By Gavin Searle
A qualifying spot for the Southern League is seemingly guaranteed for both Cashmere Technical and Coastal Spirit after round 9 of the New World Men's Premiership, in which their closest rivals all dropped points.
Third-placed Christchurch United played out a 3 - 3 result with Selwyn, Nelson Suburbs, in fourth, went down to Coastal 1 - 0, with sixth-placed Ferrymead Bays edging Nomads 3 - 2 as Technical were untroubled to defeat bottomed placed, Halswell 5 - 0.
After nine of the 14 games, Technical has 25 points, three clear of Coastal with United on 15 and Suburbs 13. Both Nomads and Bays are on 12, with Selwyn moving to 5 and Halswell yet to pick up a point.
United and Selwyn traded early goals, with Benji Lapslie putting United ahead only to have Dorian Grault reply a minute later to lock up the scoreboard.
Grault scored his second goal of the game to lock the scores up again for the third and final time, midway into the second half, with Selwyn then working hard to ensure they finished the game with a deserved point.
Early goals also featured in the clash between Bays and Nomads, with Milan Clarke opening the scoring for Nomads in the third minute, but Bays replied almost immediately when Chris Murphy scored.
Joe Hoole then put Bays ahead before Callum Donlon levelled for Nomads after Bays failed to clear their line. After the break, Nomads could not make the most of several clear chances and were made to pay with a well-worked goal on the hour from a Bays throw-in. The ball was headed onto the back post, where Murphy finished well to give his side a vital win to keep their top five hopes alive.
In what turned out to be a very tight encounter, Suburbs and Coastal turned at the break scoreless. Suburbs then had a good patch after the break. Still, they could not make the most of the chances, their Achilles heel in many of the games this season. Just when it looked like the game was heading for the first scoreless draw of the season, Suburbs looked to scored only for the shot to be "saved" by the post, with the ball going up to the other end where Tristan Nichol stabbed the ball goal after a goalmouth scramble.
After 20 and 40 minutes, two Jack Grove goals saw Technical lead at the break, with Yuya Taguchi increasing the lead early in the second half. Luke Tongue quickly followed with a fourth before Alex Ballard scored his maiden Premiership goal to complete the scoring.
In Round 10 match-ups, Nomads host Nelson Suburbs in the early game on Saturday, with Technical facing United at 2:45 pm. At the same time, Selwyn entertains Bays, and on Sunday, Coastal has the home advantage over Halswell.
New World Men's Premiership
- ChCh United 3 (Oliver Colloty, Benji Lapslie, Eddie Wilkinson) Selwyn 3 (Dorian Grault 2, Jack Henderson) HT 3 - 2
- Ferrymead Bays 3 (Chris Murphy 2, Joe Hoole) Nomads 2 (Milan Clarke, Callum Donlan) HT 2 - 2)
- Halswell 0 Cashmere Technical 5 (Jack Grove 2, Alex Ballard, Yuya Taguchi, Luke Tongue) HT 2 - 0
- Nelson Suburbs 0 Coastal Spirit 1 (Tristan Nichol) HT 0 - 1
Top three sides all record wins in women's premiership
The top three sides all recorded wins in the New World Women's Premiership on Saturday.
Coastal Spirit SAS continued on their winning run when defeating Nomads 12 - 0. Cashmere Technical proved to be too strong against Ferrymead Bays when winning 6 - 0, with third-placed Universities coming out on top of Waimak 3 - 1. With six rounds now completed, Coastal SAS has 18 points, Technical have 15, with Universities now clear in third on 10. Waimak has 7 with Bays 3 and Nomads yet to claim a point.
Mel Cameron celebrated her 200th game for Coastal SAS when scoring four of her team's goals, with Britney-Lee Nicholson claiming a hat- trick. Whitney Hepburn and Lauren Dabner (one a penalty) both scored a brace, with Jayda Stewart coming off the bench to add her name to the score sheet. The game was the 50th Hawkey Shield challenge since the trophy was first contested at the start of the 2014 season.
Cashmere Technical made it two wins over Ferrymead Bays this season. Kate Guildford opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 25th minutes after Bays keeper Sally Brouard brought a player down in the area. Jonelle Arthur doubled the lead just before the break. Guildford then scored her second in the 51st minute, with two goals in the space of twice the minutes to Lara Wall and Arthur killing off the game, with Sammy Senior completing the scoring with eight minutes to play.
Jasmine Donald opened the scoring for Universities midway into the opening half, with Tayla Hampton then increasing the lead when scoring her first Premiership goal in the 34th minute. Emily Cooper then brought Waimak back into the game by reducing the margin with 24 minutes to play, with Wikke Nijhof restoring the student's two-goal margin in the 77th.
In Round 7, Nomads host Bays at English Park on Friday evening. On Saturday, Universities face Coastal SAS, with Waimak having the home advantage over Technical, with Technical meeting their reserve side in their quarter-final tie of the Blackwells Holden Reta Fitzpatrick Cup on Tuesday evening.
New World Women's Premiership
- Cashmere Technical 6 (Jonelle Arthur 2, Kate Guildford 2 - incl pen, Sammy Senior, Lara Wall) Ferrymead Bays 0 HT 2 - 0
- Coastal Spirit 12 (Mel Cameron 4, Britney-Lee Nicholson 3, Lauren Dabner 2 - incl pen, Whitney Hepburn 2, Jayda Stewart) Nomads 0 HT 6 - 0
- Universities 3 (Jasmine Donald, Tayla Hampton, Wikke Nijhof) Waimak 1 (Emily Cooper) HT 2 - 0
Race to claim third qualifying spot heats up in championship
The race for third place in the New World Men's Championship has closed to just one point between teams currently sitting in third to fifth place.
Leader's Waimak dropped their first points of the season when held to a 3 - all result with third-placed Burwood. Second-placed Western edged St Albans Shirley (SAS), 2 - 1. Fourth-placed FC Twenty11 played out a seven-goal thriller against University, with FC squeaking home 4 - 3, with Parklands ending a four-game losing run, 2 - 1 over Mid Canterbury. After eight games, Waimak still tops the table with 22 points, just one ahead of Western. Burwood holds third place with 13, both FC and Parklands are on 12. University and SAS have 6 with Mid Canterbury on 3.
Burwood needed a late goal to earn a share of the points with Waimak, with the latter taking the lead early in the second half when Bradley Stewart scored from the penalty spot with Matthew Cox locking up the scoreboard in the final quarter of the game.
It was a drama-filled final few minutes at Avonhead Park with Adam Doherty completing his hat-trick to put the student 3 - 2 ahead with four minutes of normal time to play, only for FC to score twice in added time to secure the win.
A late goal also saw Parklands pick the three points over Mid Canterbury. Mid Canterbury went close in the final minutes of normal time, with Parklands quickly clearing the ball upfield to score and steal the game in the 90th minute.
SAS and Western turned at the break all squared, with Adam Poumaka scoring his first goal league goal of the season to close Western within a point of Waimak.
In the upcoming round, Burwood host SAS, Waimak travel south to take on Mid Canterbury, Universities face Parklands with Western at home to FC.
- FC Twenty11 4 Universities 3 HT 1 - 2
- Parklands 2 Mid Canterbury 1 HT 0 - 0
- St Albans Shirley 2 Western 3 HT 2 - 2
- Waimak 3 Burwood 3 HT 2 - 2
