Two wins two losses for Utd teams
Te Puke Utd on Saturday hosted last year’s runnersup, O¯ torohanga AFC, but, after a great start, fell to a 4-1 defeat. The game was only a few minutes old when a defensive error by the visitors was pounced on by Jonah Davies for the opening goal.
However, it didn’t take long for Otorohanga ¯ to get into the game and pressure the defence, and with 20 minutes gone the visitors were 2-1 up. Te Puke kept fighting, creating a couple of chances that were put wide, but O¯ torohanga then made it harder for Te Puke by securing their third before the break.
In the second half, Te Puke looked a lot stronger with more opportunities coming their way, but a strong away team kept their heads making it hard to get back into the game. O¯ torohanga sealed the win with their fourth goal and in the final minute, Te Puke’s Andrew Skerten was shown a straight red.
Despite that, he was awarded the man of the match accolade.
The Men’s League 1 side has no game this weekend becuase it received a bye in the preliminary round of the Chatham Cup.
Men’s Bay 2
A strong match between Te Puke Men’s Bay 2 and FM Pa¯pa¯moa FC Rovers ended with a 2-1 win.
A confident Te Puke team stepped up and with some solid defending allowing the forwards to play and create chances that were coming left and right. Diego Nahuel made the breakthrough in the 25th minute, giving Te Puke the lead. Te Puke continued to push strongly until the break, but were unable to secure a second.
The momentum carried on to the second half with Arturo Poblete making it 2-0 with a wonderful top-corner finish. While looking to see the game out Pa¯pa¯moa got back into it with a goal in the 63th minute. Te Puke tightened back up and secured the 2-1 victory.
Man of the match: Shaun Bell On¯saturday the Men’s Bay 2 side face Ohope in first round of the Miller Cup away at Bluett Park, 2pm kick-off.
Bay 1 Women
Te Puke faced off against Tauranga City Wolves, winning 5-1 after a strong second half. The black and whites started strongly with some early chances, with everyone playing their part and Chynna Davie making it 1-0. The Wolves sharpened up making it hard for the Te Puke attack, keeping it 1-0 until halftime.
The second half brought a lot more action with Tauranga getting an early penalty. A tidy finish made it 1-1. This fired the girls up and within minutes they were 2-1 with Davie getting her second. Jacyln Grant put in a player of the day performance to lead the Te Puke defence, which kept any threat away, and with the building pressure Davie made it 3-1. She went on to score two more in what has been a remarkable goal-scoring season so far for the striker.
The Bay 1 Women’s team has a bye this weekend
Wahine Toa Bay 1
An ever-improving Wahine Toa team travelled to Rotorua to face Waiariki, losing 5-2.
A solid start led to some back-andforth football with strong defending and promising attacks nearly paying off. Waiariki took the lead, followed by a quick counter in the 27th minute making it 2-0, but Te Puke kept fighting and pressed hard on the reset of play with Karlie Skudder beating an opponent and placing it in the bottom corner. Wahine Toa continued to fight, but the home team managed to sneak one in before the half.
Waiariki came out fast in the second half, getting their fourth early on, but a determined Te Puke fought hard to bring it back to 4-2. Hopes of a comeback were dashed as the home team scored their fifth, but a strong performance from everyone on the pitch kept Waiariki out for the rest of the half while just missing the final touch.
Woman of the match was Karlie Skudder. Wahine Toa have a bye this weekend.