By Gavin Searle
On Friday, Christchurch United over ran Halswell 9 - 0.
On Saturday, Cashmere Technical accounted for Nomads 4 - 0. Nelson Suburbs edged Ferrymead Bays 2 - 0, and Coastal Spirit came from behind to win 3 - 1 over Selwyn.
On Monday, in their catch-up, Coastal edged Suburbs 1 - 0.
After six rounds, Technical still top the table with 16 points, while Coastal moved into second on 15, United are on 13, with Suburbs on 10.
Nomads and Bays sit in the fifth place 'bubble' for the all-important last qualifying spot for the Southern League, with six points each. Selwyn has four, and Halswell are yet to claim a point.
United racked up their biggest ever win in the men's premiership, which was conversely Halswell's heaviest defeat in the league.
United captain James McClay opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 16 minutes. Eddie Wilkinson then scored a brace before Luke White added a fourth right on the stroke of half time, his first premiership goal, scored against his former club. Oliver Colloty, who was subbed on just before the break, scored the first of his four goals in the 46th minute.
The following three came in the final 10 minutes, with Joe Williams completing Halswell's misery by scoring the ninth goal in added time.
Nomads had the better of the opening spell against Technical with Nathan Dix and Daniel Thoms going close, requiring Tech keeper Danny Knight to produce a great save. Minutes later, Tech took the lead when Fraser Angus back-flicked the ball home on the half-hour. Minutes later, a goal-bound shot by Garbhan Coughlan was turned into his own net by Josh Collett. Sam Lapslie then extended Tech's lead early in the second half, with Nomads not receiving any reward for the chances they continued to create.
Coughlan added the fourth goal with twenty to play to extend Technical's current tenure of the Hurley Shield to 18 games. The win sees Tech become just the third club to reach the milestone of 450 league points.
Poor finishing was also costly for Bays, especially in the second half against Suburbs. Suburbs had the better of the chances in the opening half. Jordan Yong ran down and crossed from the left, which caused Bays bother, but the side went to the break scoreless.
Bays came out strongly in the second half, with Caleb Manson pushing a shot wide in the 47th minute and then minutes later headed a cross from Louie Bush over the bar.
Shortly after, Chris Murphy was also wide of goal. Somewhat against the run of play, Suburbs were awarded a free-kick on the 'D' with Corey Larsen's low shot curling around the wall and just inside the right-hand post to open the scoring in the 63rd minute.
With 10 to play, Yong hit the crossbar. Bays then saw several chances go begging and, in added time, Suburbs cleared the ball upfield. With the Bays keeper caught in 'no mans' land racing out of his box, Carl Conner-McClean was first to the ball from wide out on the right and fired home from 30 metres out.
Selwyn made the most of their limited chances in the first half against Coastal. Selwyn opened the scoring four minutes before the break when Jamie Carrodous found the back of the net after being set up by Dan Ede.
Coastal drew level midway into the second spell after a good run by Mika Rabuka - subbed on only minutes earlier - who then squared the ball back from the goal line to Aashish Rai to score from close range.
Michael Hogan then put Coastal ahead minutes later, his third goal in two games, with Mark Zimmerman adding the final goal with 20 to play.
Coastal leap-frogged United in the table after overcoming Suburbs. Coastal keeper Ellis Hare-Reid produced three classy saves to deny Suburbs taking the lead, including a Jordan Yong free-kick that Hare-Reid parried away. Coastal hit the post after the break, but the deadlock finally broke when Jack Mitchel cut out several Suburbs defenders to score from close range in the 71st minute. Suburbs finished strongly but could not find an equalising goal.
New World Premiership - results and scorers
Round 2
- Coastal Spirit 1 (Jack Mitchell) Nelson Suburbs 0 HT 0 - 0
Round 6
- Cashmere Technical 4 (Fraser Angus, Garbhan Coughlan, Sam Lapslie, own goal) Nomads 0 HT 2 - 0
- Christchurch United 9 (Oliver Colloty 4, Eddie Wilkinson 2, Luke White, Joe Williams, James McClay - pen, ) Halswell 0 HT 4 - 0
- Ferrymead Bays 0 Nelson Suburbs 2 (Corey Larsen, Carl Conner-McClean) HT 0 - 0
- Selwyn 1 (Jamie Carrodous) Coastal Spirit 3 (Aashish Rai, Michael Hogan, Mark Zimmerman) HT 1 - 0
