Cashmere Technical closed the gap to the top of the Southern League (SL) to three points when coming from behind to defeat Nelson Suburbs 3 – 1 in their catch-up game from Round 2 on Saturday.

Suburbs led at the break in a tight opening half, when Aiden Higgs made the most of a great run and pass from Hamish Cadigan to open his SL goal account in the 40th minute seconds after Suburbs keeper Ewan Mullet saved a shot from Luke Tongue. Technical then took control of the game when dominating the opening minutes after the break, scoring three goals in the space of 11 minutes, making the most of several defensive lapses. Yusuf van Dam levelled when finishing and bagged his second league goal three minutes later after being set up by his former Cashmere High School team-mate, Declan Tyndall. Issac McIssac then extended the lead in the 55th minute. Technical had to defend hard at times to deny Suburbs further goals, with keeper Danny Knight at his best when blocking a shot and then somehow getting a hand to the rebounded a split second later, while still regaining his feet, to turn the ball onto the bar. Lyle Matthysen completed the scoring by adding Tech's fourth goal in the final minutes of normal time.      

All teams have completed half their fixtures now, with United on 27 points and Technical on 24. They are in prime positions to qualify for the National League. Suburbs have 17, Ferrymead Bays 16, Dunedin City Royals, Coastal Spirit 9, Mosgiel 8, Nomads 5, Green Island 4 and Selwyn 3. Round 10 fixtures see Technical hosting Bays, Coastal take on United, Suburbs are away to Green Island, Mosgiel entertain the Royals, and Selwyn square off against Nomads.

Results / Scorers

Southern League - Catch-up Game Round 2

Cashmere Technical 4 (Yusuf van Dam 2, Lachie McIssac, Lyle Matthysen) Nelson Suburbs 1 (Aiden Higgs) HT 0 – 1

Bays Knock United Out Of Chatham Cup

Ferrymead Bay brought an end to Christchurch United's hopes in the Chatham Cup when winning 3 – 1 after extra time. It is United's first loss of the season. Cup holders Cashmere Technical advanced when defeating Selwyn 3 – 1, with Nelson Suburbs untroubled to knock out FC Nelson 6 – 0. The final Mainland tie between Parklands and Coastal Spirit postpone due to Covid.

The tie between Bays and United saw plenty of drama in the second half. United took the lead when Mika Rabuka opened the scoring just before halftime. Ryan Stanley levelled on the hour mark. The drama then started to unfold in the final ten minutes with Bays going ahead when a shot from Stanley hit the post and ricocheted in the net of United keeper Scott Morris. It was the first time that United found themselves behind on the scoreboard. United then got back on terms when Daniel MacLennan scored in the 89th minute. The drama then increased in added time when Morris was shown a straight red after handling the ball outside his goal area, pushing the ball away from Stanley, who was in the process of shooting. United had already used up their four subs and could not sub on reserve keeper Eddie Ashton. So player /coach Paul Ifill went in goal to see out the final minute of added time to send the game into extra time. Then Ashton was subbed on because Cup rules allow an additional sub in extra time. Bays deservedly took the lead in the 97th minute, with Chris Murphy setting up Stanley to score yet was to prove the vital goal.

Selwyn had a strong opening against Technical and took the lead when Aiden Barbour-Ryan scored his first goal of the season to put the Stallions ahead in the 8th minute. Minutes later, Joe Arrott lifted the ball over the bar when trying to beat keeper Danny Knight. Jacob Richards then levelled with a stunning unstoppable strike in the 16th minute. Shortly before the break, Technical took the lead when Andrew Storer forced the ball home from a corner after the post saved Selwyn minutes earlier. Selwyn kept pressing after the break without any luck. They went close when a shot from Barbour-Ryan was parried into the path of Arnott to the right of goal, who could only find the side netting. With sixteen minutes remaining, Richards scored with another solid strike to the left of the goal to give Technical a cushion.

At Victory Park in Nelson, Suburbs made the ideal start against FC Nelson when Josh Creswell opened the scoring after just two minutes. Ben Polak then doubled the lead on the half-hour mark with the tie taken away from FC when Jack Carter and Creswell scored each in the final five minutes of the opening half for Suburbs. Creswell added two more goals in the second half to advance into the next round.

Further south, Dunedin City Royals brushed by Queenstown 6 – 0. Green Island defeated Otago University 4 – 0, Mosgiel edged Roslyn Wakari 2 – 1, with Northern accounting for Queens Park 4 – 1.

The next round of the Cup will take place on 18/19 June. The games will be drawn on Wednesday by NZ Football.

