Albany and Taieri battled to a 1-1 draw in a game with plenty of fire but a little less polish than either team would have hoped for.
With last weekend's weather meaning no Saturday hockey was able to be played, both sides started the match looking a little rusty.
It was Taieri that came out of its slumber first as in the first 10 minutes it had more of the possession.
But Albany's defence, led by Aarie Verwey and Matt Moore, held firm, not allowing any real chances at goal.
Through the middle of the first half, the Alligators started to take over and their momentum became too much to handle as, after sustained pressure, Gabe Rawcliffe opened the scoring.
Their lead did not last for long, however, as Taieri came back to life late in the half and Andrew Kennedy found room for a shot from the top of the circle. That got the Tuataras on the board and took the match to 1-1 at halftime.
After the break, both teams continued to press hard and opportunities, while few and far between, did come.
But the keepers, Hamish Van Dyke for Albany and Jesse Drake, both had strong games.
Drake in particular was called on many times as the clock wound down.
Jordan Ward and Jason Dungey stood out at the back for Taieri, while Rawcliffe and Malachi Buschl provided the go forward for Albany.
In the other games this weekend, Uni Black fought back from 2-0 to secure a 3-3 draw with Southland, while an early goal for Uni Blue got it up 1-0 over Kings United.
The Blue Whales also made the trip for Gore last Sunday to play a catch-up game and beat Southland 7-2.
The competition has one more round-robin match next weekend, then semifinals the following week.
-By Matthew West
