Dazzling Dragons in 6-0 win

KIRK HARGREAVES/The Press

DAZZLER: Canterbury United's Aaron Clapham celebrates one of his two goals against Youngheart Manawatu with 14-year-old supporter Campbell Cowan at English Park yesterday.

KIRK HARGREAVES/The Press

DAZZLER: Canterbury United's Aaron Clapham celebrates one of his two goals against Youngheart Manawatu with 14-year-old supporter Campbell Cowan at English Park yesterday.

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There was some real red-and-black razzle-dazzle at English Park yesterday as Canterbury United completed a club-record 6-0 thumping of Youngheart Manawatu.

The Canterbury Dragons have now scored 10 goals and kept two clean sheets in their last two home matches. The Manawatu mauling has catapulted Canterbury to fourth place – the New Zealand Football Championship playoff zone after Team Wellington lost 0-1 to Hawke's Bay United.

Canterbury could conceivably have won 9-0 but for three super late saves by burly Manawatu keeper Ross Nicholson, who owed his teammates after some elementary earlier errors.

Long-serving Canterbury skipper Dan Terris – creator of a couple of goals – said the Dragons' display was "the best I can remember in the five years I've been here".

Coach Keith Braithwaite said: "Everyone, from Tom Batty in goal to [substitute striker] Hue Frame up front, did absolutely everything we asked of them. I thought some of our play was outstanding ... People say we have a bit of a defensive set-up but when we go forward, we go forward in numbers."

A-League aspirant Aaron Clapham and Tom Lancaster were on fire again in midfield with their silky skills in constant evidence. Terris galloped forward down the right flank to devastating effect as he delivered pinpoint balls to his attackers.

Clapham scored two goals – his first off his body after Lancaster's laser-beam cross. In a nice touch, he ran to wheelchair-bound fan Campbell Cowan to celebrate. Lancaster netted his fourth goal of the season to take over from Russell Kamo as Canterbury's top scorer.

The Dragons dominated the first 10 minutes and should have opened the scoring. But Manawatu stormed back and Batty pulled off a terrific triple save after turning a Seule Soromon shot onto the post.

Midfield anchorman Paul Dirou grabbed his first goal of the season in the 25th minute after Clapham played the ball across the Manawatu goal following a Lancaster corner.

Darren Overton broke his NZFC drought with a thundering finish after an assist by Terris and centreback Matt Boyd made it 3-0 in the 42nd minute with his second successive home-game goal.

Soromon, the league's top scorer and a Vanuatu international, and former All Whites striker Campbell Banks were expected to provide a handful for the Canterbury defence. But ex-All Whites centreback Gareth Rowe had Banks in his back pocket in his first game back after a calf injury.

The Dragons were equally dominant in midfield with Dirou, Overton and Andy Pitman controlling the central area and Clapham and Lancaster cutting their capers wide.

Manawatu's token resistance dissipated in the 50th minute when New Zealand age-group midfielder Cory Chettleburgh was sent off after a confrontation with assistant referee Paul Cook. The official match sheet stated Chettleburgh was dismissed for violent conduct involving an assault on a match official. But Manawatu coach Bob Sova claimed Cook had pushed Chettleburgh and the club would consider laying a counter-complaint.

"I think we were a bit unlucky to get the boy sent off," Sova said. "We should have gone ahead when we hit the post in the first half. But our defending was terrible at times today. "When we were poor, we were very, very poor."

Terris had three Canterbury attackers to pick from as he cut back a ball for Lancaster to smash home in the 61st minute. Lancaster turned provider for Clapham three minutes later and Clapham collected his second – and Canterbury's 150th NZFC goal – in the 67th minute as he beat a sluggish Nicholson to a through ball.

Nicholson later brilliantly tipped a Terris header over the bar, blocked a Dirou shot and beat out a volley from Lancaster.

The 6-0 shellacking eclipsed Canterbury's previous biggest NZ Football Championship win, 4-0 victories over Waikato FC in 2006-07 and Waitakere United a fortnight ago.

SCORERS

Canterbury United 6 (Paul Dirou, Darren Overton, Matt Boyd, Tom Lancaster, Aaron Clapham 2) Manawatu 0. Halftime: 3-0

- © Fairfax NZ News