Results / Scorers

Chatham Cup

Cashmere Technical 3 (Jacob Richard 2, Andrew Storer) Selwyn 1 (Aiden Barbour-Ryan) HT 2 - 1

Ferrymead Bays 3 (Ryan Stanley 2, own goal) Christchurch United 2 (Mika Rabuka, Daniel MacLennan) after extra time HT 0 - 1 FT 2 – 2

FC Nelson 0 Nelson Suburbs 6 (Josh Creswell 4, Ben Polak, Jack Cater) HT 0 - 4

Parklands vs. Coastal Spirit - postponed.

Technical and Coastal Advance In Kate Sheppard Cup

Cashmere Technical and Spirit SAS moved into the next round of the NZ Football Foundation Kate Sheppard Cup when defeating Nomads 5 – 0 and Nelson Suburbs 2 – 0 to move into the round of 16.

Technical opened the scoring against Nomads when Jess Dyer scored early from out on the right. Leigh Alexander then doubled the lead, with Nicola Dominikovich adding the third on the stroke of halftime. Nomads failed to make the most of their chances, with Tech keeper Maddie Iro doing well when blocking a shot from Shae Coughlan and then using the pace of the front runners to good effect but choosing the wrong option when breaking into the goal area. After the break, Lara Wall extended the margin midway into the second half, with Jonelle Arthur completing the scoring with time almost up.

In a tight first half between Suburbs and Coastal, Suburbs keeper Georgia Williams produced several excellent saves to prevent goals from the Coastal front runners, leaving the sides goalless at the break.

Coastal continued to dominate the possession and took the lead when Mel Cameron finally broke the deadlock when scoring in the 52nd minute. Suburbs continued to defend well, with Williams having plenty to do with Coastal wrapping up the tie when doubling the lead when Whitney Hepburn scored in the 80th minute after just being subbed into the game.

The other two South Island teams moving into the final sixteen are Dunedin City Royals, who defeated Roslyn Wakari 2- 0, and Otago University, who needed extra time to advance at the expense of Mosgiel 3 – 1.

The next round of the Cup will take place on 18/19 June. The games will be drawn on Wednesday by NZ Football.

Results / Scorers

NZ Football Foundation Kate Sheppard Cup

Cashmere Technical 5 (Jess Dyer, Leigh Alexander, Nicola Dominikovich, Lara Wall, Jonelle Arthur) Nomads 0 HT 3 - 0

Nelson Suburbs 0 Coastal Spirit SAS 2 (Mel Cameron, Whitney Hepburn) HT 0 - 2

Western Back On Top

Western moved back to the top of the New World Canterbury Premier League, the third different leader in the last four rounds. Western defeated Halswell 3 – 0 away, with goals going to Preston Bell, Richard Ashley and Rodrigo Balcazar. Previous leaders Waimak went down to Universities 2 – 1. Jasper Van der Meer had given Waimak the lead when Jacob Brooks scored twice for the students to end Waimak's six-game unbeaten run. Burwood defeated Mid Canterbury 2 – 1, with Hugo Toye marking his 150th senior game went opening the scoring to put Burwood 1 up at the break. Nicholas Eden then levelled just after the break, with Toye setting up Luca MacLeod-Watts to score the winning goal late in the game. The final match of Round 9, between FC Twenty11 and Parklands, was postponed due to Covid among the Parklands squad.

On Queens Birthday Monday, a catch-up game from the opening round between Mid Canterbury and Halswell saw Halswell win 2 – 1. 

Western top the table on goal difference over Burwood with both on 21 points, Waimak remain on 19, with Universities now on 14. FC is on 11, Halswell moving to 10, Mid Canterbury 3 and Parklands yet to secure a point, with FC (2), Mid Canterbury (1) and Parklands (1) all having games in hand, number of games shown in ( )

Results / Scorers

New World Canterbury Premier League

Round 9

FC Twenty11 vs. Parklands - postponed

Halswell 0 Western 3 (Preston Bell, Richard Ashley, Rodrigo Balzcar) HT 0 - 2

Mid Canterbury 1 (Nicholas Eden) Burwood 2 (Hugo Toye, Luca MacLeod-Watts) HT 0 - 1

Waimak 1 (Jasper Van der Meer) Universities 2 (Jacob Brooks 2) HT 1 – 1

Catch-up Game – Round 1

Mid Canterbury 1 (Ben Chute) Halswell 2 (Samuel Thomas, Patrick Cameron) HT 0 - 2

Written by Gavin Searle
Article added: Tuesday 07 June 2022