Sat, Jun 5, 2021 2:53 PM

Suburbs salvage draw at sodden Saxton

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Jonty Dine

A late Josh Creswell goal ensured Nelson Suburbs escaped with a draw against seventh placed Selwyn United today.

Coming off a dominant win over Nomads last weekend, Suburbs could not find the same scoring consistency in round 10 of the New World Premiership.

The sides paused for a moment silence prior to kick-off to acknowledge the passing of local boxing legend Les Rackley snr.

Despite intermittent rain, both sides played attacking football at Saxton Field.

Alex Ridsdale put on the first shot at goal only to find Pieter-Taco Bierema’s legs.

Chester Gaskin and Lucas Hogg both went agonosingly close while only a superb save by Corey Wilson denied Danie Ede.

Joe Arnott appeared to have broken the shackles in the 30th minute but was ruled out by an offside.

Selwyn would get its goal moments later as Dorian Grault converted following a scramble inside the box to give his side a 1-0 halftime lead.

Hamish Cadigan had the chance to draw level in the 70th with a penalty but a brilliant effort by Bierema denied the hosts again.

However, ten minutes from time Suburbs finally cracked the resilient Selwyn keeper as Josh Creswell hammered home a deflected Ben Polak header into the back of the net.

Creswell nearly went two in two from the restart but another Bierema save maintained the deadlock.

Suburbs went on all-out attack in the final moments desperately searching for the match winner but every opportunity went begging.

To rub further salt in the wound, Corey Larsen was assisted from the field after a standout performance with a serious looking knee injury.

Suburbs face a short turnaround with a Chatham Cup clash against Rangers in Blenheim on Monday.

Scorers:

Selwyn 1 (Grault)

Suburbs 1 (Creswell)

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