Despite a plethora of chances at either end, neither Greyfriars Motel Greytown FC, nor opponents Upper Hutt City could find the necessary composure to score the clinical goal to break a one all deadlock at Soldiers Memorial Park on Saturday.

An early goalkeeping slip by the visitors let Greytown’s Brodie Palmer in for his second goal in two games and a close non-offside call led to Upper Hutt equalising midway through the second half of an end to end encounter, which the neutral fan would say was probably a fair result.

While both sides created plenty of opportunities, Greytown were guilty of not killing off their opponents with a combination of not finding the crucial pass or poor finishing despite good build up work and transition from defence to attack. While the Upper Hutt keeper was kept busy, Greytown custodian Taylor Harvey didn’t have too many saves to make but did very well on a couple of occasions to keep his side in the game.

Man of the match honours went to youngster Liam Andrew who shone at left back, while Brodie Palmer and veteran centre back Josh Thompson were also singled out by coach Phil Keinzley. Alongside Thompson, fellow centre back Joshua Saxton and right back Alex Penman also stood out in a good defensive display, while up front, Palmer, twin brother Landon and Jay Traill all looked dangerous.

After two games, Greytown sit two points off the pace and have a busy week ahead after next Saturday’s home game against Stokes Valley, as on ANZAC Day they will host Naenae in the preliminary round of the Chatham Cup, before heading over the hill to visit Fraser Park in Avalon to play hosts Lower Hutt, who are yet to pick up a point in Capital Two this season.

Article added: Tuesday 16 April 2024