Mawette, Hurtic life Central boys past Timberlane, 2-1

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3 3By Bill Gilman
Correspondent

MANCHESTER, NH — Senior forward Junior Mawette scored in the 67th minute to lift Manchester Central past Timberlane Regional, 2-1, Tuesday evening at Gill Stadium.

The Little Green dominated the flow of play in the second half, keeping the visiting Owls pinned in their own end for huge chunks of time. Central outshot Timberlane 15-3, (22-6 for the game) but found itself locked in a 1-1 with 14 minutes remaining.

That changed when Mawette sprinted into the crease and got to Dino Hurtic’s entry pass just before Timberlane keeper Sean Ward. Mawette was able to settle the bouncing ball, turn and rifle and right-footed shot past Ward before he could recover.

Timberlane (1-14-0) played more like a playoff squad and less like a team playing out the string. The Owls applied late pressure and forced Central keeper Jayson Lopez to make a pair of diving saves to preserve the victory.

“A win is a win,” said Central Coach Chris LaBerge. “We play again (Wednesday). We don’t play a lot of back-to-backs and I wanted to try and play a lot of the younger kids. There were times when we had four or five younger players out there with the regular starters and when you do that it can be a little disconnected. But we got the win and that’s what matters.”

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With the win, Central improves to 10-4-1 and will close out the regular season Wednesday against Nashua North (12-3-0) at Stellos Stadium, in a game with playoff seedings at stake.

“It’s at their place and there is a lot on the line,” said LaBerge. “If we win, it could mean two home games in the tournament. They’re an good team and we will need to play well.”

Against Timberlane, Central was able to jump in front on a first-half goal by Hurtic. But as LaBerge substituted liberally, the Little Green had trouble generating quality scoring chances for the rest of the half. Timberlane spent much of the half scrambling in their own end but made the most of one of its few scoring bids.

In the 30th minute, Owl senior Geoffrey Giangregorio lofted a free kick from about 35 yards to the front of the Central net. A Little Green defender got a solid foot on the ball to try and clear but it was blocked by Timberlane’s Kyle Bourque, who found the back of the net to tie the game, 1-1.

Spurred by the goal, Timberlane looked to build on the momentum. The Owls looked to press the attack ut were stymied time and again by the tight Central defense.

Central was able to regroup at halftime and dominated the final 40 minutes. The Little Green, led by Hurtic and Julian Favorite, enjoyed full control of the midfield. That set the table for Mawette and Celestin Bulose to spearhead an offensive attack that kept Timberlane running in circles, desperately attempting to clear the ball.

Ward played brilliantly in net for Timberlane, keeping his team in the game and finishing with 10 saves, including a highlight reel stop on Mawatte in the 63rd minute.

Though frustrated at times, the Little Green kept their composure and continued wave after wave of attack, until Mawatte was able to convert the pass from Hurtic in the 67th minute.

Timberlane pulled out all the stops to get the equalizer in the final moments. The Owls’ best chance came with under two minutes to play on a clean run down the right side by Diego Desjardins. But his bid was stopped by a diving save from Lopez.

 

 

About this Author

Bill Gilman

Bill Gilman is a veteran journalist with 35 years of experience covering community news and sports in New England. He and his wife have two grown sons and two perfect granddaughters.

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