Division 1: Sprig + Fern Tahuna 1st XI vs FC Nelson Locomotive Division 2: Sprig + Fern Tahuna 2nd XI vs FC Nelson Chin United
Division 4: Sprig + Fern Tahuna 3rd XI vs Wakefield 3rd XI
Women's Premiership: Sprig + Fern Tahuna Breakers vs FC Nelson Wahine
1st XI 4-2 FC Nelson Locomotive
Location: Tahuna
Goals:
Match MVP:
Match report to follow.
2nd XI 1-9 FC Nelson Chin United
Location: Tahuna
Goals: James Munday (1)
Match MVP: Will Murphy
In a match that saw a super depleted Tahuna side take on Wakefield, the home team aimed to continue their winning streak despite the challenging circumstances. The fixture was rearranged at short notice, and Tahuna was grateful to Wakefield for accommodating the change.
The game kicked off with both teams displaying an equal level of play. Although Tahuna started well, their passing was slightly off in the early stages. However, as the match progressed, they grew into the game and created several scoring opportunities. Jack had a few promising chances, with one particular moment involving a brilliantly executed one-two pass, putting him through on goal. Unfortunately, the Wakefield keeper made a fantastic save to deny him. Geeza also had a golden opportunity to score with a header at the back post, but he narrowly missed the target. Wakefield's closest effort came from a long-range shot aimed at the bottom corner, which Tahuna's goalkeeper, Will, managed to tip around the post.
Eventually, Jack managed to break the deadlock with a well-worked goal, giving Tahuna a deserved lead. However, their advantage was short-lived as Wakefield caught Tahuna napping with a quickly taken short corner. When the ball was played into the box, Tahuna's Seth inadvertently shinned it passed Will and into his own net. Own goal. The teams entered the halftime break with the score tied at 1-1, although Tahuna had shown themselves to be the stronger side in the first half.
The second half saw Wakefield gain more possession as Tahuna suffered a few injuries, causing their play to become disjointed. Seth made amends for his earlier mishap with a brilliant solo goal, putting Tahuna back in the lead at 2-1 with approximately 20 minutes left to play. Unfortunately, the wind intensified during the later stages of the match, making it challenging for Tahuna to clear their defensive lines. Sensing an opportunity, Wakefield piled on the pressure, forcing Will to make several crucial saves. Additionally, Petchy (later voted Man of the Match) and Eric made heroic goal-line clearances to keep Tahuna's lead intact.
With only a few minutes remaining on the clock, Wakefield's striker managed to find the back of the net after a deflected shot. However, the jubilation was short-lived as the referee rightly flagged the goal offside, much to the disappointment of Wakefield. Tahuna breathed a collective sigh of relief as they held on during the final minutes to secure the victory.
The match was not without its casualties, with Tahuna picking up a few more injuries. The upcoming weeks will prove challenging for Tahuna as they navigate their depleted squad. Special recognition goes to Petch, who played through the pain to ensure Tahuna always had eleven players on the field.
Overall, it was a hard-fought encounter, and Tahuna's resilience paid off as they emerged victorious.
Match Report by Will.
3rd XI 8-2 Wakefield 3rd XI
Location: Wakefield Domain
Goals: Sayha (3), Sobi (3), Paddy (1), Diego (1)
Match MVP: Josh
How did we do that with half a fit team and half a Zombie apocolypse. Players were droppin like flies.....and then limping through a lot of the game. Great effort.
We were slow off the mark to get a hold on the game and were under it for the first 10 and they scored coz the keeper tried to catch a cross and dropped it at the feet of their striker. But we got into it and put 3 away by half time. They scored again from a corner early in the second. Josh got a beautiful flick to nod it in the top corner.....of our goal. Then we just battered them. At one point we sat on the edge of their box teeing each other up for shots.
All they really had was one fast guy that they kept sending down the middle and our CBs had him in their back pocket.
We kept our shape pretty consistently and are getting better at moving across the pitch. We didn't switch off too, which is awesome. We should do a bit of work on going backwards to go forwards, recycling across the backline and keeper.
I hope all the casualties are resting up and healing well.
Apart from all the injuries not a bad day at the office. Sob and Sayha both got hatricks and Patti and Diego scored too. Yay 3 of my midfield scored .....and maybe Sayha goes top of the golden boot pile.....can't complain.
Man of the Match - Josh, yeah despite scoring an own goal he bossed that backline with Luke and carved up their midfield.
Match Report by Colin.
Tahuna 4th XI 0-4 Nelson Suburbs Rovers
Location: Saxtons
Goals: 0
Match MVP:
Match report to follow.
TFC Breakers 3-3 FC Nelson Wahine
Location: Botanics
Goals: Shan (3)
Match MVP: Shannon
Going into the game we had one injured player on the bench and three recovering from sickness on the field. Despite all of this the Breakers showed up happy and rearing to go against the newly established, very youthful FC Wahine – one of which I taught at kindergarten – if I wasn’t feeling old before the game I certainly am now.
The first quarter we spent hanging out with our keeper, Arin, which we love doing off the field but not in the game. Those quick young legs outpaced us and despite many saves from the backline and Arin soon enough came a goal from the well positioned Kasey. We had barely picked up our zimmer frames when out of nowhere came another well placed shot and we conceded once again. It was time to start taking this game a bit more seriously. The Breakers pushed back and started to get a lot more breakthrough moments and Ruby, Ruth, Shannon and Sophie all made great runs past their defence but just couldn’t quite make the net. A few mistakes and the ball turned around and FC scored once again.
We were three nil down at half time but a promising second quarter had given us hope and we were not giving up yet.
We went back out and started pressuring them. About 15 minutes in the hardworking Shannon and Sophie got the ball up the pitch and Shannon scored our first goal of the game. We were not going to go down easily. Keryn managed to get a breakaway and ran half the pitch until she got shut down near the goal. Close but not quite close enough. Our numerous fans were on the edge of their seats and we could hear them cheering for us. We were in FC’s danger zone, a lot. Soon enough Shannon conceded yet another goal and then about ten minutes before the end she scored yet another making it a hat trick for our obvious player of the day. The final whistle came and a sigh of relief came from tired legs that are learning to handle these full games a lot better. Well done ladies you all did great!
Special mentions to the man who jumped in to ref second half for us, the many of you who came to support us on the sideline, Kylie for playing a full 90 on her first game out of goal and our team mate Hazel who blew the crowd away at Dancing for a Cause on Saturday night.
Match report by Jenna.
Comments