Cashmere Technical became the first side to qualify for the Southern League when accounting for Christchurch United 5 - 1. Both Nelson Suburbs and Selwyn also picked up vital wins in the New World Men's Premiership. Suburbs won 4 - 0 over Nomads, and Selwyn came from two goals down to edge Ferrymead Bays 3 - 2, with the heavy rain on Sunday seeing the game between Coastal Spirit and Halswell postponed. Technical now have 28 points from their ten games, Coastal 22 with Suburbs now moving into third place on 16. United have 15, Nomads and Bays have 12, with Selwyn moving to 8 and Halswell still points-less.

The feature of the game between Technical and United were the quality of the goals. Garbhan Coughlan gave Technical the ideal start when scoring with an unstoppable strike after just five minutes. His second strike was just as impressive when he was put clear after 23 minutes, and several United players did not close him down as he rifled home from near the 18-metre box. It was not all one-way traffic with United testing the Technical defence several times before the break. Coughlan was at it again just after the break, again showing his class with another stunning finish. Not to be outdone, United pulled a goal back when Max Chretien was allowed to run into the area on the right before producing a quality finish. United had to be the next side to score to have any chance, but it was Coughlan turning into the provider with his looping cross headed home by the waiting Yuya Taguchi. Taguchi then produced yet another quality strike to score the final goal, which was the 500th goal scored in all Hurley Shield Challenges, with Tech successfully retaining the Shield for the 20th time in the current tenure.

Suburbs finally made the most of their chances to secure their biggest win of the season, with poor defending not helping Nomads cause. Nomads felt that they should have been awarded a penalty for a handball, but their shouts were waved away with the ball going up the other end and crossed in for Will Tucker to score after 20 minutes. Nomads then had several chances to level before the break. The Suburbs defence was kept busy after the break, with the game turning when Ross McPhie finished well to put Suburbs two up with 20 to play, with Josh Creswell then adding a third minutes later. McPhie then finished well again to complete his brace with five minutes to play, with the result lifting Suburbs hopes of a top-five finish while putting a dent in Nomads chances.

Bays hopes of Southern football also dipped after going down to Selwyn after looking to be in control when two goals up. Bays took the lead when their captain, Jimmy Deeham, scored from the penalty spot in the 16th minute, with Ryan Stanley then doubling the lead six minutes before the break. Dorian Grault then scored for the Stallions to make it 2 - 1 going to the break. Selwyn won a penalty after Dan Ede was brought down in the area, with Jamie Carrodus locking up the scoreboard after 56 minutes. Joe Arnott then found the back of the net to put Selwyn into the lead. The drama was not over with Bays then awarded another penalty which was placed over the goal by Deehan. Selwyn has been battling hard in recent rounds, and the three points give them an outside chance of a top-five finish, but they will need to produce an unbeaten run and rely on other results to go their way.  

Results / Scorers

Cashmere Technical 5 (Garbhan Coughlan 3, Yuya Taguchi 2) Christchurch United 1 (Max Chretien) HT 2 - 0

Nomads 0 Nelson Suburbs 4(James McPhie 2, Josh Creswell, Will Tucker) HT 1 - 0 

Selwyn 3 (Dorian Grault, Jamie Carrodus - pen, Joe Arnott) Ferrymead Bays 2 (Ryan Stanley, James Deehan - pen) HT1 - 2

Coastal Spirit vs. Halswell - postponed 

Top Two Extend Lead In Women's Premiership

Coastal Spirit SAS and Cashmere Technical recorded big wins in the New World Women's Premiership, with leaders Coastal SAS accounting for Universities 7 - 0 and Technical too strong for Waimak, winning 7 - 1. Ferrymead Bays also edged Nomads 2 - 1. The defending champions top the table on 21 points, three clear of Technical with Universities on 10, Waimak 7, Bays now on 6 with Nomads points-less.

Coastal SAS scored their opening goal when Darsha Keogan scored after 20 minutes. This was followed by a goal from Britney-Lee Nicholson, with Freya Lodge adding a third before the break. Nicholson scored her second on the hour mark with Whitney Hepburn, who played in goal in the opening half, adding the fifth minutes later. Alyssa Whinham and Bel van Noorden completed the scoring in the final ten minutes.

Jonelle Arthur continued her scoring run when scoring two of Technical's goals, her eighth in the last three rounds, with Kate Guildford, Kate Loye, Kathryn van Empel and Mikayla Hunt also scoring. Waimak also conceded an own goal, with Charlotte Roche scoring for Waimak in the opening half.

Nomads looked to have done enough to secure their first points of the season when drawing with Bays going into a hectic final few minutes, which saw two cards issued, one to each team. Bays then scored the winner when their captain, Sophie Williams, slotted home a penalty deep into added time. Bays opened the scoring early when April Fairchild scored her first goal in the league this season with Nomads drawing level when Ella Jackson scored with a penalty just before the break.

Round 8 on Saturday sees Technical hosting Nomads; Coastal SAS take on Waimak with Bays entertaining Universities. On Queen's Birthday Monday, Technical have the home advantage over Coastal SAS in the Kate Sheppard Cup. 

Result / Scorers

Nomads 1 (Ella Jackson - pen) Ferrymead Bays 2 (April Fairchild, Sophie Williams - pen) HT 1 - 1

Universities 0 Coastal Spirit SAS 7 (Britney-Lee Nicholson 2, Frey Lodge, Alyssa Whinham. Whitney Hepburn, Darsha Keogan) HT 0 - 3 

Waimak 1 (Charlotte Roche) Cashmere Technical 7 (Jonelle Arthur 2, Kate Guildford, Kate Loye, Kathryn van Empel, Mikayla Hunt, own goal) HT 1 - 4 

Race For Top Three Still Up In The Air 

With five rounds to be played in the New World Men's Championship, the race for the top is still up in the air after Round 9 games were completed on Saturday. Waimak continued on their unbeaten streak when coming from a goal down to defeat Mid Canterbury 6 - 1, with Waimak going a player down after 27 minutes due to a straight red. Burwood extended their unbeaten run to five games when winning 4 - 2 over St Albans Shirley after they were locked together at 2- all at the break. Western dropped just their second game of the season in a narrow 2 - 1 loss to FC Twenty11. In a mid-table fixture, Universities come out on top of Parklands 3 - 0. Waimak has 25 points; Western remain on 21, Burwood is in third place on 16, with FC rounding out the top half of the table on 15. Parklands have 12, Universities 9, SAS 6 and Mid Canterbury 3.  

Canterbury Championship League

Burwood 4 St Albans Shirley 2 HT 2 - 2

Western 1 FC Twenty11 2 HT 0 - 1

Universities 3 Parklands 0 HT 2 - 0

Mid Canterbury 1 Waimak 6 HT 1 - 4 

Written by Gavin Searle. 
Article added: Monday 31 May 2021