Roslyn was beaten 5-2 by Waterside Karori at Ellis Park.
The Wellington side had the better of the opening period, and went close when playmaker Leonardo Villa spotted keeper Tom Stevens off his line and his long-range effort just went over the crossbar.
In the 14th minute, Jorge Akers combined with Villa, whose powerful shot cannoned off the upright.
Sam Cosgrove’s tight skills on the ball for Roslyn helped him regularly beat his marker and get to the byline to put in crosses, and in the 20th minute Roslyn sent the home fans into delirium when a corner was swung into the box.
Nick Treadwell’s first attempt was blocked but he kept his composure to steer the ball back over the line.
Karori responded soon after when Harry Fautley burst through the Roslyn defence, forcing Stevens into a smart save with his feet.
From the resultant corner, the ball was not cleared and Ben Lock bundled in the equaliser on 27 minutes.
Karori went straight back on attack when Tomas Alvarado created an opportunity but Shay Thom cleared his attempts off the line.
Another Roslyn corner had Treadwell rising the highest, and his goal-bound effort was cleared off the line.
Following the restart, Karori marked Cosgrove tighter to reduce Roslyn’s attacking intent and nearly took the lead when Akers hit the post on 51 minutes.
Treadwell planted a firm header from a well-flighted free kick but could not find a way past keeper Zachary Dean, and Karori broke with pace and took the lead when Birhanu Taye’s rifled shot from 20 yards out gave Stevens no chance.
Alvarado had a chance to make it 3-1. Treadwell acrobatically cleared the ball off his line but in doing so injured himself and had to be subbed off in the 63rd minute.
Karori substitute Jack Parker made an immediate impact when he scored from close range a minute after being introduced to make it 3-1.
Roslyn were not going to lie down and responded immediately when Mitchell Gray blasted home the rebound after Nathan Willie’s header came back off the post on 78 minutes.
With the game on a knife-edge, Karori substitute Seth Ward quietened the home crowd with another close-range finish four minutes before fulltime, and Karori made sure their name went into the semifinal draw when Parker scored his second of the game with an exquisite 20 metre drive.
Karori are joined in the semifinal draw by Christchurch United, who beat Hamilton Wanderers 3-0, Eastern Suburbs (3-2 victors in extra time over Wellington Olympic) and Hamilton club Melville United.
In the Southern League clash in Christchurch, a Conor Neil goal salvaged a 1-1 draw for the Dunedin City Royals against Nomads United.
Queen’s Park made it four wins on the bounce in the ODT Southern Men’s Premiership as they came from behind to overcome Dunedin City Royal reserves 2-1.
Jarrod Simpson’s Royals opener was cancelled out before halftime by a brace to Ryo Okuyama.
Green Island twice had to come from behind in a 2-2 draw with University, Robert Rietveld’s 71st-minute goal ensuring a share of the points, while Northern moved back into third place with an assured 4-0 win on the road over Northern Hearts.
The Dunedin City Royals retained second spot in the South Island women’s league with a 4-0 win over Nelson Suburbs.
Shontelle Smith’s long-range effort gave the Royals the lead, and Smith doubled the score on the hour with Amy Caltaux and Tahlia Roome also on the scoresheet.
Otago University took the lead away at Cashmere through Abby Nicholson’s 53rd-minute opener. However, the students were undone when Cashmere were awarded two penalties, in the 76th and 78th minutes, to eventually win 4-1.
By Neville Watson
