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NRFL PremershipChatham Cup Quarter Final Forrest Hill Milford Utd AFC 0-2 Bay Olympic (half: 0-1) Becroft Park, Sunday July 25th Despite the home side's overall dominance, Forrest could not find a way past man of the match stopper, Robbie Graham, who pulled off a string of excellent saves, to deny the men in black and silver. After an even opening ten minutes, Forrest upped the tempo and exerted their dominance, with Ryan de Vries and Sheldon Pillay going close. Olympic were a threat on the break with Yoji Tanabe narrowly missing target. On 22mins, the opener came from a Nathan Strom long throw, with the clearance dropping to McKenzie who neatly hooked his right boot around the football and planted the ball to keeper, Tamati William's right. Forrest pressed forward and could easily have equalised with first Graham stopping at the feet of Grant Young and then the ball blocked and cleared off the line from Bay Olympic defenders. At half time, Forrest brought on Kelly Escolme for Mikael Munday, but before the big fellow could put his mark on the game Bay Olympic doubled their lead. Virtually from the kick off, Chris Bale was disposed in midfield and a quick counter saw Joe Edwards stretch the Forrest defence and McKenzie popped up to get a toe on the end of Edward's cross and deflect the ball through William's fingers. Escolme, Bale, and De Vries notably all went close in the second half as the home side piled on the pressure , but a combination of stoic defending and another series of stops from Graham including a palm away as Escolme's header seemed destined for the far corner, kept the home side goaless. “The manner in which we conceded both goals was very disappointing and frustrating for all as both could have been avoided”, commented Coach, Grant Machin. “That said, generally we coped well with their counter attacking threat, their keeper was outstanding, they literally got bodies on the line, and if we had got one of those chances in, our momentum would have carried us through. The boys' effort and drive, especially Chris and Byron in the middle of the park was magnificent and until the ref blew, we never gave up trying to give ourselves a chance. Understandably we are all gutted, but I am extremely proud of the effort all the players put in. Well done to bay Olympic – we deserved more, but it wasn't our day today.” Forrest Hill Milford Utd AFC 3-0 Ngaruawahia Utd AFC, at Becroft Park, Saturday 10th July Ngaruawahia set their stall out to be tough to break down and proved a resilient foe for the home side at Escolme struck in the 61st minute and Chris Bale doubled the lead from the spot just three minutes later, after Byron Paulus was checked by a Ngaruawahia defender. Paulus added his own spot kick in the 86th minute to seal the victory, minutes following player of the day Paul Rhodes' brave headed finish was ruled out for an infringement. Forrest Hill is now among the clubs in the 2010 Premier League's top eight for the second phase of the season while Ngaruawahia will contest the Division 1A/1B competition. More significantly Forrest is now assured of Premier League status for the 2011 competition. “Today was all about a gutsy effort by the team. Several of the players have struggled this week with flu, but in the second half showed their true metal.”, commented Coach, Grant Machin. “This was arguably the most important fixture of our season. Today's three points, means we will play in the top tier of the restructured Northern League in 2011, something the Club has never before achieved in our history. We have 7 second stage league matches to look forward to playing, all will be tough, but we'd like to see how close we can get to the league leaders, and of course the bonus of welcoming Bay Olympic to Becroft for the small matter of a Chatham Cup quarter final on Sunday July 25th Details of Club activities for the Quarter Final Chatham Cup Day will be posted on the website shortly. Papatoetoe 0.1 Forrest Hill, NRPL Rd 16, Murdoch Pk, Saturday June 26th Forrest exerted their dominance for the majority of the game, but could only convert from one of a countless series of chances created in a very one sided 1.0 win. The first half was a Forrest