Areas of North Harbour Stadium resembled a lake at the end of the New Zealand Knights' bottom versus top Hyundai A-League encounter with Adelaide United on October 2, as the higher-placed team maintained their unbeaten start to the campaign with a 2-1 win against opponents who concluded the match with ten men on the park.
Referee Peter O'Leary had reason aplenty to dismiss the Knights' goalscorer, Simon Yeo, for an over-the-top challenge as he slid into Kristian Rees in the quagmire-like conditions in the 65th minute, but he also had reason aplenty to abandon the game at any time beforehand, or afterwards.
The treacherous conditions made football of any quality nigh on impossible, and the destiny of the points effectively came down to which team better exploited the circumstances in which they found themselves playing, as the rain poured, and the ground, on which an organised violence (rugby to the uninitiated!) match had been played less than 24 hours previously, got more and more saturated with each passing minute.
Skills such as passing and dribbling went out the window, given the way the ball held up in the slush - this was hoof and hope football territory, no messing! It was also great for those players who like to wash their kit while fully clothed - slipping, sliding and turf-surfing were all the rage, whether intentionally or otherwise!
Both teams enjoyed scoring opportunities in the first five minutes, with Glen Moss slithering to his left to smother a 25 yarder from Carl Veart, before Darren Bazeley sent Yeo scampering away down the right, only for the striker to be tackled by the slush just as he shaped to shoot. Robert Bajic was untroubled by his effort.
While the Knights enjoyed the better of the early exchanges, it was Adelaide who adapted better to the conditions, none more so than Qu Shingqing. Before he showed all and sundry the way to best address the situation, however, the visitors came close to opening the scoring in the nineteenth minute.
Angelo Costanzo lobbed the ball over the top for Veart to pursue, and while Moss raced swiftly off his line to clear, following up was Ross Aloisi, whose thirty yard chip towards an untended target drifted over the bar.
Cue Adelaide's Chinese striker. Counter-attacking following a Knights' free-kick, Travis Dodd sent Qu scampering clear through the slush down the right. He let fly with a drive which careered wide on this occasion, but within two minutes, he was at it again.
This time, Aaron Goulding hoisted one for Qu to pursue down the left flank. He duly did so, and got to the by-line before firing in a dangerous cross which ricocheted off Ronnie Bull. John Tambouras was on hand to clear this time round.
The Knights' response saw captain Neil Emblen launching a 26th minute free-kick forward from deep inside his half. Yeo chased after it, and collided with Bajic as the ’Äòkeeper advanced off his line and covered the threat posed by the bouncing ball. Referee O'Leary rightly ignored the home team's penalty claims.
Adelaide responded with another counter-attack, Dodd's delightful chip into the penalty area matched by Veart's neat control. This presented the striker with a great chance to open the scoring inside the six-yard box, but Moss blocked superbly to avert the danger.
For just seven minutes, as it happened. Once again, Qu careered down the left, and after holding off the challenge of Tambouras, whipped in a lovely cross from the byline to the far post. It arced over the flailing arms of Moss, much to the delight of Dodd, who was arriving on cue and thrashed the ball into the roof of the net from ten yards, with eleven minutes to go till half-time.
Seven minutes later, Adelaide threatened to double their lead. Aloisi, who got through a power of work in this game, pinged the ball forward from half-way to leave the visitors with a two-on-one situation, as Qu and Veart linked on the right. The latter's low cross went beyond Moss, but Tambouras was backing him up to avert the danger.
With a minute to go before half-time, the Knights equalised. Bull - another to rise above the conditions in whole-hearted fashion - swung a measured cross-field ball over to fellow full-back Bazeley, who played the ball inside to Zenon Caravella.
His through ball sent the hard-working Sean Devine surging through, and he battled his way past Rees, Matthew Kemp and the slush before squeezing the ball inside. Yeo suddenly appeared on the scene, having made a supporting run from deep inside his fellow front-runner, and he gained due reward for this by rifling home a beauty, hard and low past Bajic to level the scores - a classic striker's goal.
