New premier football leader emerges
The unpredictable nature of the 2018 Loaded WaiBOP Premiership was underlined on Saturday after the previous top two sides were defeated and new leaders emerged.
Papamoa and Melville United both suffered 3-0 losses away from home, while Tauranga Boys’ College’s fine recent run continued. Their fourth win in six mean they now lead the pack.
Boys’ College’s ability to find the back of the net was the difference as they were forced to grind out a 3-1 victory at a West Hamilton United side that had topped the table several weeks ago.
Hashim Noorzai’s spot kick for West Ham had the teams level at one apiece in the second half, but the students weren’t to be denied. Regular goal scorers Lewis Reid, Adam Davidson and Stanley Rust all hit the back of the net to ease their side to a well merited three points.
This form is a turnaround from a Boys’ College side that has toiled at the wrong end of the table in recent seasons.
It’s clearly something that was coming, however, as a good group of players have been working and growing together for several years and are now playing the type of football that is good to watch and, just as important, successful.
Ahead of the weekend, Papamoa and Melville both faced tricky looking away trips and that’s how things played out.
Melville made the short journey across Hamilton to play a Waikato Unicol side on a bit of an upswing after some good recent results, particularly in the ISPS Handa Chatham Cup.
Riku Soejima’s early goal gave Unicol an advantage, but this was a proper tussle that was only settled late on when Soejima touched home his second. Ethan Martin hit Unicol’s third goal with five minutes remaining to complete a tougherthan-it-looked 3-0 win for his side.
Papamoa never looked like scoring at Crown Park as they dropped to their first defeat of the season.
Taupo led through an own goal and another Byron Thessman strike at the half, before Matty Lewis completed a fine afternoon’s work for the Lakesiders.
After a slip up in their first game, Taupo look to be ominously moving themselves into the title mix. Their victory took Taupo level on ten points with Papamoa in a reshaped top four.
With Boys’ College on thirteen points and Melville in second on eleven any slip-up will see another reshuffle. Further down the table things were com- pressed even more.
Comag Matamata Swifts’ 3-2 win over Mercury Tokoroa moved them into a group of five teams on seven points that all sit just two points behind West Hamilton and Tokoroa.
Scott Parsonage scored Matamata’s winner in the second half after he had earlier given the Swifts the lead. Goals from Narinder Singh and Gareth Williams briefly had Tokoroa in front before Reuben Wiglesworth ensured the teams entered half time level.
Joel Roil’s first half double meant Te Awamutu also moved on to seven points after they beat Tauranga Blue Rovers 2-0. Blue Rovers’ goal difference mean they sunk into the bottom two but, rather remarkably, their seven points mean they sit only six points off top spot. That’s how tight the Premiership table is at the present point in time.
In the other game, Otumoetai hammered Hamilton Wanderers for the second time in three weeks, with their 8-2 win at Porritt Stadium ensuring they also moved to seven points.
Nicholas Barnes scored four goals and Jordi Langton a double, as the men in green made no race of it. Otumoetai is now the league’s second leading scorers but 17 of their 19 goals have come against a Wanderers side that have yet to claim a point.