Queenstown Rovers earn South Island league spot

QUEENSTOWN Rovers have claimed the final spot in the South Island football league.

The side beat Dunedin Technical 32 in Queenstown on Saturday to finish in the top three of the Football South Premiership.

The win put Queenstown past Caversham in the race for the top three in the last game of the league — a catchup after the original fixture was postponed.

It ended a threematch losing streak for Queenstown, although Tech still finished as champion, entering the game four points clear at the top.

Tech started brightly and with Tim McLennan in fine form, he duly fired Tech ahead early in game.

However, Queenstown pounced on some poor defending that resulted in three goals before halftime.

Carlos Hermann grabbed two of those, while Jan Kumar added one.

Following some stern words at the interval from coach Tony Martin, Tech came out and controlled the game for long periods.

It found Tom Petersen on hand to put away a loose ball in the penalty box to reduce the deficit to one.

The game opened up and chances went begging at both ends.

But with youngster Ben Dubyk in Tech’s goal repelling the home team’s attacks, Queenstown coach Jamie Whitmarsh had to endure a nervous finish.

McLennan’s goal left him as the league’s top scorer on nine, while Nick Treadwell and Riley Anderton both scored seven.

The win puts Queenstown through to join Southland and Tech from the southern region.

It will compete with Cashmere Tech, Coastal Spirit, Ferrymead, Nelson and Nomads, from the Mainland federation, in the South Island league.

The league will begin on June 30. Chatham Cup games are set to be played next weekend.