Papamoa continue cup run

Papamoa took on Waiuku in the weekend. Photos: Bob Ricketts.

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Papamoa are safely through to the second round of the Chatham Cup after a 3-1 win at Waiuku on Saturday – and captain Isaac Bright hopes for a Bay of Plenty derby against Tauranga City in this week's draw.

Despite playing the last 20 minutes with 10 men following Alex Wilson's sending off, the visitors controlled the game for long spells, and progressed thanks to goals from Andrew Cooper, Fawwaz Ali and Strauss Boom.

In front of their growing band of travelling supporters, Papamoa snatched the lead on the stroke of half-time when Cooper saw his low shot from distance find the back of the net.

And when Ali glanced the ball home shortly after the restart, Duncan Lowry's men seemingly had one foot in the next round.

The script, however, was given a brief rewrite with 20 minutes to go, and in bizarre fashion. Already on a booking, midfielder Wilson was penalised for a foul inside the area that earned him a red card and an early shower.

Papamoa keeper Ryan Foord maintained his excellent early-season form with a smart save from the resulting penalty – but the referee had other ideas, and awarded Waiuku a retake which they duly slotted home.

With Papamoa's lead halved and their numerical disadvantage, the tie was set up for a dramatic finale, but all hopes of a comeback from the home side were dashed when Boom headed in man-of-the-match Dave Molloy's cross to secure victory.

After the game skipper Bright, who recovered from a hamstring injury to make his first start in four games, says: 'This was an old-fashioned type cup tie, with both sides competing in a physical encounter.

'We were always in control and comfortable with the way we played. Despite the enforced changes, this was a good all-round team performance.

'I was happy my fitness today – the injury has settled down, though we had decided beforehand that I would not play the full game.”

First-team coach Andy Birchenough says: 'Our lads put in a real workman like performance. Apart from a short period when we went down to 10 men, we were comfortable throughout.

'I was never too worried about the outcome. I thought our defence was outstanding - particularly against Waiuku's height advantage.

'We dominated the midfield, with Dave Molloy linking up superbly and fighting for every ball.”

Papamoa return to league action on Saturday, May 19, with an away trip to Taupo.

Papamoa FC (3-4-3): Ryan Foord; Phillip Fletcher, James Davies, Andrew Cooper; Top Khamwanthong, Matthew De Bono, Isaac Bright (captain) Alex Wilson; Fawwaz Ali, Strauss Boom, Dave Molloy.

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