A Zac Owen-Gear hat-trick and a Ben Paterson strike was enough for Level One Queens Park to comfortably see off Southern Steel Windows Old Boys AFC at the ILT Turf on Friday night.
Sam Christie grabbed a consolation goal with eight minutes remaining, but the damage was done with Park scoring braces either side of the half, with a performance that arguably should have seen Park add to their tally.
Old Boys will be disappointed with the result, and despite this being a reserve side, it featured the likes of Florence Edson and new signing for the season, Alex Simons.
In the other Donald Gray game, Laser Plumbing Gore Wanderers put Kowhai Roofing Waihopai to the sword with a resounding 10-0 defeat.
At 3-0 down, all was not lost, but Hamilton Andrade got his marching orders on the 50-minute mark for a second bookable offence, and that effectively ended Waihopai’s chances.
Gore used the one-man advantage, putting a further seven goals past Taryn Reid-Lockley in the Waihopai goal to compound what has been a tough week for the Surrey Park men coming off the back of a similar scoreline in the Chatham Cup.
The results put Park ahead by three points, but Thistle has a game in hand after having the bye. They face Old Boys this weekend, with Park hosting Gore.
In the Kolk Cup, Kingsgate Hotel Te Anau Wyndham Town FC held iHire Thistle FC to a 3-3 draw taking a valuable point that prevented Thistle from claiming top spot, with Pacific Radiology Old Boys AFC’s 3-0 win over Toasted Southend United Women enough to see them head the league on goal difference.
In the other Kolk Cup fixture, Winton FC beat Malloch McClean Waihopai Women 7-0 to record its first win of the campaign.
Thistle face Old Boys with Southend hosting Winton and Wyndham heading to Gore on Saturday with kick-off at 1pm.
- By Chris Montgomery
