After some shock results in round one, most ODT Southern Premier League matches yesterday were played in sunny but extremely windy conditions. Mosgiel, Otago University, and Queenstown remain unbeaten after two rounds while Roslyn Wakari and Caversham both got their seasons back on track with good victories.
 

Northern 1- 6 Roslyn Wakari (HT 1-2)

Back at Forrester Park where they lost to Queenstown in round one, Roslyn Wakari was hoping to bounce back against Northern in very windy conditions. After Nathan Wilkie and Kasam Ali efforts both struck the post, a Jak Stevenson cross was caught in the wind and snuck under the crossbar to give Roslyn a 4th minute goal. Northern equalised soon after when John Woodall sprinted down the left and delivered a low cross that Tom Simpson tucked home. The remainder of the first half was a tight contest until right on halftime, when Matt Cordelle got onto the end of a Wilkie cross to put Roslyn back in front.

Midway through the second half, Roslyn Wakari scored a flurry of goals as Luke Clissold scored back to back headers, substitute Victor Pekkari fired home from close range, and Reid Hulleman nearly ripped the net with a 30 yard screamer. With Roslyn running rampant after the break, Northern goalkeeper Ryan Simpkin acquitted himself well making a string of saves throughout the second half. Although disappointed with the result, Northern coach Luiz Uehara was pleased with his young team's development and rued the late goal right on half time as the turning point of the match.
 

Mosgiel 1-0 Southland United (HT 0-0)

Mosgiel was made to work hard but edged Southland 1-0 at Tahuna Park #2 to remain unbeaten after two rounds. The cross-wind wreaked havoc with both teams struggling to establish patterned play. Mosgiel dominated early with Southland keeper Mark Breed being kept busy as goal bound efforts by Mosgiel attackers Cody Brooks, Riley Anderton and Cam Anderson were kept out. Strong defensive games by Southland's Sean Connolly & Harry Milligan ensured a good platform that nearly played dividends as Jack Boland made a break on 26 minutes and his shot was parried by goalkeeper Levi Waddington, who recovered quickly to ensure the spinning ball stayed out of the net.

A corner early in the second half to Mosgiel proved to be the difference. Cam Anderson's delivery was inch perfect and found midfielder Alex Cox in the 6 yard box and he headed home to score the only goal of the game. Both coaches Southlands Greig Evans and Mosgiel's Cam McPhail found the conditions extremely challenging to play constructive football.
 

Otago University 3-1 Green Island (HT 1-0)

Two round one winners went head to head at Tahuna Park, and it was University who remained unbeaten with a 3-1 win. The highlight of the match was a superb 30-metre second-half strike from Tim O'Farrell. That doubled the lead for the students after substitute Tom Durkin had scored with a curling effort in the first half. Durkin had replaced last week's star Oban Hawkins, who picked up a nasty injury early on in the match. Matt Brazier was among the best for Green Island and went close with a powerful strike on goal.

University's third game came from the penalty spot when Ben Stanley was cut down in the box after a mazy run. Captain Dom Scahill converted the spot kick to put his team in a commanding position. There was some late drama when Green Island captain Cody Robinson scored with a bullet header from a corner. The aftermath saw scuffle involving Uni keeper Stewart Catto, who was given his marching orders against his former club when he received a second yellow card. Midfielder Ben O'Farrell donned the gloves for the remainder of the match but was relatively untroubled as his team held on for their second consecutive victory.
 

Queenstown 4-1 Wanaka (HT 4-0)

Another two round one winners faced each other in Queenstown in an eagerly anticipated derby match with new team Wanaka on a very good playing surface. Injuries, illness, and work commitments forced a few changes for both teams, and the opening quarter of the match was evenly contested, but the home team opened the scoring after 23 minutes when Luke Caister tapped in after some good build-up play from Mike Stevenson and Lewis Walters. Jan Kumar soon doubled the lead when he drifted in from the left touchline and slammed a vicious low shot under keeper Britton Dowling.

Wanaka continued to play out from the back and retain possession where possible and a number of half chances were created from free kick opportunities, with last week's hero Steve Pleskun going closest to scoring with a header which flew just over the bar. Queenstown however dealt the visitors a hammer blow late in the half with another two goals; Kumar scored his second with a neat chest trap and finish after impressive build-up play, and then the home side pounced on a lapse in Wanaka's midfield which saw Carlos Herrmann bend a delightful finish into the top corner to put his side 4-0 up at the break. 

Wanaka settled into the second half and created some chances, scoring the only goal of the second half in the 67th minute with a well-worked piece of play that led to a back post tap in for Alex Plimmer. Queenstown coach Jamie Whitmarsh picked out his centre back pairing of Cohen Nash and Thomas Rewi as two of his best along with clinical strikers Kumar and Herrmann. Wanaka player-coach Ian Bell was impressed by creative midfielder Danillo, and picked out Paul Hodgson as his team's best in an unfamiliar right fullback role.
 

Caversham 3-1 Dunedin Technical (HT 1-0)

Two old foes went head to head on a pristine Tonga Park surface, and it was the home team that got their season back on track with a 3-1 win. After a cagey opening, both teams created chances but were unable to open the scoring until Caversham debutant Campbell Thompson netted late in the first half, finishing off a long throw at the far post. 

Technical came out firing in the second half but it was a poor goal kick that led to the second goal. The kick never left the ground and Connor Neil won the duel for it, feeding Ben Kiore who drew in the last defender and keeper Ben Dubyk before calmly passing to Thompson to finish his second for a dream debut. Not long after a sweeping counter-attack from Caversham saw Kiore and Neil combining again to put midfielder Andrew Ridden in to drive home from just outside the box. Tech pressed to get something out of the game and earned a goal through Thomas Petersen from a freekick aided by the wind which deceived the Caversham goalkeeper, but it was little consolation as last year's champions remain winless after the opening two rounds. Both teams were reduced to 10 men late in the match following red cards to Chris Boomer and Storm Doherty.

Next Week

There are some interesting match-ups next Saturday, with Roslyn Wakari hosting the in-form University side at Ellis Park, and Wanaka playing their first home game hosting Northern. Queenstown travel to Invercargill to face Southland, while Dunedin Technical will be looking for a first win when they play Green Island at Sunnyvale. Mosgiel host Caversham at Memorial Park, with the race for top three spots and a place in the South Island League already heating up.

- Compiled by Morgan Jarvis. Email corrections etc to morgan.jarvis@gmail.com

Article added: Sunday 31 March 2019