RESULTS: Sunday’s winners, scorers and latest league tables
From the thrill of cup upsets to the drama of close league battles, Sunday was another action-packed day for football in New Zealand and around the region.
OFC Champions League
Auckland City’s hopes of a record-extending 11th OFC Champions League title suffered a setback as they were held to a pulsating 2-2 draw by Rewa in Tahiti.
Cam Howieson gave the Kiwis the lead, but two goals from Josaia Sela in the space of three minutes turned the game on its head. Ryan De Vries’ equaliser earned Auckland a point, but they remain second in Group A, behind Hekari United on goal difference.
Group A
- Rewa 2 (Josaia Sela 62′, 65′) Auckland City 2 (Cam Howieson 50′, Ryan De Vries 67′)
- Solomon Warriors 0 Hekari United 2 (Ati Kepo 70′, Rex Naime 82′)
Chatham Cup
Northern Rovers and Mt Albert Ponsonby booked their places in the second round of the Chatham Cup with 2-0 and 3-0 wins over FC Twenty 11 and Coastal Spirit respectively.
- Coastal Spirit 0 FC Twenty Eleven 3 (Ryan Stanley, Alex Steinwascher, Kenshin Hayashi)
- Northern Rovers 2 (Jay Bracken 39′ pen, Tinotenda Mupemhena 66′) Mt Albert Ponsonby 0
Kate Sheppard Cup
There were goals galore in the Kate Sheppard Cup, with Tauranga Moana, Cambridge and Te Kotahitanga all enjoying big wins.
Grace Duncan netted five times as Tauranga Moana thrashed Lakes 10-0, while Cambridge put four past Tauranga Blue Rovers and Te Kotahitanga hit North Wellington for five.
- Miramar Rangers 1 (Grace Cody 90+1′) Victoria University 0
- Uni-Mount Bohemian 3 (Mikayla Johnson 12′, Maggie Jaques 29′, Cera Joy Sy Tan 44′) Greenhithe 0
- Waikato Unicol 2 (scorer to come) Onehunga Mangere United 1 (scorer to come)
- Tauranga Blue Rovers 0 Cambridge 4 (Zoë Fon 47′, Karin Ingram 62′, Caitlyn Varcoe 87′, Charlotte Harries 90’+2′)
- Lakes 0 Tauranga Moana 10 (Grace Duncan 22′, 53′, 56′, 58′, 60′, Briana Osborne 23′, 49′, Kerri-Ann Jones 29′, Sinead Doherty 64′, Lane Ririnui 83′)
- Te Kotahitanga 5 (Madison Beetham 8′, Zoe Yeo 17′, Emma Howes 37′, Lauren Judd 62′, Daisy Goodman 82′) North Wellington 1 (Abby Morton 69′)
- Northland 3 (A Barradell, S Roest, R Stratton) Franklin United 10 (scorers to come)
- Island Bay United 3 (Naomi Boardman 31′, 57′, Irish Rewiti-Gould 80′) Upper Hutt City 3 (Asha Dyson 28′, Cadhia McLaughlin 80′, 85′)
Central League
Napier City Rovers kept their noses in front at the top of the Central League table with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Petone.
Oscar Faulds gave Rovers the lead in the first half, but Jack O’Connor equalised for Petone with just two minutes of normal time remaining.
However, Sam Lack popped up with a dramatic winner for the hosts in the fifth minute of added time.
Central League
- Napier City Rovers 2 (Oscar Faulds 44′, Sam Lack 90+5′) Petone 1 (Jack O’Connor 90+3′)
Lotto NRFL Women’s Premiership
Auckland United and Hamilton Wanderers maintained their unbeaten starts to the Lotto NRFL Women’s Premiership season with wins over Hibiscus Coast and Eastern Suburbs respectively.
Talisha Green and Alexis Cook were on target for Auckland United, while Stella Neems grabbed the only goal for Hamilton Wanderers.
- Hibiscus Coast 0 Auckland United 2 (Talisha Green 35′, Alexis Cook 90+3′)
- Eastern Suburbs 0 Hamilton Wanderers 1 (Stella Neems 50′)
- Ellerslie 1 (Leigh Aitken 64′, pen) Fencibles United 1 (Taylah Byers 31′)