Battle For Top Two Continues

The battle for the top two places in the Southern League (SL) continues with the leading three sides matching each other when recording wins. Leaders, Cashmere Technical found their scoring touch in the second half to overrun Selwyn 8 - 0, second placed Coastal Spirit came out on top of Nomads 2 - 0 with champions Christchurch United accounting for Dunedin City Royals 3 - 1. Ferrymead Bays come from behind at the break to defeat FC Twenty 11 4 - 1 with Nelson Suburbs going one better when winning against Universities of Canterbury (UC) 5 - 1.

Technical now has 34 points, one clear of Coastal with United on 30. Suburbs have 24 with Bays completing the top five on 22. The bottom half of the table remains unaltered with Nomads on 17, Royal 13, Selwyn 8, UC 7 with FC still looking for their opening point. 

Cashmere Technical had the better of the opening half chances with Selwyn's teenage keeper, Henry Murfitt producing several fine stops before finally being beaten in the 27th minute after first blocking a shot but Lachie McIsaac knocked home the rebound. Late in the half, a quick Selwyn counterattack ended with Dan Ede drawing a good save out of Frewen Watts. Early in the second half, Selwyn went a man down when Kwadwo Amoafo received a red card when bringing Yuya Tuguchi on the edge of the area. Minutes later Jordan Spain scored from a corner to increase the lead with Technical then dominating the final 30 minutes when scoring six goals, with Taguchi bagging a double - one a penalty, Jack Hallahan also claimed a brace with Garbriel Gallaway grabbing two goals in the final ten minutes after being subbed on with result the heaviest defeat in the Southern League for Selwyn. 

Champion's Christchurch United ended Dunedin City Royals unbeaten home run this season. Joel Stevens put United ahead early on after being set up by Joel Peterson. Late in the half in a tight call, Nicolas Zambrano had a 'goal' ruled out for offside with United keeper, Steve Van Dijk then tipping a shot from Will Turner over the bar. On the hour Kaleb de Groot-Green scored against his old club to double the lead for United. The Royals continued to press United and finally were rewarded in added time when substitute Cato Williams reduced the margin. Straight from the restart, United restored their two-goal margin when Thomas Chao was on hand to tap home his second SL goal of the season. 

Coastal Spirit maintained their season-long winning run then overcoming Nomads who would be disappointed that they could not press Coastal as hard as they did in the recent Chatham Cup tie. Both teams were quality of wasting clear chances in the opening stages with Coastal taking the lead after Nomads gave up a 'soft' penalty which Alex Steinwascher slotted home in the 32nd minute. Both teams then created half chances before Coastal gave themselves some breathing space when Liam Cotter somehow scored on a tight angle on the hour mark. Coastal then lost the ever-present defender, Alex Meaclem to a leg injury with 20 to play which meant Coastal needed to rejig their back line. That saw Nomads finish the stronger but they were unable to get back into the game by pulling a goal back. 

FC Twenty 11 opened the scoring for the first time this season at home when Alex Rodriquez scored after knocking home the rebound after Ferrymead Bays keeper Kyle Hodge saved a penalty. Bays dominated the chances in the second half and went on to score four times in the space of fourteen minutes. Joaquin Julve started the goal blitz levelling in the 53rd minute with Cameron Rean then quickly adding the second minutes later. Nicolas Fairley took the game away from FC when making it 3 - 0 with Rean scoring his second of the game in the 66th minute.     

Nelson Suburbs again found an early goal at Saxton Field with Lennon Whewell scoring after just three minutes before the home side went three up when scoring twice in the space of two minutes. The first was to Trevin Myers with UC then giving up an own goal in the 33rd minute. UC then scored at the right end of the park a minute later via Todd Vermuir. Straight after the break Myers finished well to increase the score with Whewell also claiming a double when completing the scoring in the 65th minute.     

The league now takes a break for the Chatham Cup Quarter Final and returns in the first weekend of August, with two Friday night games, United versus FC with Bays hosting Coastal. On Saturday Technical takes on Suburbs, UC meets the Royals with Nomads having the home advantage over Selwyn.  

Results / Scorers - Round 13 of 18 

Coastal Spirit 2 (Alex Steinwascher - pen, Liam Cotter)
Nomads 0
HT 1 - 0 

Dunedin City Royals 1 (Cato Williams)
Christchurch United 3 (Joel Stevens, Kaleb DeGroot-Green, Thomas Chao)
HT 0 - 1  

FC Twenty 11 1 (Alexious Rodriguez)
Ferrymead Bays 4 (Cameron Rean 2, Joaquin Julve, Nikolas Fairley)
HT 1 - 0 

Nelson Suburbs 5 (Lennon Whewell 2, Trevis Myers 2, own goal)
Universities of Canterbury 1 (Todd Vermuir)
HT 3 - 1 

Selwyn 0
Cashmere Technical 8 (Yuya Taguuchi 2 - incl pen, Jack Hallahan 2, Gabriel Gallaway 2, Lachie McIsaac, Jordan Spain)   
HT 0 - 1 

Royals On Top

Dunedin City Royals are now the only unbeaten side remaining in the Women's South Island League after they edged Nelson Suburbs 2 - 1, with previous leader's Cashmere Technical dropping their first game by the same scoreline to Coastal Spirit SAS. Otago University and Roslyn Wakari could not be split when drawing 1 - 1, to complete the low-scoring Round 4.

