25 April 2026
- 6 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 3-0 Richmond (Chatham Cup)
Location: Tahunanui S1
Goals: Nick, Williamson, Danny Hampton, Will Denbigh
Match MVP: Matt Jepson
The boys were given an early break from league action to take part in the preliminary round of the New Zealand Chatham Cup. The preliminary rounds consist of lower league regional teams playing off against each other until the competition draw opens up the regions. The Tahuna first XI were drawn against their league counterparts Richmond Athletic who have reached the 4th round (last 16) twice in their club history.
Tahuna failed to start the game with their usual intensity and found themselves under immediate pressure from a young and enthusiastic Richmond team, surviving a couple of early scares in front of their goal, surviving this early pressure the local beach boys grew into their stride with some great combinations through the centre of midfield with Will Denbigh, Van Roland and Izaak Cunningham.
It wasn't long before Tahuna's forward partnership of Danny and Ethan Skinner combined to give left winger Nick Williamson the chance to break the deadlock with a well taken goal. An increase in ball speed and continual movement created multiple opportunities with further conversions from 'Big Time' Danny Hampton and a great individual goal from Will Denbigh. Half time score 3-0. Tahuna found it difficult to further break down the Richmond defence who bought into the game some young aggressive substitutions to ensure the game didn't get away from them. Tahuna continued to control play, even while energy levels and ball speed dropped considerably.
Tahuna MVP was given to their Captain Matt Jepson who along with his keeper and fellow defenders kept the Richmond attack at bay. Match report by Dave
2nd XI 0-2 FC Nelson Karenni
Location: Neale Park
Goals:
Match MVP: Will Murphy
It was one of those weeks. Between injuries, illness, travel, and what we’ll generously call “creative availability,” Tahuna turned up a bit light on numbers and even lighter on natural positions. A few lads found themselves playing roles they hadn’t experienced since junior football—or ever.
Tahuna started flat. Not “slow start” flat… more “did we start?” flat. Karenni controlled the tempo early, and Tahuna spent most of the half chasing shadows and occasionally each other. Credit where it’s due—Will Murphy in goal was outstanding, pulling off save after save to keep the score respectable. Despite his efforts, Karenni found a way through, and at 1–0 down at halftime, Tahuna could consider themselves slightly fortunate it wasn’t more.
The second half began with a bit more intent. There was energy, there was effort… there was even a short spell where it looked like Tahuna might actually get something going. But it never quite clicked. Karenni added a second with what can only be described as a “soft one,” effectively shutting the door on any comeback hopes.
To their credit, the boys kept working. Will Mathews put in a shift up front, chasing everything like it owed him money, but with little reward. The back line battled hard under constant pressure and did what they could to keep things together. And then there was Will Murphy again—Man of the Match—with a standout moment being a brilliant double save in the second half that had no right being stopped. Plenty of effort. Not enough quality. On another day, with a full squad and players in their actual positions, maybe it’s a different story. But on this day, Tahuna were second best. No time to dwell.
A big one coming up next week against the Seals, and you can bet the boys will be looking to bounce back. Preferably with more players… and in the right positions.
Match report by Munday
3rd XI 2 - 6 FC Nelson Locomotive
Location: Botanics Goals: Sayha, Wayne
Match MVP: Wayne
Buoyed by their 3-0 win against Richmond the week before, Tahuna 3rds headed over to the Botanics for a clash against FC Locomotive with both teams looking to build momentum.
Tahuna kicked off and began knocking it about the park, however a few defensive lapses in communication gifted Locomotive 2 goals in the space of the opening 15mins. With a bit of a hill to climb, Tahuna set about getting some goals on the board. Some bright moments of play between Sayha, Wayne and Panith gave the lads multiple opportunities but alas the Locomotive backline were having none of it, snuffing out every chance Tahuna got.
Things went from bad to worse as Locomotive moved the ball very smartly and ended up getting another goal. 3-0 with about 35mins of the first half played. Sobi trying his best to get the Tahuna momentum up and running with some lovely passes forward, Wayne again coming close. Some subs were made with Panith coming off for Binh who immediately set about causing all sorts of trouble for Loco in the midfield, unlucky to not bag a goal 5 mins after his inclusion.
3-0 as the half ended and Tahuna realized they had to find something to get themselves going.
2nd half kicked off with Locomotive again knocking the ball about, Tahuna did a lot better after the half time team talk and they actually started moving the ball smartly and on the floor. Fraser making some smart runs from LB. Binh again tried one of his trademark shots from range but the chance sailed wide.
With 15mins left on the clock, Stu subbed on in place of a tired Stefano who had run his socks off from the first whistle. Rhys then sent a ball up the middle of the park to send Wayne through on goal, the winger not making any mistake and burying it in the bottom left corner. 3-1
Locomotive then latched onto a defense error and made it 4-1. Tahuna found the resilience they had been needing since the first whistle and began to control the game. A few more wasted chances but then Sayha popped up and capitalised on a Loco defense error to peg it back to 4-2. Locomotive then came back and pocketed another 2 goals in quick succession to make it 6-2 at the final whistle.
A bit of a wake up call for the 3rds as they are still getting to grips with the 2nd division. A great game none the less as both teams enjoyed the day.
Next up for Tahuna 3rds, a home game on S2 against Karenni...
Match report by Stu
4th XI 1 - 2 Motueka Development
Location:
Goals: Adam
Match MVP: Josh
It's been a long time. I kind of gave up with write ups, results weren't going our way last season, I wasn't enjoying my football.. Now I'm recovering from shoulder surgery, so I've jumped ship and now manage our 4th team. We're 3 games into it...first game was against the Richmond Tuskers. We pumped them 9-2 and they still played with no animosity and big smiles. Next we played Richmond Brockies, we went 2-0 up in about 15mins. At the beginning of the game I said don't let their striker ( Rhino) run through us...but he did twice and scored, 2-2 in the same half. Neither of us could score again so that one ended up a 2-2 draw. 11 goals for and 4 goals against at this point.
