The Dunedin City Royals have come up short in an entertaining seven-goal thriller.
After leading 2-0 early, they fell 4-3 as Flynn Holdem delivered a hat-trick to give Nomads United victory in their men’s Southern League game at Logan Park on Saturday.
The scoring opened from a corner, when Max Davidson glanced his header into the far post on 16 minutes, then two minutes later Jack Julian's mazy run into the penalty box drew defenders and he squared the ball to Connor Neil to slot home from close range.
Nomads pulled one back on the half hour mark when striker Holdem powered home a towering header from a corner on the left.
Just as Nomads threatened to equalise, the Royals restored their two-goal buffer. Brady Jacobs’ diagonal run beat the offside trap and he flicked his lob over the on-rushing keeper from the edge of the box on 34 minutes.
Two minutes later Holdem again out-muscled the defence to head home from another corner.
The Royals conceded the equaliser right from the restart of the second half, when Cooper Goldsmith scored within seconds.
Nomads took the lead for the first time on 52 minutes, when the Royals conceded a free kick on the edge of their penalty box.
The first attempt hit the wall and on the rebound keeper Jonathan Tucker pulled off a great save. But Holdem reacted quickest to the loose ball, scoring the eventual match-winning goal.
Wānaka travelled to Christchurch and were toppled 4-1 by Cashmere Tech. A strong defensive showing in the first half was undone by conceding two goals in first half added time.
The first goal came when a quickly taken free kick caught Wānaka's defence napping for Lyle Matthysen to tap home, before a long ball allowed Yuya Taguchi run through the middle.
That pair scored again in the second half, before Wānaka’s Ed Belingher rifled home a late consolation goal.
Christchurch United remain top of the table after a 1-0 win over Ferrymead Bays. Cashmere Tech are one point behind, while Coastal Spirit are third after they beat Selwyn 4-2 and Nelson Suburbs thumped UC 6-1.
In the women's Southern League, the Dunedin City Royals won their 10th consecutive league match with a 10-1 win over Roslyn Wakari, moving eight points clear of second place University.
Toni Power opened the scoring with a brace and Amy Hislop made it 3-0 at the break.
Hislop went on to score another four, making it five for the day and pushing her five goals clear atop the golden boot race, on 14 for the season.
Yesterday Otago University beat Northwest United 3-0 in Christchurch and remain second on the table.
— Neville Watson