1-1 at half-time, the teams turned round with conditions as inclement as ever - the ground staff will have their hands full getting this pitch ready for use in a fortnight ’Ķ but at least they don't have to worry about other codes carving up the turf in the interim.
The Knights were deserving of better fate in the second spell, as they enjoyed the better openings, but when you're at the bottom of the league, all those 50-50 decisions seem to go against you. And sure enough ’Ķ
After Yeo had just failed to get a touch on a tantalising Steve Fitzsimmons cross, a pass from Devine to Yeo stopped in the slush. Costanzo stepped in and just hoisted it up field, allowing Lucas Pantelis to charge after the ball and into the Knights penalty area, where he was dispossessed by the slush before Moss got his hands on the ball.
In the 57th minute, the home team came desperately close to taking the lead. A Fitzsimmons corner ricocheted off the head-bandaged figure of Michael Valkanis towards the target.
The ball cannoned off the knee of Pantelis, who was guarding one post, across the goal-line towards the opposite post. There, Matthew Kemp stood, and he hooked the ball to safety as Knights players screamed at the officials, claiming that the ball had crossed the line before the clearance took place. Play on was the call, and frustration set in.
Seven minutes later, it evolved into an incident from which Yeo was shown the red card. The striker was chasing after the ball, and went over the top in his eagerness to gather it in ahead of Rees, who reeled in agony. But Yeo was quickly to his feet, and clattered into Valkanis within a couple of seconds, securing possession his sole concern.
Referee O'Leary blew the whistle, and after calming frayed tempers, administered the same punishment to Yeo as he had to Adelaide's Richie Alagich a couple of weeks ago for a similar challenge - you can't say he wasn't consistent in his application of the Laws of the Game, even though the playing conditions in both matches were different.
After Devine had a goal disallowed for offside, Knights substitute Noah Hickey got the better of Goulding on the right, cut inside and lashed a 25 yarder a foot over the bar in the 72nd minute.
Two minutes on, and the Knights were denied another penalty, this time after Bazeley had sent Devine darting into the area. Valkanis came sliding in with a challenge from behind, and while he got the ball, he also caught the player ’Ķ ’ÄúNothing doing!’Äù said Wellington-based Mr O'Leary. No accusations of home town decisions here, thanks!
Understandably dispirited after the outcome of these events, and with their reduced numbers, the Knights were finding the going tougher than even the physical conditions could manage. Sensing this, Adelaide stepped up their quest for victory, and gained due reward not too long after doing so.
Qu linked with Veart on the left, with the A-League's first-ever goalscorer firing in a cross to the far post intended for Aloisi. It was just too far in front of the midfielder, but ten minutes from time, the visitors had penalty claims of their own denied them.
After a Ben Collett clearance stopped in the slush, substitute Louis Brain crossed for fellow replacement - and new Adelaide signing - Fernando Rech. Down he went, as Tambouras looked to rescue the situation. It looked a touch too theatrical, and the referee wasn't interested anyway.
He was certainly interested a minute later, however, as Adelaide scored what proved to be the winner. Brain lofted a ball into the danger zone which Moss came for, but allowed to squeeze out from beneath him. Emblen looked to clear, but Aloisi's chase of a seemingly lost cause saw said clearance ricochet off him straight towards the goal.
Moss scrambled back to flick the ball off the line, but following up was Qu, who drove the ball home off Tambouras into the roof of the net from six yards, and was promptly booked for shedding his shirt during his goal celebrations ’Ķ ah, the price of on-field exuberance these days!
Now leading 2-1, Adelaide came close to extending their lead still further five minutes from time, when Rech saw his bullet-like header, from an Alagich cross superbly tipped to safety by Moss. But Adelaide had done enough to extend their lead - the one at the top of the table is now four points, the same margin by which the Knights are now adrift of their nearest West Island rivals.