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Melville pre-season
Melville pre-season training for intending northern premier league and premier reserve league players will start on Monday February 6, at Gower Park at 6pm.
All players seeking to play at these levels are invited to attend.
Meanwhile players from the Melville federation team and other Waikato competition teams have already begun training sessions at Gower Park from 6pm on Thursdays. All welcome.
Check back here for further updates next week.
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Melville Special General Meeting
9.1.2012: Melville United is holding a Special General Meeting on Monday, January 16 at 6.30pm at the Gower Park Clubrooms to consider an amendment to the constitution.
Following a management committee meeting on December 5, it was resolved to propose an amendment to the constitution at the special meeting which would allow the club to have up to 15 members on the committee.
Currently the constitution dictates that the management committee consists of the president, secretary, treasurer and a maximum of 10 other members.
Committee size has not previously been an issue, but the move was prompted by an excess of members seeking a place on the committee at the 2011 AGM.
New committee members this year already include Harry Noorland, Steve Wiliams, Neil Mouncher and Janine Lough. Those arguing for an increase in the size of the committee at the December meeting pointed to such a move also allowing Howie Bettridge to get on the committee and for Blair Hoad to return to an administrative role.
Melville president Bruce Holloway said while the move to a 15-person management committee would appear contrary to conventional wisdom about efficient streamlined administrative structures – and he was not totally convinced himself - it may nevertheless still have some benefits.
"Our committee structure should be flexible enough to meet the changing needs of the club," he said. "We should be willing to experiment, keeping in mind that the management committee is basically just a tool to get our administrative work done.
"The right tool for today may not be the right tool for tomorrow. The challenge is in making sure those on the committee – whatever its size - serve in a meaningful way and do not hinder progress."
All club members are invited to the meeting. Voting is restricted to 2011 financial members.
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CHEWINS HONOURED AGAIN…. Melville skipper Jason Chewins has won the Northern Premier League’s Player of the Year award for the second consecutive season. Chewins, 40, was named as one of three joint winners of the prize at the league’s awards function in Auckland. Chewins, who won the title outright in 2010, was this year’s joint winner with two goalkeepers Max Tommy (Hamilton Wanderers) and Andrew Ralph (Metro FC). The three players accumulated the same number of points from a voting system completed by opposition coaches following each match during the 2011 season.
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Yo ho ho… Melville Pirates win
Melville Pirates have pillaged and plundered their way to the plate title at the Mt Maunganui women’s tournament.
The Melville team ransacked Western Spings team, The All Shites, 1-0 with a swashbuckling performance in the final to bring home the booty.
The winning goal came from Ashlee Gaby-Sutherland, who Captain Hook-ed a ball into the net that many suspected was meant as a cross.
The Melville team could later be heard all talking like pirates.
"Rrrrrrrr, shiver me timbers, that was a good result," said team spokeswoman Andrea Timings. "Yo ho ho and a battle of rum."
The team had been drinking at the time.
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Former Melville lads show character… A football team boasting a host of past and present Melville United players - Characters United (see above) blitzed the field at the Mt Maunganui Tournament at Labour Weekend. Read the full tournament report and see pics from our special correspondent embedded with a team featuring Ceri James, Gavin Douglas, Steven Holloway, Michael Mayne, Stu Watene, Matt Parkin and Nathan Holten HERE
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The Waikato Lacrosse Club is training at Gower Park on Tuesday nights from 6pm, and is welcoming new mens and womens players. Lacrosse is a sport of native American origin, with players use sticks with small mesh nets on the end to run and pass a small rubber ball downfield and into a goal. Matches will be played at Gower Park later in the summer.
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Anniversary & Reunion... Melville United is now planning for the club's 40th anniversary celebrations early in 2012. Dates and format have yet to be finalised but it will involve a reunion of former members. Anyone wishing to register should contact Phil Wheatley, 021 906-262, or email info@melvilleunited.co.nz
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MELVILLE PLAYERS SELECTED... Eleven Melville United players have been named in the 30-strong Waikato FC U19 team to contest the national youth league. The team is being coached by HBHS coach Paul Nixon. Full squad HERE. (Warm-up game at Gower Park, 1pm Sunday October 8.)
