The Dunedin City Royals collected their second Southern League win in a row with a scratchy 3-1 win over FC Twenty 11 at a windy Tahuna Park on Saturday.
Having the wind in the first half allowed the Royals to control the game with large periods of possession, while the Christchurch club looked for the long ball to counter attack.
Despite dominating, the Royals were guilty of under-hitting passes and lacking sharpness in the final third of the field in the opening stages.
The Royals took the lead in the 20th minute after a well-worked free kick was taken short by Jed Collings.
It went through six players before Nicholas Zambrano laid it off to Ryan Mairs, who calmly struck the ball into the top right corner of the goal, giving Twenty 11 keeper Harrison Rowe no chance.
The Royals continued to dominate and generated chances for Raven August and Zambrano, who struck the post for the third time in two weeks.
They were made to rue these missed opportunities when Twenty 11 equalised from nowhere.
The visitors regained possession following a midfield turnover under pressure, setting Luke Aldridge free down the right.
Aldridge unleashed a powerful wind-assisted shot, and despite Royals gloveman Alex Boomer getting a hand to it, the game was suddenly level on 48 minutes.
Buoyed by the goal and the tailwind, Twenty 11 continued to look to counter by quickly using the long-ball tactic.
The Royals dug deep and had an appeal for a penalty waved away by the officials, but they regained the lead with 20 minutes to go when Braden Fowell won the ball and sped down the left wing.
Fowell’s run was halted when he was brought down in the box. Rowe saved Connor Neil’s penalty attempt but Zambrano followed up and calmly finished.
The final Royals goal came deep into stoppage time with 95 minutes on the clock when Rowe, after deciding to dribble out of his box, was caught in possession.
Dunedin City substitute Dafydd Spratt slid in to steal the ball away and August was on hand to caress the ball into the open net.
The Royals’ next game in a fortnight is against a much-fancied and unbeaten Coastal Spirit, who beat Christchurch United 3-2 with the winner coming 10 minutes into stoppage time.
That result allowed Cashmere Tech to go top of the table with a routine 7-0 win over Canterbury University.
Nomads upset Nelson 2-0, and Ferrymead Bays held on to beat Selwyn 3-2 after being 3-0 up at the break.
— Neville Watson
