4 days ago
Royals reign after close-fought match
The top-of-the-table clash in the Women's South Island League between Dunedin City Royals and Otago University was a close-fought battle.
But the Royals came out on top courtesy of Amy Hislop's goal in the 18th minute to secure a 1-0 victory.
After a period of sustained early pressure, University were unable to clear and an attempted headed clearance landed at Hislop's feet two yards out to finish.
The Royals continued to have most of the possession in the first half and the game saw some robust challenges with the students' Ella Morgan having to be carried off before halftime.
The second half was more of an even affair with both teams doing extremely well to stop shots and cancelling each other out.
The win puts the Royals on 21 points and University remain in second on 18 points.
Roslyn Wakari made the long trip up to Nelson and took a 15th-minute lead through Zara Pratley.
But Nelson replied with two goals in three minutes to lead 2-1 before the break to win.
In the Southern League, the Royals' men travelled to Selwyn and were rewarded with a 5-2 win.
It looked promising for the Royals early on when Brady Jacobs had a ninth minute shot that struck the post.
But Selwyn played the ball through the middle and Finlay Cottoem struck from the edge of the box.
The home side doubled their lead when Luke Mackay scored from the penalty spot on 31 minutes.
Jacobs fired home a volley in the 33rd minute and the Royals very nearly equalised just before halftime.
The equaliser eventually came 17 minutes from time when Max Davidson rifled home from the edge of the box.
Charlie Fawcett, who was introduced as a substitute only two minutes earlier, was on hand to benefit from the Selwyn keeper spilling the ball.
Fellow substitute Cato Williams found himself unmarked in the penalty box and he made no mistake striking home a well-directed cross from the left flank in the 89th minute.
Jacobs scored the goal of the game in the sixth minute of injury time, cutting in from the left wing and unleashing an unstoppable shot from outside the penalty box .
The Royals move into third-equal on in a very congested table with five teams on 13 points.
After last week's heartache of conceding a late goal to lose in Nelson , Wānaka again succumbed to a late goal to lose at home 2-1 to Ferrymead Bays.
Anthony Sprowson pulled the home side level with a 22nd minute equaliser. However, Bays Kasper Marson scored the winner with seven minutes left.
Nomads upset Nelson 3-0 and Cashmere Tech won 8-4 against Universities of Canterbury.
• Queens Park grabbed local bragging rights winning 2-1 against Old Boys in the Southern Premiership Invercargill darby.
Queens Park took the lead in first half stoppage time when Cameron Johnson fired home from close range.
Old Boys equalised with nine minutes remaining when a long ball forward caused Queens Park keeper Jayden Castle to come out of his box and with Old Boys pouring forward they regained possession, having their initial shot blocked on the line however Jayden Dawson was on hand to score. In the fifth minute of stoppage time Anton Fitzgerald secured the win.
Northern continued their 100% record claiming their sixth consecutive victory with a 3-0 win against Northern Hearts. Rory Hibbert scored a brace in the first half and claimed his second consecutive hat-trick when he scored early in the second.
Green Island upset Roslyn 3-1 at Ellis Park to claim their first win of the season.
The home side started slow with Green Island looking to press and hassle.
The tactic worked when they took the lead through Seb Smith.
Roslyn equalised midway through the first half when Joe Wood pounced on the loose ball following a corner.
Green Island took the lead on 66 minutes through Harrison Mclean's penalty and Ryan Walker secured the win when Roslyn failed to clear and he tapped home from close range.
Mosgiel benefited from Roslyn's slip and moved into third place on the table with a comprehensive 6-0 win against the Royals.
It was 3-0 at the break thanks to goals from Harvey Stephens, Reece Butenshaw and Morgan Day.
Three goals in four minutes in the second half did the damage for the Plainsmen with Stephens claiming his hat-trick and Kowin Hancock getting the goal his all round play deserved.
