At the midpoint of the Mainland Premier League (MPL), Cashmere Technical have skipped three points clear at the top-of-the-table after their closest rivals all dropped points.

Technical were kept honest when overcoming Selwyn 4 – 2, with Ferrymead Bays and Nelson Suburbs battling out a 1 – 1 draw, as third placed Coastal Spirit went down to Nomads 1 – nil. In the final game of the round FC Twenty11 accounted for Universities 3 – 0.

Technical have 17 points with Bays on 14, Coastal 13 and Suburbs 12. Nomads and FC both have 9 with Universities 3 and Selwyn at the foot of the table on 2.

Technical maintained their unbeaten run when overcoming a determined Selwyn side. George King opened the scoring after 25 minutes with Tom Schwarz then doubling the lead from the penalty spot, before Dan Ede replied for Selwyn before the break. Max Chretien restored Tech’s two goal buffer just after the break before King completed a brace, with Declan Hickford then reducing the margin with ten minutes to play.

After an even, but scoreless opening half between Nomads and Coastal, both sides continued to create chances after the break. Nomads started to dominate the Coastal goal in the final quarter with Stephen Hoyle denied three times in the space of ten minutes by some brilliant keeper from James Hickok, with the American finally beaten with seven minutes to play. From a corner a strong shot from Hoyle was initially blocked by Hickok, but he could not hold on to the ball which allowed Hamish Cotter to force the ball home just inside the post, in what was Nomads first home win over their rivals.

In the battle of the ever present MPL sides, Suburbs and Bays played out their first draw in five seasons at Saxton Fields. As expected it was a tight affair with Jordan Young finding the back of the net to put Suburbs ahead late in the opening half. Then, with ten minutes to play, the Suburbs defence hesitated when the assistant flagged for off side but with Chris Murphy having received the ball from the Suburbs player he went on to slot the ball home to earn a share of the points.    

FC Twenty11 were untroubled when overcoming neighbours Universities. Ryan Nicholson scored a goal in each half with Conor Clarke the other scorer, to open his MPL scoring account.

Teams will have a short turn around with the next round being played on Wednesday – ANZAC Day with FC travelling north to take on Suburbs at 1pm. In Christchurch at 2:45pm Technical host Universities at Garrick Memorial Park, Coastal entertain Selwyn at Cuthberts Green with Nomads facing Bays at Tulett Park.

Gap Opens at Top Of Table

Coastal Spirit and Cashmere Technical have opened-up a six-point lead at the top of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), when winning their respective games.

Coastal defeated Universities 4 – 1, while Technical accounted for Waimakariri 5 – 0 as Halswell had the bye. Both Coastal and Technical have 10 points, six clear of Waimakariri with Halswell on 3 and Universities on one, after five of the 15 rounds have been completed.

In a close opening half Coastal went to the break 2 – 1 ahead, Arna Roberts and Cody Taylor scoring for the defending champions with Aimee Taylor replying for the students. Cody Taylor went on to complete her second hat-trick of the season after the break to consolidate her lead on the Golden Boot ladder.

Technical also maintained their unbeaten run when accounting for Waimakariri. Emma Kench completed her hat-trick before the break, Monique Barker adding the fourth after the break before Kench added her fourth before the final whistle.

The league takes a break next Saturday due to the opening round of Blackwell Holden Reta Fitzpatrick which has Coastal facing Technical at English Park at 12:30pm.  

Results / Scorers

Men’s – Round 7 of 14

FC Twenty11 3 (Ryan Nicholson 2, Conor Clarke) Universities 0 HT 1 - 0

Nelson Suburbs 1 (Jordan Yong) Ferrymead Bays 1 (Chris Murphy) HT 1 - 1

Nomads 1 (Hamish Cotter) Coastal Spirit 0 HT 0 - 0

Selwyn 2 (Dan Ede, Declan Hickford) Cashmere Technical 4 (George King 2, Tom Schwarz - pen, Max Chretien) HT 1 – 2

Women’s – Round 5 of 15

Cashmere Technical 5 (Emma Kench 4, Monique Barker) Waimakariri 0 HT 3 – 0

Universities 1 (Aimee Taylor) Coastal Spirit 4 (Cody Taylor 3, Arna Roberts) HT 1 - 2 

Halswell the bye