Caversham continued its good Chatham Cup run when it beat Roslyn Wakari 4-1 in a pulsating fourth-round tie at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Callum Flaws helped ignite the game in the fifth minute when he attempted an ambitious Brazilian-style overhead kick on goal.
The highlight came when the Caversham midfielder latched on to a loose ball just outside the penalty area, and, facing away from the goal, athletically executed a partial bicycle kick with heavy spin on the shot.
Stranded Roslyn goalkeeper Daniel Becheri could only watch helplessly as the ball looped over his head and dipped just under the crossbar to give the visiting side the early lead.
While Caversham had the better start, Roslyn gradually grew into the game and created considerable pressure towards the end of the first half.
A 38th-minute corner had the Ellis Park faithful prematurely celebrating an equaliser after the ball deflected into the goal from a pressurised Caversham defender. However, referee Calvin Berg had spotted an infringement on Caversham keeper Zayne Officer and awarded a free kick.
In the 48th min, a Caversham through-ball had striker Ant Hancock and Roslyn defender Cam Attwood clashing for possession 30m from goal. Referee Berg adjudged Attwood to have fouled Hancock and he was given an early shower.
Some good build-up work down the left flank in the 70th min had Flaws attacking the byline and providing an accurate pass into the box to Hancock, who swivelled on the ball and finished into the right-hand corner to double the lead.
An 85th-minute strike to Jude Fitzpatrick plus a close-range headed finish from Tim Cook wrapped up Caversham's scoring.
Ajay Cunningham gave Roslyn some return when he slotted an excellent free kick just before fulltime.
In the premier league, leader Dunedin Technical made the most of its chances and registered a solid 2-0 win over University, with good goals to in-form striker Alistair Rickerby and defender Andrew Douglas.
Northern banked three valuable points to move to sixth place when it outplayed a disappointing Old Boys team at the Caledonian Ground. Zinny Khant Aung provided two quality strikes and a close-range finish from Angus Milne completed the 3-0 win.
Green Island displayed its fitness and finishing power, moving into second place with a commanding 7-1 win over host Mosgiel. Joel Stevens was a constant threat and bagged a second-half hat trick for Green Island.
By Wilson James.
