Eltham win in rain-reduced round
Only one Taranaki men’s premier football match was played over the weekend as wild weather took its toll on New Plymouth’s fields.
The only match not scheduled to be played in New Plymouth was the only one that got underway on Saturday as Eltham cruised to an 8-0 win over Woodleigh on their home ground, Taumata Park.
A hat-trick from Isaac Smith and a brace from Ryk Ferguson led the South Taranaki side, with goals from Lachlan Gilbert, Ashley Reader-Nokes and Kyle Bates adding to the hurt for Woodleigh.
With FC Western and New Plymouth Rangers both having their matches postponed due to rain, Eltham jumped to second on the table.
Western were set to play Inglewood at Lynmouth Park, Rangers were scheduled to host Peringa at Merrilands Domain, while Moturoa were supposed to take on Hawera at Onuku Taipari Domain and Francis Douglas Memorial College and New Plymouth Boys’ High School were meant to go head to head at the College.
In the men’s Federation League, Sam De St Croix led Rangers to a hard-fought 3-2 victory away to Gisborne Thistle.
De St Croix bagged a double to nullify two goals from the Gisborne side, with Sam Adeyinka’s goal proving to be the difference.
It was a fiery encounter, with De St Croix, Adeyinka, Peter Kelbrick, Isaac Bailey, James Burroughs and James Graham all shown yellow cards.
Rangers sit second on the ladder, six points behind Havelock North. ❚ In the women’s Federation League, New Plymouth Girls’ High School shocked league leaders Taradale, claiming a 3-1 win. A double from Anahita Piri and a goal from Chantal Williams did the damage for the New Plymouth side, with Taradale match them.
Second-placed Moturoa were on the wrong end of a 5-2 results, going down to fifth-placed Port Hill United.
In the Taranaki women’s league, Waitara were handed a 3-0 victory as Hawera defaulted in the only league match of the weekend.
The first round of the Duchess Cup saw the other four teams in the league set to get out on the pitch, however Inglewood’s match against Moturoa was postponed.
In the other match, rangers beat Peringa 5-0, with goals going to Nina Laird, Jade Boyce, Kerri Anne-Jones, Ally Smith-Lines and Aimee Wisnewski. unable to