Cambridge go top with win over Matamata

Cambridge has surged to the top of the WaiBop Premiership after a 2-1 win at Matamata Swifts on Saturday, during a weekend in which a number of games were postponed due to the ugly weather.

With previous leaders Waikato Unicol not in action, Cambridge took their opportunity, and Daniel Clarkin’s goal nine minutes into the second half proved to be the game’s decisive moment.

Before that, there was very little between the two sides. Matamata’s Brad West was sent tumbling by Cambridge keeper, Fraser Nicholls, in the 19th minute to hand the Swifts a penalty, which was duly converted by Jamie Baxter.

The visitors nabbed their equaliser three minutes before the break when Clarkin slid home the first of his two goals, after Matamata failed to properly deal with a Cambridge corner.

Matamata should have drawn themselves level immediately after Clarkin’s second goal, but Chris Walker fired over from one of his team’s few clear-cut openings.

Further chances were rare, but Cambridge had a golden opportunity to seal the game late on when they hit the woodwork. In the end, the insurance goal wasn’t needed.

Neither set of coaches would have been overly happy with the quality of their team’s performance as the heavy conditions led to too much long ball and wasted possession. But the result was the key thing, particularly for Cambridge, and once they had the lead they saw the game out comfortably enough.

In the other two Premiership games that escaped the weather, Te Awamutu snuck home 3-2 at Tauranga Boys’ College thanks to goals from Joel Roil, Haydn Roil and Jack Conner, while Rotorua United beat bottom side Papamoa 5-1 in a game that was goalless at the break.

In the WaiBop Women’s Premier League, Tauranga City United romped to their third consecutive heavy victory, thumping Tokoroa 5-0 at Links Avenue. The visitors would have had some hope at half time as they trailed by a solitary goal, but the league leaders ran away with the game in the second half to move three points clear of Cambridge, who didn’t play at the weekend due to a flooded pitch, at the top of the table.

In the other two games, Melville United snuck home 1-0 at home over Whakatane Town, while Otumoetai and Rotorua United shared the points after a 2-2 draw at Fergusson Park.