Then we played Mot Development, this was our toughest game of the season They are a young team, big farm boys some of them and very fit. We started well, we scored after 5 mins but they equalised after another 5 mins. Then around 10 mins later they went 2-1 up. After that it was more or less an even battle, neither of us could score, despite us both putting pressure on each other. So the game ended a 2-1 loss.
Fortunately they don't sack managers here like the Premier League. Unbelievably we are sitting in 4th spot in the league on as many points. Early days though and I think we can get further up the table. I have a bit of time as our div will split half way through, then the top half and bottom half become 2 leagues. Our last game was a 2-0 defeat but with a little more time to shape our team I think we can beat them...and they are top of the division. So I'm feeling pretty good that we will climb this league with a bit of hard work and playing with a smile.
Shoutout to Adam for his goal and a man of the match performance from Josh!
Match report by Cole
TFC Womens XI 0-7 Golden Bay Shield Maidens
Location: Takaka Rec Ground
Goals:
Match MVP: EJ
Tahuna Women’s XI travelled over the Takaka Hill to face Golden Bay, with a few extra challenges before the first whistle even blew — including flying players in from CHC, surviving the twists and turns of the Takaka Hill, and the occasional exiting of breakfast along the way.
With a squad of 12 players, we knew it was always going to be a challenging game against a strong Golden Bay side. Despite our efforts, we went down 7–0.
The score line, however, did not reflect the spirit of the team. The players stayed united throughout, worked hard for one another, and made sure to enjoy the game despite the tough contest.
Unfortunately, we suffered an injury within the first 15 minutes of the match. We would like to sincerely thank Golden Bay goalkeeper Alanna for providing first responder care, along with the support of Bec. Thankfully, there are no broken bones, which is a huge relief.
While the result did not go our way, the day was still a testament to the resilience, commitment, and good comradery of this group.
Match report by Cris
TFC Masters 0-4
Location: Tahunanui s3
Goals:
Match MVP: Bernie
Two games into the Masters football season, 4 teams with a 100% win, 4 teams 100% losers. Nelson FC were sitting pretty with Tahuna in the top half of the league, so we knew we were in for a battle. The 1-minute reflection for ANZAC day was a true omen for the foot-to-foot combat Tahuna was about to withstand.
Nelson FC took control of possession early and took pot shots from just out of our box. Ollie was more than capable of dealing with those. On one of our first attacks a sweeping cross from Paddie went over Goody’s head and dropped kindly at my feet, at the edge of the 18-yard box. I focused on striking the ball low and hard. I managed both of those things but unfortunately the ball skimmed just to the right of the goalie, and he was able to dive down and save the effort. Tahuna was emboldened. Cunny showed his class with a driving run plus hit which punted down onto the Nelson FC crossbar. Their keeper was left clawing the ball off the line in what seemed a near certain goal moments later. We could have been 2 or 3-0 up in 10. Instead, we were lucky to survive an almost certain penalty shout, just about saved by an equally desperate free kick challenge shortly made before. “I was playing advantage on the first foul,” Zane referee explained to the riled FC team.
Unfortunately, we’d struck a fire in the FC bellies. No.8 FC was particularly on the rampage. He flew in 2 footed on Macca and was a human harvester across the rest of the field, mowing down players for fun. His boots left the pitch with DNA fragments from every one of our team. The game was played on fast forward, but we managed to peel ourselves off the pitch 0-0 at half time. What a workout. In the second half Nelson FC came on strong. Ollie made a diving save shortly after the restart. They came again, spilling out of their trenches, moving in unison. One of the attackers pushed through Zane’s defensive challenge, into the box, into the goal, 1-0 Nelson FC. Goody was doing some driving runs up front, but he was very much alone. Hello, hello, is there anybody out there? Bernie was making the most of his defensive midfield switch. Like a firework display in a grain barn, he was kept manically busy trying to extinguish danger. Cunny swung a dangerous free kick cross into the FC box but Nelson FC smelt blood and were back piling forward time and time again. Gaz was flinging his body into challenges all over the place but eventually one was a tad hard, the FC man went tumbling and they scored the resultant penalty 2-0.
They broke our line again. A surprised FC Nelson forward found himself with a buddy just outside our 6-yard box. An almost comical, to me, to you, to me passing practice took place before they put it in our goal, 3-0. We didn’t give up. Kev made a driving run on the left. There was more space over there as half of the team seemed to be ganging up on Paddie. Gaz had a scuffed shot out of the box – good direction but lacking the force required from distance. Goody was eventually connected on a stirring raid, finally through, 1 on 1 with the FC keeper. He struck it sweetly but just above the keeper who palmed it over the crossbar. Cam had a corner header that just missed too.
Nelson FC capitalised. One of their strikers stole in front of Cam to make it 4-0. Goody headed it just over the bar from a corner kick, but the game was done by then. And we were well and truly cooked, like a stuffed goose, waddling off to the Sprig to commiserate. As Kev reflected 4-0 seemed harsh, but if you don’t take your chances and they take theirs then I guess that’s what you get left with. We’ll reset and we’ll go again. Goody will deliver the goods; Cunny will cunningly cut through again. Kev has a plan (and probably a better memory than me for all of this game’s details too – I’ve blanked most of it by now – it’s way more fun writing up a victory!). Match Report by Pete B
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