Dunedin Technical v Otago University Premiers

Dunedin Technical continued their march towards a ninth consecutivepremiership title, defeating the University Premier side 4-0 in a top-of-the-table clash at the Logan Park Turf on Friday night.Although University generally competed well, the reigning champions took an early lead through Tabitha Seaton, and striker Nieve Collin added a second for Tech before the break. The electric pace of Margarida Dias was a constant threat for the University defence. Dias scored a superb solo goal early in the second half, dribbling from near halfway into the six-yard box before dinking the ball past University keeper Amelia Simmers.Technical capped off a great night in the closing minutes, when Shontelle Smith floated in a corner that was steered in by an unmarked Kelsey Kennard.

Mosgiel v Roslyn Wakari 

Roslyn Wakari defeated a spirited Mosgiel 4-0 at Memorial Park on Saturday afternoon. Roslyn youngster Zara Pratley opened the scoring after 25 minutes, and captain Renee Bacon doubled the lead just moments later. Bacon added two more goals late in the game to seal her hat-trick and give her side a third consecutive victory. Mosgiel goalkeeper Morgan Whitson was impressive in goal, denying her former club on numerous occasions. Roslyn's coach Hamish Philip was delighted with his team's performance, "We worked incredibly hard. My girls remained confident to play out of the back, Juliette and Holly were work horses running it in the middle." Mosgiel's Malcolm Roberts was impressed with his team's efforts, "It was another excellent performance from the girls, especially from our keeper Morgan Whitson and Tessa Brownlie who worked tirelessly up front."

Queenstown v Green Island 

Meanwhile, Green Island beat Queenstown 3-0 on the road in a mid-table clash. Jenna Reddy put the visitors in front midway through the first half, with Jess Fuller and Bianca Park scoring in the second half. In a tough and physical encounter, GI closed down Queenstown quickly and aggressively to limit Queenstown’s threat. The visitors defended well until the latter stages of the first half when an in swinging cross from right back Tara Ballie our right back wasn’t dealt with properly and a high press from Jamie Warnock and Jess Fuller resulted in a mix up between defenders and their keeper. The ball fell kindly in behind for Jenna Reddy and with no one to beat, she calmly passed into an open goal.

The game opened up in the second half with both teams started to finding more attacking opportunities. GI worked lots of chances down the left with Jenna Reddy and Jess Fuller constantly creating space and delivering penetrating crosses, although Lana McCluskey came out well to stop several of Green Island's chances. The second goal was a result of a corner, with Jess Fuller intercepting the clearance and beating a couple of players before smashing a left foot shoot high into the goal.

The final goal came after a goal mouth scramble and several block attempts by Queenstown. The ball came out of the box and was gathered by Bianca Park who with one touch controlled it and smashed the ball in the net to secure all 3 points for the Island. The win was Green Island's third of the season, and sees them leapfrog Queenstown into fourth spot. Queenstown coach Mark Ford gave full credit to Matthew Holdridge and the Island, "They were considerably better than us and deserved the result".

Attention will shift this weekend to the opening round of the Kate Sheppard Cup. Roslyn Wakari have the unenviable prospect of facing Dunedin Technical, who in 2018 became the first side from the southern region to win the cup.

Article added: Tuesday 11 May 2021