Northern v Green Island.

The bottom side hosted the top team and made them work extremely hard for the 3 points . It was a feisty, physical affair with some tough tackling that was well officiated by Referee Calvin Berg. With Green Island missing Matt Brazier  both sides were evenly matched  and it took  until the 31st minute for Green Island to take the lead when  - Liam Carrington was on hand to finish from close range following  a great penetrating run and pass from Eddie Wilkinson. 3 minutes later Northern equalised when  Blake Porteous was sent off  for foul as the last defender when he brought down  Northerns Jameel Geor as he was bearing down on goal. Harry Fraser struck the  resultant  free kick from 19 yards past Christian Firth  into bottom corner.

4 minutes into the second half a free kick awarded to Green Island was struck home by Tom Milton to give the leaders the advantage  2-1.

The 2nd half remained a  very tight and  physical contest with  some seriously combative moments  and despite the man disadvantage dug deep to keep their 100% record intact .

Northerns coach Arran Wilkinson felt both sides were evenly matched and whilst gutted with the final result knows its a step in the right direction of Northerns rebuilding and he had praise for the officals led by Calvin Berg who had an "excellent performance, accepting  the combative nature and allowing  the game to be played fierce and fair - there was consistency and some really good 'game' understanding"

Mosgiel v Roslyn Wakari

Memorial Park played host to one of the more memorable clashes between these two sides in recent history. The match had plenty of action and subplots being   played at a high intensity with plenty of passion from both sides, a couple of early tackles set the tone

Roslyn started the game well, their midfield four linking up well to create some half chances for Nathan Wilkie and James Govan. Jak Stevenson was threatening going forward from right back, and Luke Clissold had moments of real quality as Roslyn pressed for an opening goal.

With Lewis Wall out with illness, a reshuffled Mosgiel midfield three of Alex Cox, Rahan Ali and Matt Kelly were slow to get into the game, but when they did and started moving the ball quickly Mosgiel slowly began to gain the ascendancy and their veteran centre back- Liam Dungey found himself one on one with Roslyn keeper Tom Stevens after a set piece but wasnt able to get past as the former Mosgiel man ,who was making his 100th senior appearance  spread himself well to keep the game scoreless.

Cam Anderson was busy on Mosgiel's left hand side and cut in twice, getting a shot away on both occasions, only to be blocked by Luke Williams

Mosgiel kept the ball well and moved the Roslyn defence around looking for an opening. One eventually came in the 23rd minute when Aidan Barbour-Ryan released Cody Brook on the right hand side, who chopped back onto his left foot to deliver a pinpoint cross which was powered home  by the head of Matt Kelly  into the roof of the net from close range.

Mosgiel had chances to make it 2 nil before the break, but the game was turned on its head in the 39th minute when Cody Brook was shown a straight red for a studs up challenge on Roslyn's left back Michael Sannum. Mosgiel were rattled and barely made it to halftime with their lead intact.

Going into the second half Roslyn looked to dominate with the numerical advantage  however  Mosgiel changed formation and set up to defend and counter attack quickly with Cam Anderson providing the outlet up top as a lone striker.

The plan worked, and although Roslyn definitely had more possession Mosgiel defended resolutely and refused to concede. Roslyn created good chancesin the second spell - early on a shot from just inside the penalty box went inches wide of Liam Whittaker's goal, then  through some of the resulting corners and long throw ins  Shay Thom came closest at the back post.

Mosgiel created several chances of their own with Cam Anderson working tirelessly up  front he was a thorn in Roslyns  back four . Tom Stevens made a couple of outstanding saves to deny Anderson, and an electric break down the right from Aidan Barbour-Ryan should have been finished with a goal from Cam Anderson, but the Mosgiel striker blazed his shot over the crossbar.

Roslyn nearly snatched an equaliser with only a few minutes when Nathan Wilkie cut in from the right flank and his shot with  outside his foot from a tight angle only just went over the crossbar . 1.0 was how  it finished, with the 10-man Mosgiel taking away an impressive result under the circumstances.

Queenstown v Caversham.

Travelling away to Queenstown is usually a fraught affair for Dunedin teams and with Cavershams season so far not yet kicking into gear coach Richard Murray knew this match could well define their season.   His charges did not let him down romping to a 9-2 victory.

It was a free flowing game with both sides moving the ball quickly and accurately on a perfect surface in Queenstown that all Dunedin base clubs would welcome . 4 goals in the first 25 minutes to the visitors through  Connor Neil, Campbell Thompson and a brace to Raven August and 2 set pieces to Queenstown made up the first 45 minutes.

There was no let up in the 2nd half when Ben Kiore got in on the act and plundered 4 further goals. Liam Batts also scored on debut.

Queenstown were more effective on the break but the Caversham defensive unit showed resilience and linked well with their midfield and their strike force clicked into gear in a very clinical display. The game was well controlled by Chris Rhoades, Jeremy Samuels and Rowan Dunnet who worked hard and ensured the game was allowed to flow.

- Neville Watson ODT