Richmond, Suburbs topple competition leaders
Two accomplished upsets and the debut of the Suburbs development squad highlighted round 11 of Nelson Pine Industries Men’s Division 1 football competition over the weekend.
The top two sides both had four goals put on them as Queen Street Pharmacy Richmond First XI toppled leaders FC Nelson Sprig and Fern 4-0, and second-placed FC Nelson Fuji Xerox were beaten 4-2 by a resurgent AMI Nelson Suburbs First XI. There was near jubilation at Jubilee Park as Richmond routed Sprig and Fern, handing the front-runners their second loss of the season. For a second time in 2012, Richmond took three points from their meeting with the FC Nelson side, the margin being more convincing than the 3-2 victory back in May.
While FC Nelson were without top goal-scorer Hayden Nunn and missed having Solomon Island international Henry Fa’arodo on the pitch by about 24 hours, Richmond didn’t have trouble finding a willing striker. Wiki Tafia scored a rare hattrick, while Glen Pearless chipped in with a well-taken goal, the second of the match.
Richmond coach Matt Campbell said that his team were well worth the three points, and this performance had set the standard for the season.
‘‘I thought it was pretty much our best performance of the season; we controlled the game and put the ball in the back of the net at the right times.
‘‘It was a competitive game, but we created a lot of chances and it could easily have been a couple more.’’
Along with a man-of-the-match performance from Tafia, Josh Johnston kept his good form on the right-hand side, and Jason Collett had close to his best game in the middle of the park.
For Sprig and Fern, it was a match of fumbles and frustration. An experiment with a 3-5-2 formation didn’t quite come off; shots from the ever-present Davi Maciel were saved, and an injury to goal-keeper Mark Currie forced already injured Jan Kovac to don the gloves.
With Kovac having sustained broken finger during their second round Chatham Cup match against Nelson Suburbs, not only was his main saving tool on the blink but his confidence was shot, too. Kovac made errors that led to goals, playing in a position he was literally not fit to fill.
Sprig and Fern team manager Rick Gower chalked the result up to a bad day that would soon be forgotten.
‘‘We certainly didn’t expect it and, unfortunately, a couple of injuries and missing players really cost us out there.
‘‘They weren’t four goals better than us; it was pretty disappointing for us.’’
Over on Guppy Park, Nelson Suburbs grabbed their second win on the bounce as Fuji Xerox missed a golden opportunity to catch their Fellow FC Nelson club on the points table.
Both sides played some decent football on a less than prime pitch. There were regular chances at both ends, and it could have gone either way, but Suburbs took the initiative along with their chances.
An own goal gifted Fuji a 1-0 start. Suburbs goal-keeper Simon Capenhurst came out to clear a ball, the clearance rebounding off a Suburbs defender into an open goal. Lency Norman earned the goal back, scoring an equaliser for Suburbs before Isaac Taylor put them ahead, scoring from Sam Maxwell a corner as it went to the break 2-1.
Norman notched his brace as Suburbs raced to a 3-1 lead just after the break finishing off a movement that originated from deep in the Suburbs half. With 20 minutes to go, Fuji’s attacking endeavour was finally repaid as Sean Parkes scorched in a direct free kick from just outside the box.
By this stage the FC Nelson side were pouring forward in search of an equaliser. Capenhurst more than made up for his first-half lapse with a duo of fine one-on-one saves, but when Suburbs substitute Nicolas Isaza managed to pick up a speculator cross near the penalty spot and turn it in, the contest was decided.
Suburbs co-coach Joe Green said he was happy with the results, but even more impressed by the strides his young team are making.
‘‘Like any sport, wins help to breed a bit of confidence, especially for the young lads in the team. They are definitely improving which is the main thing for us.’’
FC Nelson coach Robbie Hansen said that his side were disappointed but Suburbs deserved the win. ‘‘We found it hard to break down there structure in the first half and failed to take our opportunities in the second. We could have finished the round first equal, but we let that chance slip.’’
Nelson Suburbs Development had their first run of the season against Lonestar Nelson College at Broads. Despite the game not counting for points, it was a beneficial run for sides. College won 4-2.
More first-division comes tomorrow evening when Richmond and Nelson Suburbs finally play their fifth round catch-up match at 6.45pm under lights at Jubilee Park.