bombardment with the team hitting everything other than the back of the net, playing some entertaining football. With a few players away the necessary team changes did not hinder the quality of the play, and the frustration increased as the score count stood at 0.0 at the interval. The boys carried the momentum into the second half and although created less, showed their increased resolve and kept applying the pressure. The relief was palpable when Kelly Escolme fired home on 66 minutes for what proved to be the winner. A gritty Papatoetoe side could have stolen a point near the end of a frustrating match for the visiting support, but Tamati Williams again showed his form. Kelly picked up the best goal celebration award, but player of the day went to Byron Paulus, who was involved in most good things the team did going forward and retained his defensive discipline in an impressive display. Melville 0.1 Forrest Hill, Chatham Cup Rd 3, Gower Pk, Sunday June 20th Forrest Hill moved through to a last 16 clash against neighbours Albany United with a hard fought 1.0 win away in Hamilton. The fixture and odd goal win was a repeat of the 2009 Chatham Cup Rd 3 match up. This time around Forrest had Chris Bale to thank, the Welshman converting in the first half with a superb 25 yards strike from a free kick. In a game of relatively few clear chances, both teams had second half opportunities but a combination of good goal keeping and some concerted defending kept the score at 1.0 and ended Melville's 2010 Cup interest. Tamati Williams picked up the Forrest Hill player of the day. Forrest Hill kept the promise of a top eight NRPL first phase finish alive with a polished performance against local rivals Glenfield Rovers on Saturday. Two wonderfully composes strikes from veteran Grant Young and captain, Mikael Munday's unchallenged header in between kept Forrest in touch with the race to secure Premier Division status for next season at the first opportunity. Forrest exerted their dominance for the majority of the game, and quickly opened the scoring after 13minutes with a flicked throughball from Sheldon Pillay neatly tucked beneath the advancing Jacob Spoonley by Young. With 5mins of the half remaining Mikael Munday got on the end of a Pillay corner and netted from 6 yards out. Adi Hafiskadic struck sweetly for the visitors towards midway of a more evenly contested second half, but Forrest's two goal buffer was restored in the 74th minute as the home side saved the best for last with a perfect placed drive from Young to Spoonley's top left corner from 20yards giving the stopper no chance whatsoever. Euwyn Daniels was given the player of the day award, but there were special mentions for Young's and keeper Tamati Williams' contributions. Forrest's coach, Grant Machin, was suitably pleased, “Today was better from us. I felt the combinations generally worked well, the work ethic was good and most importantly the discipline we have been lacking over the past couple of weeks was much more evident across the team.” Forrest is on the road this weekend, with a Chatham Cup away fixture vs Melville, in Hamilton, 2.00pm Sunday June 20th, Gower Park.
Queen's Birthday Monday saw the NRPL big guns enter the Chatham Cup at the rd #2 stage, with Forrest Hill drawn against US1 Championship side Oratia. The tie was a welcome diversion from the pressure of challenging for a top 8 finish in the NRPL and the team were able to enjoy a goal filled afternoon at On target were Chris Bale 3, Ryan de Vries 2, Byron Paulus 2, Kelly Escolme, Mikael Munday, and an og, with former Waitakere United striker Chris Limmer raising a cheer for the home crowd with Oratia's concellation goal. As importantly, the players all came through match 2 of a busy weekend with no added misconducts or injury concerns. The Round 3 draw was not so kind to us with a road trip to Please see details in the match programme for travel arrangements for Club supporters to Melville. NRPL Forrest Hill 1.5 Lynn Avon, A lot of FHM huffing and puffing but unfortunately it was Lynn Avon which blew the house down at Salt was rubbed into the wound with a sublime fifth when the impressive Avendano scored from the restart drilling the ball home from 50 yards out over the home keeper.
