Magenta 1 Waitakere United 1
A stunning goal by former All White Allan Pearce and an inspired performance from goalkeeper Danny Robinson weren't enough for Waitakere United to pick up three O-League points against Magenta at the Stade Numa Daly in Noumea last night.
Coach Neil Emblen and his men instead had to settle for a 1-1 draw, their second in a row in this competition, as they again failed to hang on to a one-goal lead.
New Caledonian champions Magenta began the game in sprightly fashion and it wasn't long before Robinson was called into action, making two good saves in quick succession after 10 minutes.
Waitakere slowly began to adjust to their surroundings but Magenta were still enjoying most of the play and forced Robinson to make another stop in the 33rd minute.
Just prior to halftime, both sides had free kicks in good positions around 20 metres from goal but Robinson and fellow custodian Jean Yan Dounezeck both pulled off acrobatic saves to keep the scores level at halftime.
Robinson's fine showing in this match continues a good run of form for the ex-Derby County apprentice, who began the season as Emblen's second choice but regained the No 1 jersey when incumbent Andy Ralph injured his hand while warming up for the ASB Premiership clash with Auckland City several weeks ago.
Waitakere knew they would have to be more adventurous in the second spell to achieve a result and, with the steady end-to-end breeze now behind their backs, showed their intent within 10 minutes of the restart as strikes from midfielder Chris Bale and speedy Fijian striker Roy Krishna flew narrowly wide.
They finally got the goal their increase in tempo deserved in the 70th minute when ex-All White Allan Pearce pounced on an under-hit Roy Kayara backpass and swerved around a pair of Magenta defenders and the stranded Dounezeck before smashing a shot into the roof of the net.
It was a marvellous individual goal but failed to have the desired effect on Pearce's Waitakere team-mates, who let Magenta back into the game just seven minutes later through a mistake from former Sunderland trainee Jack Pelter. The young defender made hard work of a straightforward clearance and allowed striker Francis Watrone to nip in and finally get the better of Robinson.
Waitakere had chances to regain their lead in the dying moments through Krishna and Ryan De Vries but were unable to take them.
"It was a very windy day and that made it hard for us in the first half," Emblen said. "They controlled most of the play and the possession but, once we'd gone ahead, I thought we would go on to close out the game. We didn't create enough chances but we're still unbeaten this season and this may turn out to be a better result than it seems right now."
