Green Island v Mosgiel

Green Island made it two wins from two with a convincing 4-0 victory over Mosgiel. The Island took the lead through a Jamie Warnock header and doubled their tally through a penalty taken by Jenna Ready. With the Island comfortably leading 2-0 at the interval, Lili Cluston-Cain got her name on the scoresheet from a goal mouth scramble, securing her first goal for the club in 8 years to make it 3-0. The home side sealed their victory with the best effort of the game as Kaitlyn Michelle showed a great first touch to control a cross from Bee Park, turn between Mosgiel’s defence and volley it home over the keeper.  Mosgiel put pressure on Green Island throughout and it was a tighter encounter in the second half although Green Island youngster Jenna Willis had a commanding performance in the midfield.  

Green Island’s coach Matthew Holdridge was delighted with his sides performance, “Our team played some great football in the first half moving the ball well and building through the midfield to create opportunities. It was aell team performance.” Holdridge reflected there was room for improvement in the second half and praised Mosgiel who pressured the Island throughout and made it especially difficult in the second half. Their next fixture comes this Wednesday against Uni A on the Turf, kick off is at 7pm.  

Despite his team’s loss, Mosgiel’s coach Malcolm Roberts was impressed by the resilience of his side, “Obviously the scoreline hurts but that was without doubt the best performance of the season. We enjoyed an even share of possession and territory and played with real spirit and intensity.” Mosgiel have the bye this week.  

Photo Credit: Allison Images

Queenstown v Dunedin Tech

It was a tightly contested affair in Queenstown with last season's first place finishers Dunedin Tech taking on last season’s fourth placed Queenstown. Tech took the lead after 28 minutes following some excellent work down the left flank by Georgia Kennedy that led to captain Chelsea Whittaker firing home. Queenstown pushed Tech throughout and came close to equalising through several set pieces and executed their game plan to near perfection. Tech’s best chance to double their lead came after Kelsey came close with a header from a Shontelle Smith corner. 

Queenstown’s keeper Lana Mcluskey made some remarkable saves throughout the game denying Tech several opportunities as they pressed on and attempted to extend their lead. The home side’s defence was effective throughout and Queenstown will be delighted to have held Tech’s strong attacking forces at bay for much of the match with the final score 1-0 to visitors Tech. Coach Craig Johnston stated that, “The score reflected the game, Queenstown defended exceptionally well. Their keeper had a top game.”  

Queenstown’s coach Mark Ford was overjoyed with his team’s display, “Queenstown executed the game plan almost perfectly and pushed the champions all the way to the final whistle.” Like his opposite number, Ford was full of praise for keeper Lana Mcluskey, “She was outstanding denying Tech on numerous occasions.” He was thrilled with his entire team, “You have good days and bad days as a coach and this was definitely a goody... I could not be more proud of the team.” 

Otago Uni Premiers and Seconds fixture was rescheduled to Wednesday 21st and Stuart Moffatt’s Premiers will be in action on Wednesday when they’ll host in-form Green Island. Moffatt reflects that Premiers will be without several key players who will be away for the NZ Tertiary Futsal championships, “We did show superb resilience to make up for lack of squad numbers against Queenstown and we will be looking to dig into those reserves again against an unbeaten GI who, whilst they also have a few players away at the same competition, have a good depth in their squad.” 

Article added: Monday 12 April 2021