Caversham v Wanaka

Adam Hewson inspired Wanaka with a  stunning second-half performance  in claiming a 3-1 win over Caversham at Hancock Park.

Hewson showed off his dazzling skill and powerful finishing to grab two goals that saw Wanaka claim its second successive win.

Caversham had plenty of possession and opportunities in the first spell, and deservedly took the lead on 11 minutes.

Wanaka equalised 4 minutes into the second half when a foul on  Hewson earns a free kick  25 yards out . Weston Bell takes it and his shot deflects of the Caversham wall to Hewson on the edge of the box and he hits a right foot shot low into the left hand corner.

Wanaka then had a golden opportunity to go ahead in the 77th minute,  Van Hees won possession and drove forward and released Hewson who drew 2 players to him , he then slipped a delightful pass back across the face of goal to the on coming Van Hees who mis cued his shot wide from 6 yards .

The men in red showed glimpses of their class with Ben Wade to the forefront  however Wanaka continued to press and capitalised with two goals in the dying minutes.

Everton Rossi Furby  received a pass and then found Roode on the left side  of Cavershams penalty box , he drove inside  to shoot but instead played a square ball to Hewson who deceived his opposition defender by cutting back on to his right foot and hitting a well timed shot past Sean Van Dyk on 85 minutes and in the 90th minute following a Caversham corner a sweeping counter-attack saw a well timed and placed shot from Fletcher Cavanagh  which could only be parried into the path of Toa Roode fand he calmly finished from 5 yards out to make the  final score line 3-1 to Wanaka.

Roslyn Wakari v Northern

Roslyn started off the stronger side with both teams desperate for points.

  Luke Clissold calmly slotted past  Northern's keeper Duncan Campbell after making a run from deep and getting on the end of a through ball. As Roslyn created  more chances, there was a feeling that the flood gates may open however Northern, with new coach Arran Wilkinson at the helm instilling a more competitive ethos dug in and defended well and created their own opportunites and equalised when Phil Dawson  headed past Roslyn keeper Zane Green following a well placed diagonal ball.

With the game finally balanced a devastating 10 minute spell just before the break settled the match . Roslyn's centre back Luke Williams long  ball forward  found Tennesse Kinghorn who rose high at the far post and placed his header past Campbell.  Harley Rodeka then calmly volleyed a loose ball into the back of the net and Mike Sannum scored with the last kick of the half.

The second half was an even affair with Northern showing their new found fortitude and competing. Luke Clissold found himself with time in front of goal to bag his brace.  Campbell denied James Govan from close range with a terrific save .

  Northern veteran David Henderson pulled one back with a free kick that deflected off the wall in the closing stages of the game to make it 5-2 win for Roslyn.

  Northerns coach Arran Wilkinson whilst dissapointed with the result was pleased with the improved effort from his squad in such a short time  and has vowed to ensure Northern start again and are competitive in every match.

Mosgiel v University

With University getting their season underway last week with a good win over Queenstown Mosgiels coach Cam McPhail  knew that three points would put them in a good position to push for the Top 4.

Mosgiel started the game brightly, creating a couple of half chances and a 1 on 1 pulled wide of the goal by Rahan Ali. University started building into the game with quick ball movement and smart rotation among their midfield with Oban Hawkins and Benjamin Stanley impressing. 

The game was finely balanced when midway into  the first half, Cody Brook cut inside from the right and hammered home with his trademark left foot from just inside the penalty box past Luke Schaffer-Swan.  That spurred University into action, and within ten minutes they found an equaliser through Oban Hawkins who calmly sidefooted the ball into the corner of the net  after an untidy turnover by the Mosgiel midfield.

A deserved equaliser for the students but having had the lion's share of possession and chances, Mosgiel were determined to wrest back the momentum before the half.

In what was probably the decisive moment of the game, Aidan Barbour-Ryan created something out of nothing - through sheer effort and work rate he out-muscled the University centre back, drove toward goal and laced a shot into the bottom corner of the goal.

Into the 2nd half  Mosgiel scored 2  goals early in the half to  give them a commanding lead. Lewis Wall made it 3 - 1 with a beautiful left foot cross/shot into the top corner and Cody Brook converted a penalty after Rory Findlay was fouled in the box on the back of a tremendous overlapping run down the left.Mosgiel dominated for large periods but University refused to lie down and quickly pulled a goal back through a contender for the goal of the season, with Oban Hawkins curling home a free kick past Yousuf Ahmadi into the top right corner of the goal from just outside the box. 

University were now starting to threaten  but some strong defending from the Mosgiel backline preserved Mosgiel's two goal advantage. The final nail in the coffin came about 15 minutes from fulltime, courtesy of some neat interplay down the left between Cam Anderson and Kasam Ali that ended with Cody Brook heading home a sublime cross from Ali. Brook's 14th goal in 4 games and third consecutive hattrick put the game out of reach for University with Mosgiel claiming a 5.2 victory.

Dunedin Technical v Green Island

Green Island continued its strong start to the season with a 2.0 victory over Tech.

Techincal set up to defend and frustrate Green Island hoping to hit them on the counter attack and it nearly paid dividends when Tech were awarded a 41st minute penalty following a  trip in the box however Mike Neaversons spot kick was well saved by Christian Firth diving to his left. 

0.0 at the break and again in the second half Tech were  frustrating  Green Island who despite having the lions share of possession couldn't break down Tech coach Malcolm Flemings defensive blocks. It took a moment of individual brillance from Matt Brazier in the 55th minute when he beat his marker and unleashed a powerful shot past Cade Fink  to break the deadlock.  

Techs Will Turner  threatened on the break but too often as the lone target he was against 3 defenders. Still the game wasnt safe for Green Island with only a one goal lead.  Into the last minute of the match an effort from  Brazier struck the post and skipper Tom Milton ensured the points were safe  when in stoppage time he headed home.

- Neville Watson ODT