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Northern 1, Spirit 5; June 26th
It was as they say all good for
Spirit FC on Saturday when the Invercargill based composite team defeated
Northern 5-1 in their Footballsouth Premier League game played at the Gardens
ground in North Dunedin.
Spirit’s win with the help of other results meant they leapt from ninth position
to fifth position on the points table in the ten team competition.
It was sweet revenge indeed for Spirit over the Northern team that had spoiled the party in their first ever game on the artificial turf at Turnbull Thompson Park with a 4-2 win.
Spirit player coach Barry
Gardiner was elated not only by the outcome of Saturday’s game but by the way
his team responded to his request to play mistake free football on the boggy
Gardens surface and take whatever chances came their way to score goals.
Barry Gardiner
“While the strikers, as they do, will get most of the credit for the win this
was a real team effort.
The defence worked tirelessly and the midfielders did
their job well to help set up the win”, said an elated Gardiner.
Spirit suffered an early setback though when Northern’s Dave Henderson struck the
first goal of the game to put his team 1-nil ahead and it seemed Gardiner’s
demands had fallen on deaf ears.
However moments later Adrian
Fonoti with a well placed header equalised for Spirit and from then on they
dominated the home team scoring another four goals without reply.
Adrian Fonoti
Spirit went to the half time break with a 3-1 advantage courtesy of a second goal
from Fonoti and a Jason Cocker strike.
A minute into the second spell Scottish import player Mark Caldow got in on the act when he cleverly beat the Northern keeper to stretch the lead to 4-1.
Spirit had enjoyed the downhill advantage for the first forty-five minutes on the notorious Gardens ground so were now playing uphill and being subjected to increased pressure from the Northern attackers.
However with player-of-the-day Josh Frewen in commanding form the Spirit defence held fast and was rewarded when Caldow ghosted in behind the Northern defence and slotted his second goal to give his team a 5-1 lead which they defended to the final whistle.
AMP South Old Boys retained its
lead in the Southland men’s Premier competition with a convincing 5-0 win over
Invercargill Brewery Waihopai at Surrey Park.
Waihopai did well to hold Old Boys
to a Brendon Robinson goal 1-nil lead at the half time break.
Brendon (BJ) Robinson showed Old Boys the way with their
opening goal and his POD award.
Old Boy's Ryan Jones (red) challenged by Waihopai's Israel
Calder
They then succumbed to a brace of goals from striker Brandon de Garnham and
further goals from Danny Rosel and Frank O’Boyle in the second half that wrapped
the game up for Old Boys.
At Turnbull Thompson Park the
visiting Gore Wanderers team made the more favoured Eyeview Queens Park unit
work hard for sixty of the ninety minutes played before they too had to bow to a
flurry of second half goals.
From left: Gore's Peter McGregor, Morgan Greene and Todd
Anderson await the next Queens Park raid.
I found ten players in this pic & the girl in the background doesn't count...
Jamie Pearson and Ashley Hughes
gave Park a 2-nil half time lead but an early second half goal by Gore youngster
Greg Baker which reduced the deficit to 2-1 sent a scare into the Park camp.
Queens Park's Domnic Katvick makes a
spectacular effort on goal.
It was to be short lived though as Scott Morton increased Park’s lead to 3-1 before a double strike from Stu Kent put the game beyond doubt at 5-1 in Park’s favour.
Malloch McClean Riverton and Sinderella’s Southend United stayed on course for next week’s crucial clash of the two with convincing wins in the Southland Women’s Premier competition.
Led by a hat trick of goals from Rachel Christie top team Riverton beat Southbuild ITM Winton 5-2.
Ella Shields and Jessica Mallon provided the remaining two goals while for Winton Susan Boniface and Catherine Taylor were on target.
Second placed Southend United with goals
from Tove Crosswell 2, Jackie Robertson, Hilary Larson and an own goal by
Waihopai
won their encounter 5-nil to remain 2 points behind Riverton.
Crosswell’s two goals took her to equal first place on the leading goal scorer
list alongside Jessica Mallon who has led the table unchallenged till now.
Queenstown Rovers for whom ace striker
Sahara MacDonald netted 3 goals in their 6-nil win over Old Boys remains in a
challenging position 2 points behind Southend.
Rose O’Neil 2, and Susan Hogue completed the resort teams goal tally.