Nasty head clash forces game delay
Auckland City’s ISPS Handa Premiership game against Tasman United was delayed by almost an hour after a nasty head clash between two players.
Auckland’s 3-1 win at Kiwitea St on Sunday afternoon was overshadowed by the concern for Auckland forward David Browne and Tasman goalkeeper Corey Wilson, who stayed down for an extensive period following a clash of heads in the 74th minute.
They fell to the ground, with Browne screaming in pain, having received a cut to his head. Both received treatment while lying on the ground waiting for an ambulance to arrive. Two ambulances arrived about half an hour later, with both players stretchered off and taken to hospital. The game resumed after a 50-minute delay.
Browne had earlier scored Auckland’s second goal in the 50th minute to complement Javier Lopez’s brace.
The final 20 minutes were played out without incident as Auckland kept their place at the top of the table.
Elsewhere, Team Wellington have bounced back from their first-up loss to Auckland to comfortably beat the Wellington Phoenix reserves in the first-round proper of the ISPS Handa Premiership.
The 4-1 win in the curtain-raiser to the A-League match at Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Sunday afternoon came courtesy of a starring role from midfielder Andy Bevin.
He scored one goal and setup two others in an all-action performance.
Down in Christchurch, Canterbury United edged Southern United 1-0 thanks to a firsthalf goal from Sean Liddicoat.
Meanwhile, Hamilton Wanderers beat Waitakere United 3-1 as Tommy Semmy scored two goals.
In Saturday’s game, the new-look Eastern Suburbs, bolstered by a bevy of recruits from the Ole Football Academy in Wellington, easily swept aside Hawke’s Bay United 5-0 as Kingsley Sinclair bagged a brace.