23 June 2003
The Nelson Mail
by Simon Bloomberg
Nelson may be out of the Chatham Cup after losing 1-2 to Rangers in a third-round tie at Saxton Field but its outlook still looks bright.
A young Ocean Lodge Nelson Suburbs team delivered a top-class performance in Sunday's match against one of the top Mainland Soccer league teams. It withstood a strong opening gambit, gained parity in the middle game and then produced a full-on finish that had Rangers stretched to breaking point.
Ryan Thompson, Matt Ellery and Darryn Cunningham went close in the final 10 minutes as Nelson pushed hard for the equaliser. But Rangers - which didn't have a shot on goal after Paul Stanley put his team ahead 2-1 with 21 minutes to play - was able to hold on for the win.
It was arguably Nelson's best home game of the season. The defence performed well while the midfield provided excellent service to strikers Jeremy Brockie and Michael White.
Nelson also finished well, with White scoring a sharp goal to level the score at 1-1 after 27 minutes. Brockie had earlier unleashed a great shot, while Cunningham was only centimetres away from beating Rangers goalkeeper Jordan Buchanan to the ball late in the match.
Veteran Nelson goalkeeper John Brydon also gave a vintage display, making a succession of stops to overshadow the impressive Buchanan.
Brydon made a great reflex save to block a Paul Stanley header after 10 minutes, then came off his line to smother a shot by Knox. He made another fine save in the 32nd minute when he cleverly narrowed the angle, forcing Stanley to shoot to the right.
Stanley had earlier opened the scoring when he connected with a corner on the far post. A weak challenge on Stanley leading up to that goal was the only mistake the Nelson defence made all day.
"It was a soft goal, we just lacked a bit of experience there," coach George Campbell said. "But the back four all played very, very well.
"It was a very good display against a good side. They are near the top of the league, so that should give us a lot of confidence to play the other teams now."
Campbell was again pleased with Nelson's finishing, which had been problematic earlier in the season. Brockie, in particular, was developing into a fine player, he said.
"He was very good up front and then we played him out of position and he still played well - I don't think he conceded possession once.
"But is was a good all-round team effort. The commitment and nous they displayed was very pleasing - picking a player of the day is impossible."
Nelson returns to Saxton Field next Sunday for a Mainland league game against Avon United.