Te Puke men, women grab points
Both combinations secure their third victory in succession
IFOOTBALL
n a game remarkable for three penalties being awarded in the last 20 minutes, Te Puke Utd made it three wins in a row last Saturday. Making the most of the good Crown Park pitch in Taupo¯ , Te Puke opened with a flourish, showing they could play some good football, but the experienced Taupo¯ side cut off virtually every chance.
Good defending from the visitors as the half wore on, plus some excellent saves from keeper Viktor Nielsen, who was standing in for the injured Ben Day, kept the game scoreless at the break.
With Te Puke making a couple of changes at the break, the second half became a different story with the visitors taking control of the midfield and launching several counter attacks.
Taupo¯ tried their best to get back into the game, but fatigue set in and the tackles started coming in a little late. In the 70th minute Te Puke were awarded a penalty with Agustin Fernandez stepping up, only to be thwarted when the Taupo¯ keeper went the right way and parried it out.
Heads stayed high, however, and the team stayed strong, pushing towards goal and winning another penalty in the 79th minute. Fernandez this time made no mistake, sending the keeper the wrong way.
Further pressure saw a third penalty, with Emiliano Piedrabuena this time taking the spot kick and putting the game beyond doubt at 2-0.
Leo Silva was named player of the day for a dominant display in mid field.
Te Puke now sit in fifth place in a very tight WAIBOP Championship where there is just one point between the top and sixth-placed teams.
Next Saturday Te Puke host thirdplaced Cambridge at Litt Park, kickoff 12.30pm.
Te Puke’s women’s team followed suit with their third win on the trot on Sunday, outclassing Waiariki 10-1 in Rotorua.
With a strong start, Te Puke took the lead early in the first half with the first of many slotted away after some nice movement of the ball.
Waiariki tried their best to get into the game, but with a solid defensive line Te Puke played the ball nicely into the midfielders who were able to feed the Te Puke attack and pump the pressure on the home team with goals coming from every direction.
Jessie Mcindoe and Ashley Weld bagged two goals each, and Samantha Parish got her first hat-trick of the season, all within the first 45 minutes.
After the break, Te Puke continued dominating the game playing simple football, passing it around, with the Waiariki team giving Parish the opportunity to bag a couple more goals.
Waiariki got one back after being awarded a penalty that had to be retaken, to make it 9-1 before Parish got her sixth.
Ellie Hansen was named player of the day for controlling the midfield giving and well executed passes.
Te Puke Women have a bye this Sunday.