The royals top the table on the perfect 12 points, Technical and Coastal both have 9, Roslyn has 2 with both University and Suburbs on 1.  

The Dunedin City Royals made the ideal start against Nelson Suburbs when Rose Morton scored in the ninth minute, but this turned out to be the only goal in what turned out to be a tight opening half. Early in the second half, Raegan Potter doubled the lead, but Suburbs continued to battle away and were rewarded when Jasmine Barney found the back of the net on the hour mark, the first goal the Dunedin side has conceded in all competitions after 1140 minutes of play.  

In what was another epic battle between Coastal Spirit and Cashmere Technical, Coastal ended their neighbour's winning run in the league. Aimee Phillips stunned the Coastal fans when finishing well to open the scoring after just two minutes. Bel van Noorden, scored her first goal of the season to put Coastal back on level terms shortly after. Play then switched from end-to-end with both keepers, Coastal's Amelia Simmers and Technical's Amber Bennett, ensuring there were no further goals before the break. The chances continued to be wasted into the second half with Coastal slowly getting on top with the winning goal scored by Laura Newman with 20 to play with the result ensuring Coastal made some amends for their 6 - 0 drumming by Technical in the Kate Sheppard Cup early in the season while also retaining the Hawkey Shield. 

Roslyn Wakari took the lead against Otago University when Zara Pratley scored in the 10th minute with the students pressing just before the break and were back on level terms when Roslyn conceded an own goal in the first minute of added time. The second half saw both sides create chances to take the lead but in the end, had to settle for a share of the points.  

In the upcoming round Roslyn hosts Coastal and Suburbs face University, with both these games on Saturday. On Sunday the Royals travel north to take on Technical with all games having 12:30 pm kick-offs. 

Results / Scorers - Round 4 of 10 

Coastal Spirit SAS 2 (Bel van Noorden, Laura Newman)
Cashmere Technical 1 (Aimee Phillips)
HT 1 - 1 

Dunedin City Royals 2 (Rose Morgan, Raegan Potter)
Nelson Suburbs 1 (Jasmine Barney)
HT 1 - 0 

Otago University 1 (own goal)
Roslyn Wakari 1 (Zoe Pratley)
HT 1 - 1 

Waimak Extend Unbeaten Run

Waimak extended their unbeaten run to seven games after defeating Christchurch United U20 Academy 4 - 2, to maintain their 4-point lead on top of the New World Men's Premiership. Second-placed Cashmere Technical Reserves halted Burwood's climb up the table when coming from behind to win 4 - 1, with the defeat dropping Burwood back to fourth place. Nomads Res. moved into third spot when accounting for Parklands 2 - 0. Halswell notched up their first win in five games when toppling Selwyn Res. 3 - 1. The final game of Round 12 saw Western edge Ferrymead Bays Res. 1 - 0, with Western moving ahead of Bays on the table on goal difference.  

Waimak now has 29 points, with Technical on 25 and Nomads 22. Burwood remain on 20, Halswell and Selwyn both have 18, United 12, Western and Bays on 11 and Parklands on 2. Note: During the week United had two of their previous wins against Selwyn and Nomads reversed due to fielding an ineligible players. 

Results - Round 12 of 18 

Cashmere Technical Res. 4
Burwood 1 

Ferrymead Bays Res. 0
Western 1 

Nomads Res. 2
Parklands 0 

Selwyn Res. 1
Halswell United 3 

Waimak 4
Christchurch United 2 

Tight At The Top In Women's Premiership

Just a single point separates the top four sides in the New World Women's Premiership after the Round 5 games were completed on Saturday. Leader's NW United and Halswell played out a thrilling 3 - 3, with all the goals coming after the break. Universities of Canterbury (UC) were untroubled to account for Coastal Spirit SAS 6 - 1, with UC Maroon joining Halswell as the only unbeaten side in the league when edging Ferrymead Bays 2 - 1. Selwyn won their Round 4 fixture against Coastal 6 - 0 - which was played during the week, and the catch-up game from Round 3 between UC Maroon and UC will be played this Wednesday evening at English Park. 

NW and UC Maroon both have 10 points with UC and Halswell on 9. Technical is next on 7, Selwyn has 4 with Bays on 2 and Coastal at the foot of the table on 1.  

Results - Round 5 of 7 

Halswell United 3
NW United 3 

Cashmere Technical Res. 1 
Selwyn 0 

Coastal Spirit SAS 1
Universities of Canterbury 6 

UC Maroon 2
Ferrymead Bays 1 

Round 4

Selwyn 6
Coastal 0

Article added: Monday 22 July 2024