Forrest Hill 3.3 Bay Olympic, Becroft Park, Saturday May 22nd In a very open and entertaining game that ebbed and flowed over 90 minutes a spirited last quarter comeback from the home side meant the points were shared at Becroft Park this afternoon. Bay Olympic were on the back foot for the first 20mins with Forrest Hill settled quicker and dominating the early exchanges. Several chances went begging before Chris Bale converted from a Sheldon Pillay free kick. With Chad Coombes starting to impress in the middle of the Park, Olympic went close and third time lucky got on the scoreboard after the ball was first struck against the woodwork and the rebound saved by Tamati Williams, only to fall to Yoji Tanabe who coolly slotted for 1.1. Forrest continued to have the upper hand with Ryan de Vries shooting inches wide and Byron Paulus narrowly over the bar. With play even over the first exchanges of the second half, it was the away team which broke the deadlock on 56mins. A Nathan Strom long throw caught Tamati Williams under the ball and despite a desperate last moment touch the home keeper could not prevent the ball sailing into the back top corner of his net. Stunned by the goal, Forrest raised their urgency to get back on terms and pushed forward. A lost tackle and quick thinking saw Coombes through one on one on Williams who saved well but the ball spun high off and over the keeper and Coombes showed great agility to first get to and then guide the ball home for 3.1 with 65mins gone. To their credit Forrest clawed themselves back into the contest. Pillay was upended in the box and Kelly Escolme stepped up but his spot kick was well saved by Robbie Graham. Referee Peter O'Leary adjudged Bay Olympic players had encroached too early and ordered a retake. Graham won the guessing game over Escolme and saved again! Grant Young closed the gap for Forrest on 76mins with a cleanly struck shot on the angle across the helpless Graham. As Forrest pressed, Ryan de Vries turned on the edge of the box and a left foot strike to Graham's left for the equaliser. Forrest played out the last 6mins with 10 men as Byron Paulus was cautioned for a second time with O'Leary pulling up the midfielder for simulation. A tough call and hard lines on Paulus who had run himself box to box match long and made no appeal for a foul. Final whistle, 3.3. A point a piece for both teams means ground is lost on leaders East Coast Bays but with other results going their way Forrest ease up to 6th spot. Forrest's coach Grant Machin was proud of his team's efforts, “Our crowd was terrific and the boys would have been hard done by not to get something from the game. Some of the first half play was first class and we could have been 2 or 3 to the good ahead of the break. Having conceded the two disappointing early second half goals, the players deserve a lot of credit for coming from behind for the third game in a row to get points out of these games.” Next Sunday Forrest travel to Kiwitea Street to take on Central United. Kick off 2.45pm. Come across the bridge and voice your support.
Metro 3-4 Forrest Hill Milford (half: 1-1) This one had everything; 7 goals, a missed penalty, two red cards and a come from behind win for the visitors. Forrest Hill grabbed all three points in a highly entertaining clash at Phyllis Street Reserve on Friday night. Metro's James Hoyt opened the scoring after 37 minutes before Ryan de Vries levelled four minutes later for a 1.1 halftime scoreline. Kindness Agwu and Jakub Sinkora put Metro 3-1 up in the 15 minutes after halftime only for Byron Paulus and de Vries to haul Forrest back level with 20 to go. Metro's Matt Cunneen was then dismissed by referee Steve Fletcher, with Sheldon Pillay's resultant penalty well saved, before de Vries completed his hat-trick with the winner on 89 minutes. There was still time for Metro to lose another as Zynal Sahib was also sent off. Stand out performances from Chris Bale and De Vries, and a classy contribution off the bench from Grant Young. Onehunga Sports 2-3 Forrest Hill Milford (half: 2-1) Forrest was again forced to come from behind on a big heavy paddock against an Onehunga Sports, team not short on endeavour. Grant Young opened the scoring in the first 15mins, but strikes from Reece Day and Tim Hayhow, saw the home team ahead at the break. A Byron Paulus leveller early in the second half got Forrest back on track and a Sheldon Pillay deflection (or was it BP?) proved to be the piece of lady luck needed to split the teams. There were strong performances from Ryan Young and Chris Bale and the ever energetic Paulus, on a day when both teams were probably not at their best.