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Prizegiving: the night the stars came out
17.9.2011: Gavin Douglas has won Melville United’s premier league player of the year title for the third time in 10 years.
While the evening’s honours focused largely on the treble-winning efforts of the women’s first team at Melville United’s prizegiving at SkyCity Casino, veteran defender Douglas showed that sometimes it is the old trees that put out the best fruit in lurching ahead of his younger team mates in the race for individual recognition.
While Douglas seldom figured in player of the day awards during the season, his great strength was his consistency, and he was one of just two players to start in every match for Melville.
"There is life in the old dog," said assistant coach Kit Fagan, who did the honours in the absence of Steve Williams - despatched on an urgent scouting mission to Liverpool.
Ceri James, who has become something of a BBC media celebrity during these Rugby World Cup days, was a popular Players’ Player, breaking the recent tradition of both these awards being nabbed by the same person. Tyler Boyd was named Young Player – while Jesse Smith was Most Improved.
Thos who know best – the fans – voted Mike Thompson as Supporters Player of the Year, with Neil Mouncher runner-up.
Fagan said Melville’s third place finish in the league was credible in the light of a season in which a lot of players were coming and going.
"We never put out the same team twice," he noted.
27-goal striker Jackie Pretswell and young defender Kendal Gaby-Sutherland shared the women’s Player of the Year.
Coach Ray Mackintosh hailed both as great assets to the team, whilke Anne Ormrod secured the team and club Golden Boot award with 33 goals in 10 games.
Kendal also won the Best Dressed Woman award – by popular acclaim from the 120 guests -- with her black off-the-shoulder number, while the men’s was a no-contest, with Mackintosh walking away with it in his $1600 Mackintosh kilt.
MC Kris Allen praised the women for their presentation, but scolded the men.
"Too many of you have come looking like Billy Ray Cyrus," he said.
Groundsman and committee member Blair Cowley was named club person of the year, while committee member and federation team player Raj Naidu was Personality of the Year.
It was a special night for the Melville women’s first team as they celebrated winning the league, the Cup and the federation plate, with a 100 per cent record in which they scored 134 goals and conceded just 12.
"What a season," coach Mackintosh said. "It was an astonishing performance, absolutely outstanding."
He said he had coaxed and challenged the girls to reach new heights and they had responded.
"You won because you deserved it," he said.
There were possible "taste" issues as Harry Noorland won Quote of the Year for his throw-away line about KFC’s Double Down Burger.
But it seemed to go down well with the audience and he pipped Stu Timings’ acute observation on the unusual walking gait of some referees.
Knights striker Avneet Raju won the men’s club golden boot with 27 goals.
In his opening address club chairman Bruce Holloway acknowledged the efforts of the women’s first team, and the Old Boys as well as the Northern Reserve team – which he described as the most entertaining team in the division - and said Melville had recorded another worthy showing in the northern premier league in finishing third.
"But beyond our on-field endeavours, most of all 2011 will be remembered as the year we completed our floodlights project," he said in hailing the installation of a further 56 1500-watt lights which were previously beaming at Eden Park.
"This is the biggest project the club has ever undertaken and arguably the most significant of its type in the history of Waikato football.
"Its scale means we have grappled with challenges that very few other football clubs in New Zealand have done, and are well on the way to building an asset base for the game which will stand us in good stead in the years ahead.
"The challenge for us now is to do justice to our facilities. How can we best use them to make a difference?
"My view is we should try to be in the vanguard of all that is positive about football in the Waikato. Our club needs to reflect the heartbeat of the football community. Otherwise we risk becoming irrelevant.
"Facilities are a means towards an end, not an aesthetic thing in themselves."
Full list of Melville united prize winners HERE.
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Thommo makes it nine from nine
6-8-2011: Melville import Mike Thompson moved into Premier League Golden Boot contention with two goals in a 4-0 demolition of Metro at Gower Park.
Thompson, who only arrived from Welsh club Bala Town in late May, took his goal tally to nine in nine league appearances with two trademark "round the keeper" jobs inside the first 15 minutes.
And while he will lament he didn’t crack on to record Melville’s first hat trick of the season, Tewi Te Pou also chimed in with two snappy finishes for his first goalscoring form since the opening day of the season.
