Thames Football Club

Thames FC travelled to Cambridge for this Waikato Division B game knowing that a loss would see them drop down to Division C. The home side needed a win to maintain their Division B status, so the stage was set with both sides fighting for survival in this final game of the season. The game started in fine conditions and it took Cambridge just 25 seconds to take the lead when a Thames player was dispossessed of the ball; it was then crossed over from the left side and was headed home by a Cambridge player who had ran in between two Thames defenders. Thames battled back and had several opportunities to pull a goal back, notably a shot from Jamie Mustafa saved by the keeper, and a Petar Vukojevich effort cleared of the goal line by a Cambridge full back. Cambridge went two up just before half time when one of their strikers sneaked in behind the Thames defence and calmly slotted the ball past Thames keeper Nick Vukojevich, one of several Thames players called in to cover for absent regulars. Half time Cambridge 2 Thames FC 0.

Thames came out for the second half and started to build up momentum with several attempts on goal from Gary Jamieson, Brendan Scott, and Lachlan McHaffie. Ben Owen started to take control in the centre of midfield resulting in some good play from the visiting team. Their efforts were rewarded in the 60^th minute when Lachlan McHaffie split the Cambridge defence with a precision pass and Brendan Scott ran on and prodded the ball past the keeper and into the Cambridge net for his 10^th goal of the season. Thames had a lucky escape when a Cambridge striker got a shot in on goal only for it to hit the outside of the post. Thames then continued to barrage the Cambridge defence, with Cambridge restricted to limited opportunities as Thames sought an equalising goal. The inevitable happened in the 81^st minute when Pete Vukojevich collected the ball inside the Cambridge penalty area on the left hand side, beat a defender and placed the ball past the goalkeeper into the goal. Cambridge were forced to attack for the remaining 9 minutes as they fought to save their season, but some stubborn defending from the Thames team stopped them from having any serious attempts on goal. The final whistle brought elation for Thames and despair for Cambridge, with Thames doing enough to preserve their Division B status in what was a tense and hard fought game. Thames FC man of the match was captain Jon Vyce who led his team by example never allowing the home side to settle into their play. Thames line up: Nick Vukojevich, Ian Brett, Ross Gunn, Petar Vukojevich, Andy McInnes, Jon Vyce, Brendan Scott, Ben Owen, Lachlan McHaffie, Jamie Mustafa, Gary Jamieson.