Soccer: Waikato in shock win over fancied Waitakere

Young winger Colin Gardyne provided the telling blows as Waikato FC upset Waitakere United 2-1 in the NZ Football Championship last night.

The 20-year-old may not have been a dominating force in the match, nor as noticeable as Joe Edwards, his Waitakere counterpart.

Edwards typified Waitakere's frustrations as his efforts went down a series of blind alleys at Trusts Stadium in West Auckland.

Not so Gardyne, who scored just once in his 11 previous appearances this season.

He made two cutting runs down the left in the first spell, one followed by a perfect curling cross which led to David Sampson's headed goal in the 11th minute.

And Gardyne's 63rd-minute winning strike was a beauty, as he latched on to a poor Waitakere clearance and blasted the ball past diving goalkeeper Simon Eaddy from 25 metres. Waitakere, who would have joined Auckland City at the top of the table had they won, had their best spell before halftime.

They had levelled the scores in the 19th minute when Dean Tallentire headed home a Jeremy Christie free kick.

And as the first spell progressed, they steadily justified their favouritism against Waikato, who went into the game in seventh place.

But it was Waikato who kept their composure in the second spell, while the home side failed to provide their strikers with clear chances. Waitakere were also unlucky not to be awarded a penalty by referee Peter O'Leary.

When the chances did fall to Waitakere late in the game, they muffed them. The best came from a corner, with Sean Douglas heading over the bar from a few metres out, and the match ended with substitute Hiroaki Tanaka's overhead kick floating over the bar.