The win keeps Melville in the hunt for second place in the league, with two away games remaining. In other matches champions Bay Olympic beat Waitakere 3-2, second-placed Three Kings beat Onehunga 3-1, Central beat Wanderers 1-0 and East Coast Bays beat Forrest Hill 2-1.
Thompson’s goals took him level with Eugene Heerschap. Elsewhere Central’s Stu Hogg leads the league with11, and Colin Gardyne (Bay Olympic) and Sam Margetts also have nine.
Metro were always going to be up against it, with the worst offside trap in the league against someone of Thompson’s pace. A through header from Melville’s player of the day, centreback Aaron Scott, gave Thompson a ninth minute opener as he left defenders in his wake and went around the keeper down the left. Five minutes later he repeated the exercise, this time scorching down the right and knocking the ball home with billiard table accuracy from one of those preposterously tight angles that he seems to prefer.
Te Pou then looped a parabolically arced header over the keeper from a Tyler Boyd cross and added a smashing second in the 28th minute from distance for his first goals in the past 12 appearances.
But just when a cricket score threatened in the second half – suddenly nothing happened.
Melville snatched at a few good chances, and keeper Andy Ralph made some good saves. And while Melville could have possibly have excused veteran keeper Neil Mouncher to attend a Grey Power meeting, so little was he required, it was at least Melville’s first clean sheet since April.
Metro battled determinedly. They did nothing, but they did it all day.
In his aftermatch speech Melville coach Steve Williams confirmed he was eyeing second place – which will be achieved if wins are recorded against both Three Kings (August 20) and Onehunga Sports (August 27).
"Finishing as high up the tree as you can is important," he said.
But he noted further coming and goings at Melville. While Adam Thomas and Mike Kramer will be back from the U20s, Eugene Heerschap is now off to take up a scholarship with Manhattan University in New York, and Tyler Boyd is off for trials in California.
Metro manager Doug Rencher acknowledged Melville’s superiority and described his side as "a scratch team" – though one full of determination even in the face of relegation.
"We are a club that has been around for 112 years and we will not cow down to the demands of over-rated prima donnas who only want money," he said.
Meanwhile the Reserves won 8-1, the Federation team drew 1-1 with Rotorua United, the old Boys beat Foss and the Ewoks beat Cambridge 5-1.
Premier League table HERE
# Reminder: A service for Wilma Nixon, wife of former Melville coach Paul Nixon, will be held at St Matthews Church, 58 Silverdale Road at 1pm Monday, 8 August, followed by a celebration of her life at Claudelands Rovers Clubrooms, at Galloway Park. Melville United offers its condolences to the Nixon family.
Thomas debuts in Melville win
Cordwainer Bull @ Becroft Park
30.7.2011: Precocious super-sub Ryan Thomas may well have set a first for Melville United in the club’s 3-1 away win over Forrest Hill Milford.
Thomas, 16, came on for the final 15 minutes at Becroft Park and scored the insurance goal in Melville’s victory – having earlier netted the goal that earned the Reserves a 1-1 away draw.
That quite likely makes him the youngest player to ever score on his northern premier league debut for Melville after having already scored a goal in the curtainraiser.
Not that anybody keeps those sort of stats. Or if they do, they need to get out more often – or at the very least stop hanging out at places like Forrest Hill Milford.
Becroft Park is like a land time forgot. Even the upgraded playing surface of last season has deteriorated into a pock-marked landscape, which made good play difficult.
But this was an important win by a somewhat makeshift Melville team, even if they did literally limp to victory in the final analysis.
Melville were without Mike Kramer, Adam Thomas, Mike Thompson and Neil Mouncher though with Aaron Scott and Josh Billman returning to action.
Melville remain third with 27 points, two behind Three Kings who they meet at Keith Hay Park on August 20.
With Bay Olympic winning the league with a 4-2 win over Three Kings, the short formula is that if Melville win their remaining three matches – Metro (H), Onehunga (A) and Three Kings (A) – they will finish second.
To say Thomas is slightly built is an understatement. You’d see bigger ball boys, and he makes Tyler Boyd look like Arnold Schwarzenegger by comparison.
But he has quick feet, and most importantly, a very quick mind and his 83rd minute goal came by reacting first after Ceri James had beaten the keeper with a long range free kick which hit the woodwork. Thomas had read the possibilities ahead of everyone else and was there on the spot for a simple finish.
