First Team Match Reports

Wanderers Struggle at Home

2nd May 2009

Wanderers 0 Bay Olympic 0

For the second week in a row Wanderers have struggled through a game they should have dominated and this time have only come away with a point. More concerning for Mark Cossey must be the growing list of injuries to key players which is starting to hinder Wanderers chance at a good tilt at the title. This week Marco Rojas was unable to play after suffering a serious ankle injury with 5 minutes left to play in a school game. Add this to the worrying absences of Sam Wilkinson and Jeff Sole and Wanderers ranks are starting to look rather thin. Questions have to be raised to the validity of quality young players playing for school on a Saturday morning and then trying to back up for club in the afternoon, especially at Premier Northern League level.

Trying to describe this game leaves one to ponder what to say without offending anyone. The game meandered along with very little excitement or endeavour and few goal scoring opportunities for either side. Vladimar Frank pulled off a sensational save when Bay Olympic had a one on one in the first half which should have been converted. The second half didn't prove too much more exciting until the introduction of NZ U17 Michael Built. Built came on and really got stuck in, beating players at will and playing lovely balls across the box which no Wanderers player got anywhere  near. Built even had the chance to round the keeper and break the deadlock but the keeper managed to get a palm to the ball. But that was about the extent of the excitement.

Two things stick in my mind after the game, the first being the fact Wanderers had three 17 year old subs on their bench, all who had played full games for school in the morning and two being the lack of direction provided by senior players for the younger ones. It seems too many players are ready to point the finger instead of rolling up their sleeves and leading the way when the going gets tough.

With a week to prepare for the local derby next week, it's not all doom and gloom just yet. I look forward to an interesting battle and who emerges as the key players in a game that could define both clubs seasons...................

Wanderers Win Ugly

26 April 2009

Papatoetoe 1 Wanderers 2

Wanderers won an ugly game away to Papatoetoe on Saturday 2-1 thanks to two goals from Marco Rojas. Going into the game without the services of Sam Wilkinson due to injury, Wanderers new it was going to be a tough game.

Playing into a stiff breeze in the first half, things got a whole lot tougher when influential defender Jeff Sole tore his quad muscle after 5 minutes. Mark Cossey was forced into an early substitution and reshuffle, as midfielder Ben Steward moved to the back and Daniel Frishneckt came on in midfield. After the early disruption neither team really settled into a rhythm and Wanderers looked comfortable playing into the wind until a mistake at the back gave Papatoetoe a chance which they gleefully took. Wanderers bounced back though and Marco scored within 5 minutes to level for a 1-1 halftime scoreline.

The second half pretty much followed that of the first half although Wanderers played some nice football at times although never taking hold of the match. During one of those flowing movements came the second goal to "the little genius" Marco, who looked like the only player that was ever going to score on the weekend. Although the young man still has plenty to learn. With ten minutes remaining he found himself one on one with the opposing keeper and Stu Watene free in the middle staring at an empty net, Marco tried a cheeky little chip over the keeper that cleared the cross bar, much to the disgust of his old man Roddy and a few others.

All in all it was a job well done and another 3 points banked, Reece Edmonds got through a power of work but the standout for Wanderers was Ben Steward. The guy despises playing at the back but has a knack of performing everytime he is asked to play there and judging on Soleys injury it could be a few more weeks yet.

This week sees the boys return home against Bay Olympic, get down and support them as they continue a fantastic start to the season.

Wanderers beat Central 4-1

13/4/09

Article from Matt Richens and Ian Anderson of the Waikato Times:

Hamilton Wanderers announced themselves as contender in soccer's Northern Premier League with a impressive 4-1 away win over defending champions Central United on Saturday.

Metro Motors Wanderers had been up and down during week one's 3-3 draw with Onehunga Sports and while they showed glimpses of brilliance, they'd been awful at times too.

But coach Mark Cossey said it all came together on Saturday.

"We worked on all our problems from last week. We wanted it more, our passing was crisp and we played well," Cossey said.

Reece Edmonds, who moved to Porritt Stadium from Tauranga, scored twice for Wanderers.

He'd been set up by Stu Watene for the first and cracked a fine shot in in the 38th minute to double the lead.

But Central bounced back 10 minutes into the second half and from there, Cossey's side "were under the cosh big time," he said.

That was until Marco Rojas, who Cossey said had "taken the mickey out of them all day" with his play, chipped the keeper to seal the points.

Sam Wilkinson scored in the dying minutes for the second week in a row.

Read the full article here.