11 July 2026
- 2 days ago
- 9 min read
Division 1: Sprig + Fern Tahuna 1st XI Division 2: Sprig + Fern Tahuna 2nd XI Sprig + Fern Tahuna 3rd XI Division 4:
Women's Premiership: Sprig + Fern Tahuna Womens XI Masters Football: Sprig + Fern Tahuna Masters
1st XI 0 - 3 FC Nelson
Location: Guppy Park
Goals:
Match MVP: Vann A frustrating day on the green stuff for the Tuna boys. Firstly having to start a top of the table clash against a very young and ambitious FC Nelson team with the bare Xl was always going to be a struggle, but loosing midfield ace Luc Gellatly after only 10 minutes of play put us on the boys on back foot.
Our bad luck continued giving away a very soft penalty after 20 minutes, and conceding another poor goal just before the half made matters worse. After a tactical change at half time the boys played more aggressive attacking football and took the game to FC putting plenty of pressure on their defense and creating multiple chances to get back into the game but unfortunately the goal did not come and ultimately conceding a third through a classic FC Nelson counter attack.
The boys worked hard all day but competing against teams with plenty of youth and full substitute benches just means the boys struggle to compete at the moment for the full 90 minutes, thus making a title challenge very difficult.
We play away to a resurgent Richmond side this week and are determined to get back to winning ways.
Match report by Dave
2nd XI 2 - 4 Nelson Suburbs 2nd XI
Location: Avery Park
Goals: Fletcher, Dong
Match MVP: Fletcher
Avery Park served up an absolutely dreadful pitch for this one. Slippery, muddy and barely fit for football, especially with several other fields sitting available nearby. Last week, a threadbare 2nd XI raided the retirement village and drafted in six Masters to help beat FC Nelson. This week, we went the other way and called up four players from our development side. Lochy started in goal, Saul in defence, Fletcher in midfield and James up front. Three of them were just 15, all four were making their senior Tahuna debuts, and none looked out of place. It was a huge milestone for the club.
After around 15 years without a junior setup, Tahuna now has players coming through the ranks, enjoying their football and earning senior opportunities. It was also a proper baptism of fire against a young and technical Suburbs side containing several players who featured in First Division last season.
Tahuna thought they had taken an early lead when Munday quickly placed a free kick into the far corner while the keeper set his wall. It was incorrectly disallowed, although the free kick itself had been fairly soft, so we moved on.
Suburbs soon lifted the tempo, and Lochy had very little time to settle. He produced a string of brave saves, including a superb low dive and strong right hand to tip a certain goal around the post.
Suburbs eventually opened the scoring from a long throw. Tahuna missed the defensive header, Lochy saved the first effort, but the rebound was tucked away. Tahuna responded with some slick passing, and Dong finished calmly into the corner after an excellent team move. With the final kick of the half, though, a long cross found an unmarked Suburbs player at the back post, who fired home for 2–1.
Fletcher had already been tidy and creative down the left throughout the first half, and continued in the same vein after the break. The second half also saw all four young debutants on the pitch together. Saul slotted into the right side of a three-man defence and handled the responsibility superbly, while James ran the channels tirelessly and held the ball up well against experienced defenders.
Tahuna soon levelled through Fletcher. A perfectly timed run took him to the back of the box, where he met Joe’s diagonal delivery and finished in style for a senior debut goal.
Suburbs responded with an excellent half-volley from Handsome Rob to regain the lead. As the game opened up, Lochy was called into action repeatedly. He produced a fantastic double save and later denied a one-on-one with an outstanding left-foot stop.
Suburbs added a fourth late on to kill off any hopes of a comeback, but the result felt secondary.
All four development players showed maturity, composure and confidence well beyond their years. Lochy was outstanding in goal, Saul looked assured in the back three, Fletcher was tidy, creative and capped his performance with a goal, while James worked tirelessly up front.
A 4–2 defeat on paper, but a massive win for Tahuna Football Club.
Top day for Tahuna.
Match report by Will
3rd XI 2 - 7 FC Nelson Reserves
Location: Neale Park Goals:
Match MVP: Sobi Tahuna 3rds 3 – 6 FC Nelson Reserves Officially Recorded as 2 - 7 The 3rds were welcomed to FC Nelson Reserves' home pitch with a bit of Tomfoolery, being told the changing rooms, approximately 3km from the playing field was unlocked and good to use. It wasn't. Jokes on them, we had a decent warm-up because of this.
Unfortunately, our keeper, Stu "The Unmoveable" Mountain, found himself in the right place at entirely the wrong time. Between the constant communication and the occasional cough splatter, there was never any silence coming from the Tahuna goalmouth. Sadly, Stu was struck down by a vicious case of the sniffles. Five sneezes in the first half somehow coincided with five goals finding the back of the net. Medical experts are still investigating whether there was a direct correlation.
Down 5-0 at the break, the mood was surprisingly positive. We were playing some decent football but were sincerely missing our regular shot-stopper, Sir Daddy Dunn who had answered Drafting Duty to the Tahuna 1st XI. The halftime message was simple: control the ball better, shut down the midfield, and link our play across the park. A slight formation tweak, a few spirited words, and one very important substitution saw the game turn.
Stu escaped quarantine and Kodie pulled on the gloves, while Rhys was dispatched to the sideline to run the flag. Coincidence or tactical masterstroke? The score remained unchanged until Rhys returned 20 minutes later... just in time for the next goal to be an own goal. Definitely not off Rhys' boot. It came off Ollie. Those are the facts.