Melville’s "youth" policy also paid off at the other end of the park, where Graeme Wilson, a mere 40, stood in for the more "mature" but unavailable Mouncher, and gave a solid display.
Melville could easily have had five in the first 20 minutes against a club which seems destined to be relegated.
But they were undone by repeated poor finishing in the 2-3 metre range in front of goal, and it is hard to escape the conclusion Melville would have had a field day if Thompson had not been suspended.
Boyd put Melville ahead in the eighth minute after collecting the rebound when James again hit the post, to notch his sixth goal of the season.
Forrest Hill pulled a goal back with a quick break five minutes before halftime. Chris Bale rolled the ball goalward, and while it was cleared, the assistant referee ruled it had crossed the line. Melville disputed this, none more-so that assistant coach Kit Fagan.
"It was nowhere near the line," he said in delivering the aftermatch speech on the instructions of Steve Williams.
Eugene Heerschap put Melville back in front 10 minutes into the second half, when he sprinted straight through the middle in collecting a flick from Tewi Te Pou. If Heerschap was guilty of butchering a few earlier chances, this was his ninth goal of the season, a stat that puts him second equal in the race for the league’s Golden Boot.
Josh Billman left the pitch with a further injury as did skipper Jason Chewins after starting with a dodgy leg, while Tyler Lissette was forced to carry on despite also playing on one leg. Aaron Scott started on the right wing, shifted to centre of midfield and finally ended up at centre back as Melville gave him three jobs for the price of one after missing the previous five matches.
James and right back Jesse Smith were the pick of the Melville players.
New Zealand U17 Jesse Edge finally got to make his northern premier league debut in coming on as sub in the final few minutes, and celebrated by wearing a daffy "Pippi Longstocking" hat in the clubrooms afterwards. Could someone get the lad a nice manly cap, please?
Elsewhere affable keeper Ally Houston made a return to Melville colours, in turning out in goal for the reserves.
To add a surreal touch to the day’s play, cheerleaders performed a snappy little routine in the clubrooms afterwards. It made some of us ponder what sort of knees up the club might arrange should Forrest Hill ever manage a home victory.
But apparently it was a worthy promotion in aid of encouraging punters not to drink and drive - though it appeared to have a slightly deleterious effect with most of the Melville lads reaching for a beer as they digested a bizarre little performance.
Melville are at home to Metro next Saturday. No word yet on whether there will be cheerleaders.
Premier League table HERE
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Melville duo get U20 call-up
11.7.2011: Melville United teenagers Adam Thomas and Mike Kramer have been named in the Junior All White squad selected to contest the U20 World Cup in Colombia.
It’s a real honour for the club two have two players selected at such a prestigious level – though will leave Melville critically short for this week’s away game with Onehunga Sports, given Mike Thompson (suspended) and Neil Mouncher (work) are also unavailable.
Thomas, who has been a revelation in midfield for Melville this winter, started all the warm up U20 matches for New Zealand in Korea recently.
But defender Kramer was the bolter of the squad, called up after having never previously been capped at age group level.
Melville coach Steve Williams hailed the selection of both players.
"Adam is a quality player," he said. "There are not too many who have come out of the Waikato with his qualities. He is up there with Chris Wood and Marco Rojas.
"Adam has got a real all round natural ability, good feet, great football brain, and can play anywhere on the park. He has got that X factor from a football point of view."
And Williams described Kramer as a real athlete, who had made his name in his first season on northern league football, after being brought to the club from Tauranga Boys College by Declan Edge.
"He has a good understanding of the game, and a good build. In time he could go on to be someone in the Ryan Nelsen mould, with great presence. He knows where he wants to be and is prepared to work hard.
"He also has a good image and comes across well. For Mike there is an opportunity to be a real poster boy for the game."
The Junior All Whites depart for Colombia on July 18 with their first game against Cameroon on July 30. Full squad and match details HERE.
Melville down league leaders
9.7.2011: Melville United notched their most satisfying win of the season in upending northern premier league runaway leaders Bay Olympic 4-3 at Gower Park.
It was a result which reversed the scoreline in the corresponding fixture last year, and moved Melville to within two points of second place on the table, after Three Kings drew 2-2 with East Coast Bays.
