourth and Suburbs’ bogey side Cashmere Technical are starting to climb into contention after a 3-1 win over Christchurch United. With 21 points Cashmere are just five behind Suburbs but still have a game in hand.
Nelson Suburbs take a break in the Mainland Premier League next weekend, with their next match scheduled against Western at ASB Football Park in Christchurch on Saturday, July 14.