The Tahuna 3rds finally found their groove, bagging two goals of our own before FC Nelson kindly contributed another to their tally. By our calculations, the Tahuna 3rds technically won the second half 3-1 (Sayha, Sobi & Ollie). Man of the Match went to Sobi, who delivered 90 relentless minutes of chivalrous pestery and made life miserable for everyone in a black-and-white striped shirt.
Match report by Rhys
4th XI 0 - 7 Motueka
Location: Memorial Park
Goals:
Match MVP: Zay
A disappointing outing for the 4ths this week, a combination of people away for the long weekend and injuries ment that we traveled over to Motueka with a starting 11 and an injured sub.
Mot opened the scoring in the first minute and from there it was their game for the most part. We had our chances but nothing found the back of the net and we were 4-0 down by the time the half time whistle went.
The second half was much the same. We had our chances but no joy as Motueka added a few more to their total and the game finished 7-0.
The game was played in good spirits all around and when you play 4th div football that's all you can really ask for. To their credit they played a very good game, not that we played badly but they were just a step above us.
Motm went to Zay for his tireless defending. Time to regroup at training and prepare to bounce back for the next game Up Up
Match report by Zach
TFC Womens XI 6 - 0 Wakefield
Location:
Goals: Roxy (2) Jess, Hannah, Bailey (2)
Match MVP: Marijke Following a week of heavy rain, the match was played on a slippery surface that made every challenge hard-fought. Both teams started strongly, contesting every ball, and the opening stages saw play flow from end to end with determined defense and some excellent goalkeeping from Wakefield.
The game followed a familiar pattern from our previous meeting with Wakefield. Tahuna created plenty of attacking opportunities, only to be denied time and again by Wakefield's goalkeeper, who made a number of outstanding saves. It took 15 minutes before the deadlock was finally broken, with Roxy finding a gap in the defense and calmly finishing to give Tahuna a 1–0 lead.
Despite continuing to press, Tahuna had to wait another 30 minutes before extending the advantage. Jess showcased some brilliant footwork, weaving around defenders before slotting the ball into the back of the net. The first half ended 2–0, with both teams displaying strong defensive efforts that limited clear scoring chances.
Tahuna came out after the break looking to build on their lead. After another 15 minutes, Hannah produced one of the highlights of the match, making an outstanding run down the sideline before cutting inside and finishing confidently to make it 3–0.
As the game wore on and fatigue began to set in, Tahuna found another gear. Roxy produced a clever, chipped finish over the advancing goalkeeper to claim her second of the day. Soon after, Bailey struck a superb goal from the left-hand side, and to prove it was no fluke, she repeated the feat around 10 minutes later with another excellent finish to complete the scoring at 6–0.
The final whistle brought another well-earned victory for Tahuna, built on disciplined defending, relentless attacking pressure, and excellent teamwork throughout the match.
Player of the Day was deservedly awarded to Marijke, whose tireless work rate, multiple assists, and strong attacking play from midfield in the second half were instrumental in creating opportunities for the team.
The post-match celebrations were bittersweet as Jesikah announced that this would be her final game for the foreseeable future. She shared the wonderful news that she and Ryan are expecting their first child. The entire Tahuna family congratulates them both on this exciting new chapter and wishes them every happiness. Congratulations, Jesikah and Ryan!
Match report by Cris
TFC Masters 0 - 4 Nelson Suburbs Masters
Location: Saxtons Fields
Goals:
Match MVP: Cam
We arrived at the Saxton Stadium with limited numbers. Barely 11 players to start. Kev gave an inspirational speech about just trying our best and only running if we had to. In truth the centre of the pitch was like a West Coast dairy farm, sodden and lumpy. So running through that was going to be quite the drain!
The whistle blew and as soon as we lost possession Suburbs were on us. They attacked with vigour down our right side, got in the box and squeezed it into the goal. We were 1-0 down within 2 minutes. It was going to be a long afternoon. Suburbs had the league championship on the cards so they went straight onto the press again. Brute force and kicks ricocheted the ball around until a wicked deflection slotted it into our goal 2-0. Oh dear.
At this point Tahuna finally crossed the midline with purpose. Cunny was put through and ran the distance of the pitch, getting snuffled out at the end. And Paddy followed shortly after with a breaking run which was defended with steel. Suburbs managed to just edge one past our front post and Goody to claim their third, 3-0 Suburbs.
This was starting to get embarrassing!
When they came again Gaz tried to clear out their winger, but he somehow managed to stay on his feet and another happy deflection dropped the ball to a Suburbs player who simply passed it in the corner for a fourth.
As half time approached Ben was hobbling around like a Nurofen advert. Okay let’s just try and keep this respectful Kev summoned at half time. They were showing off with their regular substitutions, but Tahuna dug in. We planted our tackles in the muddy rivets. Put a foot in, get a head in! Anything to keep out the burbs and keep our badge respectable.
Goody made a couple of classy saves. Ben cleared 2 off the line and Gaz headed a certain goal bound shot off the white turf too. Ben was barely walking but stood firm at right back. We funneled everything off the left and centre where some legs were left.
An occasional venture passed over the halfway line but we looked more Ghana than France and honestly, we were left relieved and appeased to end the second half 0-0, 4-0 down in total. Suburbs are a quality team. We were always struggling with only 11. It’s just a real pity this season only has 1 game to go… Although I won’t miss the Suburbs cold showers. If they could install a coin meter, I’d be happy to drop one for a hot rinse after the game.
Match Report by Pete B
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