But once again Melville had to come from behind after another horror start in a roller-coaster match in where they trailed early, lead 3-1 midway through the second half, only to surrender that advantage before potting an injury time winner.
It was a character-building performance from Melville in tricky wet conditions against quality opposition and a slightly unpredictable referee.
And while Eugene Heerschap nabbed the winner in the dying minutes, it was Scouser Mike "Thommo" Thompson who was the real here for Melville with two exquisite solo goals and a big assist with the winner.
Thommo can be an up-and-down character but he took the game by the scruff after Melville conceded a nightmare goal in just the third minute with Colin Gardyne having time to light a cigar before tapping home unmarked at the far post.
One minute later he left Bay for dead in scooting down the right flank and cuttign in along the byline to slide the ball home on the narrowest of angles.
Then, 20 minutes later, he did pretty much exactly the same thing on the opposite flank, this time having the confidence to finish with the outside of his left foot.
Against a defence which had coughed up just 10 goals ahead of kick-off, that was some effort, and took his tally to seven in seven league matches.
It also underlined his status as one of the most influential imports to have landed in the Waikato.
And if that was a tonic for Melville it got even better five minutes into the second half. Thompson was again invovled in the build-up down the right and when the ball was squared, Tewi te Pou executed a nice dummy in his best contribution to the game, Adam Thomas collected the ball, jinked beautifully around a defender and smashed it into the far corner for his first of the season. It was a slick finish from a player destined for higher honours.
But Bay Olympic are goalscoring masters, and took their total to 40 in 13 games with two strikes to level the match.
Sub Yoji Tanabe crossed from the right for former Melville skipper Steven Holloway to bury a header. Then Tanabe struck from outside the box with a shot which wrong footed keeper Neil Mouncher.
It was anybody’s match in the final 20 minutes and Melville were exceptionally fortunate Bay Olympic weren’t awarded a penalty for a bad trip in the box.
But a couple of minutes into injury time the match swung back Melville’s way. Thommo broke at pace down the left, got behind the defence and squared for Heerschap to ram the winner home from close range.
It was just the second time Bay have been beaten this season, and was a real boost to Melville ahead of matches against the three bottom clubs and Three Kings in the final four weeks of the season.
Melville cannot win the league, but they have re-established themselves as contenders for second place.
Meanwhile Melville Reserves beat Bay Olympic 2-0.
Melville are away to Onehunga Sports next week.
Melville draw again after good comeback
2.7.2011: Shell-shocked Melville United eked out a bittersweet 2-2 draw against defending premier league champions East Coast Bays at Gower Park.
The result allowed Wanderers – 5-0 winners over 10-man Metro - to move two points ahead of Melville in third position.
Melville made the worst start to a premier league match in living memory when they went 2-0 down after just three minutes.
But they showed character and fortitude to draw level before the break - only to fail to supply the killer punch when they appeared to have Bays on the ropes in the second half.
The Melville defence was absent without leave in the first minute, with Bays striker Dillon Barnett scything through unchallenged. Though keeper Neil Mouncher made a brilliant save at close range, there was no defensive support on hand and Barnett netted the rebound.
The horror story continued when Melville conceded a silly foul about 25m out and Milos Nikolic despatched the ball into the top corner.
Bays had two more chances to further increase their lead before Melville finally joined the game.
In the 32nd minute Mike Thompson muscled his way into the are from wide on the right and was tripped. Bays players variously protested that it wasn’t really a foul and it occurred outside the area, but referee Jonathan Price was in no doubt.
Ceri James expertly converted the penalty, for his second goal of the season. It was good reward for James, who also unleashed two promising strikes on goal from general play.
Thompson did even better in the 37th minute when he cleverly wrongfooted a central defender and burst straight through the middle. From the edge of the area he slid the ball into the corner of the net past the advancing keeper in what was a slick piece of striking.
In the second half Thompson twice went within inches of the winner while Tyler Boyd hit the woodwork as Melville pressed.
Melville coach Steve Williams named Mouncher as his player of the day for a very tidy display and expert positional sense.
Adam Thomas continued his emergence as a young footballer of rare skill and physical ability with another powerhouse midfield performance, while Thompson made his presence felt after being unwell all week.
Williams said he was disappointed in the result.