Forrest Hill vs Takapuna, 24th April at Tahoroto Park Forrest Hill narrowed the point's gap to one on 4th placed Bay Olympic with a wonderfully composed second half top corner finish from front man Kelly Escolme, proving the winner in the NRPL local derby at Takapuna. Forrest exerted their dominance for the majority of the game, but following Escolme's strike, were forced to fight off a late rally from Takapuna as Scott Campbell despatched from the penalty spot with a little over 15mins left in the tie to narrow the goal difference to one. After a sluggish start from both teams, the away team began to find their straps and in a very one-sided first half affair scored twice through Reece Franks and Sheldon Pillay and missed a hatful of other chances. Franks converted with a clean strike when Takapuna failed to clear from a corner; Paul Gothard, the Gothard had earlier kept Takapuna in the fixture with a series of last gasp stops, but could not prevent Pillay adding Forrest's second as the striker breezed on to a Ryan Young through ball ahead of retreating Takapuna defenders and finished calmly past the advancing keeper. Half time 0.2. Takapuna grabbed one back through Denver MacDonald a third of the way into a more even second half, as Forrest failed to clear their lines. Then Escolme struck to seal the win, turning away from defenders on the edge of Taka's box and curving a left foot finish into the top corner of the net. The away team could have been out of sight when Mike Halliday crashed the ball against the bar before limping off. With all three substitutes used Forrest played out the match with 10 men, but “It was a good day out for the Club, as our Reserves overwhelmed table toppers Takapuna in the earlier fixture 5.2. Well done to Joe and the lads. Both Sheldon and Kelly are working very hard for the team when we do not have possession of the football, and look sharp when we do, and justly deserved their goals today. Ryan Young made sure we kept the ball moving and was the catalyst for a very good first half performance. We were not quite so good after the break, but I am sure the neutral would agree anything other than an away win today would have been extremely tough given the level of football we played over long periods of the match.” Forrest returns to
Forrest Hill vs Waitakere City, 27th March at Becroft Park An 82nd minute Jason Beeston left foot finish clinched victory for Waitakere City at Becroft Park today, and ended the home side's unbeaten start to the season. Kelly Escolme's first half opener was cancelled out by Damien Fonoto's equaliser 20mins into the second half then Beeston's strike earned the visitors, a come from behind win and the three points. A disappointing day at the office for Forrest Hill was compounded by the first half enforced substitution of first choice goalkeeper Tamati Williams after 35mins. Neither team started as brightly as this Autumn Saturday, and in the energy-zapping heat clear cut chances were few until a darting run and finish from Sheldon Pillay forced a fine save from Waitakere's Sam Hannah, and Escolme eventually profited from concerted pressure and coolly slotted for the home side's half time lead. 15 year old Liam Anderson deputising for Williams in the home goal added to a couple of useful stops in the first half with a series of saves as Waitakere pressed for an equaliser after the break. Anderson failed to hold a dipping free kick on 65mins and Damien Fonoti reacted quicker than the Forrest Hill defenders to prod the ball home for 1.1. A Mikael Munday finish was ruled out for offside, preventing the home team from regaining the ascendancy and as the match ran into the closing stages some quick thinking and a cool head from Beeston, with Keegan Linderboom, Waitakere's strongest performer on the day, sealed the win. Forrest's Coach, Grant Machin, was philosophical about the result, “A couple of individual errors hurt us, but we had a couple of clear chances earlier in the game to get ourselves away on the scoreboard and unfortunately failed to do so. Liam, at 15, has a very bright future and on the whole coped very well under a sustained second half spell of Waitakere pressure. We've had a good start but today was a clear reminder if we drop our standards we will be punished in this League. Easter weekend presents two huge fixtures with Three Kings (April 3rd) and East Coast Bays (April 5th) visiting Becroft. Both teams are capable of playing great football so we look forward to the challenges enormously.”
