Otago United broke an 11-match drought to beat Wellington 2-0
in the New Zealand Football Championship match played at
Newtown Park yesterday.
Coach Malcolm Fleming's refreshing new attacking approach has
paid off in his short reign as Otago now shares third place
in the NZFC with Hawkes Bay and Canterbury, equal on four
points.
"We were a bit at sixes and sevens for the first 10 minutes
as the new guys continued to settle in, but after that we
dominated for long spells," Fleming said.
"There were some really good personal performances, backed by
a solid team effort, and even locals said that we deserved
the win.
"You have got to score goals to win games. We'll be going to
attack. Whether we play three up front, or two up front with
five in midfield, we've got to be scoring goals if we want to
make the play-offs."
Fleming said Otago goalkeeper James Wagget made some top
saves and the Otago forwards had Wellington keeper James
Bannatyne scrambling several times.
Young Morgan Day had an excellent match in central midfield
despite getting a gashed head.
He was outstanding and combined well with Stu Kelly, Fleming
said.
Also singled out for praise were the Otago centrebacks, Tim
Horner and Chris Jenkinson, who have formed a reliable
partnership in defence.
New striker Nathan Knox went well for an hour, Dave Dugdale
harried and grafted for the whole game, and showed pace and
anticipation to break through and entice keeper Bannatyne
into conceding an 83rd-minute penalty, which the striker
scored to seal the result.
It was a classic right wing attack in the 48th minute that
put Otago into the driving seat as striker Dan Ede timed a
late near-post run to sweep the ball past Bannatyne and
levitate the Otago bench in celebration.
In Ede, Canterbury's top scorer last season, Dugdale, Knox
and Reichwein, Fleming has gathered an attack of some
potential.
Otago substitutes got a run as Andy Coburn and Tom Connor
came on in the last 20 minutes and added the resistance
needed as Wellington coach Stu Jacobs urged his whole team
forward to score its first goal of the season.
"I'ts like coming into an oasis after a drought, to win in
Wellington after so long, and at the final whistle there were
some very happy guys out there," Fleming said.
Due to the erratic NZFC fixtures, Otago will now have time
for some navel gazing before playing its next match against
Waitakere United at Carisbrook on Sunday, December 6.