"I think we should have won,’ he said. "But there are still an interesting few weeks left in the league.
"It is up to us to battle away. Bay Olympic (at home) will not be easy, but I think positions 2-5 on the table will all change before the end of the season."
Bays assistant coach Rod Groves said leading 2-0 after three minutes was unfamiliar territory for his team, but credited Melville for their comeback.
"We thought the game was ours, but by full time we were just hanging on."
The Melville Reserves beat East Coast Bays 1-0 despite playing most of the game with 10 men due to injury. Ryan Thomas netted a super second half winner with a low shot into the corner.
Melville Knights scored a creditable 2-1 home win over perennial Waikato A division champions Cambridge, while Melville Old Boys rolled B division title contenders Tokoroa away.
# Melville are at home to league leaders bay Olympic at 2.45pm on Saturday. Bay feature former Melville players Steven Holloway, Michael Mayne, Chad Coombes, and Ross McKenzie, as well as former Waikato FC players Danny Robinson, Matt Cunneen, and Nathan Strom.
# LJ Pijnenburg – who has turned out for Melville this season – transferred to Ngaruawahia United just before the deadline. Alex Carr has transferred to East Coast Bays, where Aidan Gwilt is the first-choice keeper.
Melville fight back to draw
25.6.2011: If you ever have to chose a Melville United player to score a goal to save your life, Tyler Boyd is your man from the class of 2011.
The classy teenager, in his first season with Melville, certainly saved Melville with yet another wonderful strike to earn Melville a gritty 1-1 draw away to a talented Central United team. And Melville were well worth a point in a fast, entertaining match at Kiwitea St.
Melville had fallen behind to a 28th minute goal from Rory Kelly, whose first time fortuitous flickfound the corner of the net.
But Boyd squared the ledger in what has become typical fashion, collecting the ball out wide, cuttigng in an clinically despatching it into the net. Boyd's conversion rate of shots to goal must be close to 100 per cent this season, and this, his fifth goal was arguably the best. Melville broke quickly with Mike Thompson directing the ball left, and Boyd finishing cool as a great big cool thing.
Melville had earlier had some splendid opportunities to score, with Tewi Te Pou perhaps having the best of them when played through by Thompson. While he couldn't finish in what has been a frustrating season personally, Te Pou gave an improved showing.
Davey Samson added powerful grunt down the right flank in his first appearance for Melville since breaking his nose, though also got caught out with his decision making a couple of times.
Adam Thomas had another impressive game in midfield, where he mixed stamina and pace with some delightful touches of skill. Jason Chewins was all class at the back - as was Mike Kramer, and his will certainly be the name to watch for when the NZ U20 team is named. Kramer had a lot of mopping up to do against a tidy Central attack and did so with barely a blemish.
Neil Mouncher made two brave saves in the first half, while Jessie Smith looked more at home in the right back role than last week.
All in all it was a good point away from home, and keeps Melville third on the table on a day when Bay Olympic appeared to have effectively wrapped up the title with a 2-1 win over Onehunga Sports.
The Melville Reserves lost 1-0.
Cup dream a nightmare
19.6.2011: Melville United will concentrate on the league for the remainder of the 2011 season.
That’s the nicest way of saying they were knocked out of the Chatham Cup at the first hurdle when beaten 3-2 by first division club Birkenhead United at Shepherds Park.
While the scoreline was close, there was no question Birkenhead deserved this victory, with a lively, enterprising approach in which they regularly tested Melville, who for large parts only stayed in contention through their prowess from set pieces.
Birkenhead are the only northern league club which has not been beaten this season, and they showed great pace and passing ability to regularly have Melville under pressure at the back.
Melville gave Jessie Smith his first start – at right back – and he gave away a penalty in the 22nd minute with a trip on the extreme left hand side of the box. Jack Hobson-McVeigh converted the penalty for Birkenhead.
Melville equalised just two minutes later when Gavin Douglas powered home a header from a Ceri James free kick on the left.
But Birkenhead were back in front before half time when Tom Boss slammed home a brilliant long range shot into the wind, finding the top corner.
Birkenhead then extended the lead from close range early in the second spell from one of numerous attacked. Jason Chewins pulled a goal back in the 55th minute with a header from a further free kick.
