Kerikeri FC were knocked out of the Chatham Cup by highly rated Takapuna yesterday but even the visitors acknowledged it was a close-run thing.
The match at the Waipapa Domain was a tight encounter from the start, with just a single goal separating the sides at fulltime.
There is quite a gulf
between the United Soccer 1 Premier league, which the Auckland side competes in, and the Northland Premier League that Kerikeri plays in every week but yesterday if Kerikeri were at all outgunned they made up for it with a display of sheer determination.
Kerikeri captain Jeremy Rintoul said his side played well as a unit and that nullified some of the individual brilliance displayed by the visiting team.
Both teams played well by holding on to possession and waiting for their opportunities and Rintoul said he was "gutted" with the way the goal was conceded five minutes before halftime.
"It was such a jammy goal that dribbled into the net. It was a disappointing way to lose," he said.
He said both sides continued to threaten the goal but neither side found the net again - largely down to some great defending.
"Both sides had really good chances to score again but none of them were put away," he said.
"Takapuna showed a higher quality of defending than we are used to, and we are used to getting away with scoring from straight runs or angled runs behind the defence, but Takapuna cleaned them up quite easily."
Rintoul said the side had learned a lot from their cup run and would now turn their attention towards trying to wrest the Northland competition title away from Kamo.
Takapuna coach Clive Campbell said after the match that Kerikeri could easily have scored from one of their chances, perhaps forcing the game to extra time, and he considered his team lucky to "sneak home" with a win.