Forrest Hill vs Eastern Suburbs, 24th March at Becroft Park Despite Forrest playing the final 10mins with only 9 men on the field, after Byron Paulus was dismissed for retaliation and Euwyn Daniels did not return to the field after treatment with all 3 substitutes made, Suburbs were unable to break down a resilient defensive effort and Forrest closed out the game without conceding. The home side settled the quicker of the two teams in the early exchanges pressed back the visitors. With only 5mins on the clock, Pillay eluded one tackler and placed the ball neatly to Suburb's keeper Sean Dowling's right for 1.0. Neither team really took the ascendency, as passes went astray and moves broke down. Suburbs nearly had the equaliser as the speedy Leo shin broke Forrest's line but a brilliantly timed recovery tackle from the home side's man of the match, Reece Franks, kept the diminutive striker away from goal. 35mins in and Pillay made it two for the home side. Suburbs surrender possession in their defensive third and a second clever finish for Pillay as the ball danced around a crowd of players delighted the home support. After an even start to the second half, a break down the right by Paulus and a superb centre found Escolme unmarked at the back post and the striker's headed finish gave Dowling no chance at all. At 3.0 Suburbs were done and dusted and despite a 2 man advantage over the closing period could not open their account, with a couple of notable saves from Tamati Williams securing the shut out for Forrest. Forrest's Coach, Grant Machin, was in buoyant mood, “Although we did not really hit our straps tonight the boys had too much pace and too much heart for our opponents. The work ethic was tremendous and as pleased as I was with the finishes, to shut out the opposition, with 2 players down in the closing period was hugely important for us. Thanks to all those folks who turned out to support the team tonight. Saturday promises to be a tough one against Waitakere, so once again we would really appreciate your support.” Forrest Hill vs Manuwera, 20th March at Becroft Park Superb first half finishes from Byron Paulus and Kelly Escolme, pulled back the lead after we conceded a penalty within the first 2 minutes of play, converted by Manurewa's Stu Robertson. Second half goals from Kelly Escolme and strike partner, Sheldon Pillay, secured our win and capped a very encouraging team performance on the day. With War Memorial Park still hosting summer cricket, Auckland Football Federation, which manages the NRPL, requested the fixture to be played at Becroft at short notice. The team would like to thank all the Club volunteers who ensured we were good to go on the day. Pre-season began seven weeks earlier and the boys had played build up matches against Papakura, Warkworth, Waitakere City, Mount Albert Ponsonby, Glenfield and East Coast Bays. Pre-season results, of course, are meaningless and the aim is to bring players close to competition match fitness and bed in an understanding of a playing model and integrate new players to the squad. We felt pre-season had built well and were confident heading into this opening fixture. Of course football has a happy habit of upsetting the apple cart and we found ourselves behind after two minutes. New boy Cam Madley was adjudged to have handles a cross and veteran Stu Robertson calmly executed the penalty. Five minutes later a superb one handed diving save to his left by keeper, Tamati Wiliams kept the score at 1.0. Thereafter to the boys' credit, we settled into some very attractive football. A clearance off the line and a strike against the woodwork, were frustrating outcomes as we pressed for an equaliser. Byron got us on the scoreboard with a delightful finish low to their Keeper's right on the angle from just inside the apex of the box, and Kelly went one better with a superbly executed lob from 25yards. We'll acknowledge there's plenty of work to do, as would be expected this early in the season - we lost a bit of fluidity and momentum through the middle of the first half, but if we are honest, we were pretty comfortable from here on in. A robust header from Kelly and a tidy low finish from Sheldon in the second half ended any nerves around Manurewa nicking a goal back, to ease us out to a 4.1 win, which on another day could have been six or seven. One down, 23 matches to go! Looking at the opening day's League results, we will definitely not have things as comfortable as today's match became, and we look forward with a great deal of excitement to some mammoth clashes over the season Player of the day was Euwyn Daniels, who dealt effectively with any threats at the back. A few farewells, welcomes and thanks to share; Our very best wishes to Gareth Juddery (ECB), Denver MacDonald (Takapuna), Sam Robertson (Albany), Robbie Winfield (Ellerslie), Al Poolman (overseas) who have moved on to pasture's new. We welcome back all the other members of the 2009 squad, and extend a very warm Club welcome to new players, Chris Bale, Reece Franks, Carl Franksen, Cam Madly, Jessie Smith, Grant Young and Ryan Young. Youngsters Liam Anderson, James Debenham and Warren Pinto join the extended squad from our Youth ranks and I am sure all the above will contribute towards and experience a fantastic season with the established players. And lastly on behalf of the players, much appreciation and thanks to the backroom staff on board for 2010; to Di, “The Manager” who has been fantastic and very patient in getting us over the line administratively, to my assistant Paul, to Joe, our Reserves Coach who has a particularly tough job description, our Physio Andy and his team at Active Physio and to the Club's Executive for their continued support of the team and staff. We hope we can entertain you all over the coming season and create some memories of which the Club can be proud.
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