Birkenhead keeper Tim Cornthwaite made a brilliant save to deny Mike Thomson sending the game into extra time with a goalbound header.
But at the other end Birkenhead battered the Melville goal, hitting the crossbar and butchering several certain goals.
Eugene Heerschap was sent off late in the second half for a second bookable offence, while keeper Neil Mouncher – who made several fine saves – finished with his right hand looking even uglier than usual.
Adam Thomas worked hard in midfield for Melville, and thompson had a couple of attacking flourishes, but generally Melville were outplayed.
Josh Billman and Dave Samson were unavailable through injury, while David Smith said he was unwell – shortly after which a transfer request for him from Wanderers came through.
The tie was a great occasion for Birkenhead, who attracted great home support dressed in club colours, and made a real day of it.
Melville are away to Central United – 9-1 victors over Forrest Hill Milford - on Saturday. With no Waikato clubs left in the final 16 of the cup, we will follow Birkenhead’s progress with interest.
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Derby dominance finally comes to an end
11.6.2011: Melville United slipped up in the wet at Porritt Stadium to lose their first northern league derby against Hamilton Wanderers in over 20 years.
Wanderers won 1-0, in a typically hard-fought contest between the city’s two leading clubs.
It was Wanderers first northern league victory over Melville since 1990, and in a sense, marked the end of an era.
Melville started without Aaron Scott (injured), Ceri James (suspended) and Tyler Boyd (injured) from their previous wins.
They looked to have a slight edge at the start but turning point came in the 24th minute, when centreback Mike Kramer was sent off for a challenge in the middle of the park, copping a straight red from ref Nick Waldron.
This writer was not well placed to offer a view on the merits of the red card. Melville supporters said a yellow would have been sufficient, Wanderers supporters said the ref had no choice.
Shortly afterwards Melville also lost right back Dave Samson with a broken nose in a challenge, while coach Steve Williams opted to make a tactical change at the same time, bringing on Tyler Lissette for Samson and Jessie Smith for David Smith.
Alexei Davies-Campbell also came on as sub for injured midfielder Josh Billman.
David Smith had earlier had one of Melville’s best chances when a route to goal opened up for him, but he hit straight at the keeper.
Mike Thompson also went close with a glancing header but he game was scoreless at the break.
However Wanderers took advantage of a woerful mix up in defence two minutes into the second half. Daniel Frischknecht glided through to pot what proved to be the winner.
Melville still had their chances to equalise, with Thompson crashing a powerful shot against the top corner of the goal, and not quite timing a stooping header from a free kick. Eugene Heerschap also threatened to break through until pulled back by defender Che Bunce, who was booked.
However after the send-off Melville failed to involve Thompson – their sharpest weapon – nearly enough and he increasingly drifted impotently to the left wing.
Best for Melville was midfielder Adam Thomas, who turned in an energetic and thoughtful performance.
Wanderers showed they have emerged as a tough team to beat this season.
Melville are still third on the table, two points ahead of Wanderers.
Melville away to Birkenhead in the Cup
7.6.2011: Melville United will have to beat a club which has yet to lose a match this season if they are to progress in the 2011 Chatham Cup.
And they will have to do so at the unfamiliar venue of Shepherd’s Park in Beachhaven after being drawn away to Birkenhead AFC in the third round of the Cup on June 18
Birkenhead, coached by Paul Hobson, are top of the northern league first division, and unbeaten in 10 league matches this season. In the cup they beat Ellerslie 4-2 on penalties after being tied at 3-3, and then pipped neighbours North Shore United 2-1 in the second round.
Melville had a bye into the third round.
The two clubs have never met in the Chatham Cup and have not played a league match since 2005.
Melville coach Steve Williams said he would have preferred a home draw, but looked forward to what promised to be a meaningful contest, and a change from the steady diet of recent years of having just played Forrest hill Milford and Papatoetoe.
In five of the past six seasons it has been North Harbour clubs which have ended Melville’s Chatham Cup dreams.
But ahead of the Cup, Melville need to concentrate on their premier league derby against Wanderers on Saturday.
Like Melville, Wanderers are in the midst of a fine run of form. And Melville have some gaps to fill, with Aaron Scott due for ankle surgery, Ceri James suspended after picking up a further booking on Saturday, and question marks over a few other players.
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