Suburbs and CBD University faced off in the 4th annual Ben Gilby-Todd memorial match on Saturday with the students having won all three previous matches. They looked on track to make it four from four when Brook Daly slotted in the only first half scoring action. Suburbs looked far more composed in the second spell with Lachie Musgrave prominent in the midfield. Luke Forbes levelled the scores with a deftly judged deflection and Musgrave was aptly rewarded when converting Suburbs second. With the students pressing high for the equaliser they were caught short with Jono Bloor adding a third and Lean Teao giving the score a one sided look at 4-1 in an otherwise evenly contested match. The 4-1 victory keeps Suburbs in touch with competition leaders Aber Hamiloton Old Boys who exacted revenge on Porter Group Fraser Tech with a 7-3 victory. Tech started in style scoring in the opening minute via Jimmy Linehan but their celebrations were quickly silenced when Declan Keaney put the sides on level terms after just 5 minutes of the match gone.The sides continued to trade goals with Alec Wilson getting Tech back in front only for Richard Petherick and Keaney both converting for Old Boys to give their side the lead for the first time. The action packed first half closed with a stunning reverse tomahawk by Luke Sinclair to again restore parity to the match. After a goal filled first half action waned until the last quarter when Old Boys stole the initiative with four unanswered goals through Petherick, Kyle Ostenfeld and a brace to Troy Smith for maximum points.
In the Women’s matches; Hamilton Old Girls bounced back in style against a depleted Storage King University side toppling the students off the top of the table with a 3-2 win. In a somewhat scrappy first half half both sides squandered possession and scoring opportunities were at a premium. It was Old Girls that eventually broke the deadlock with a first half stike to Helene Barron. Barron added a second after the break but the makeshift University side kept searching for a win and were rewarded with an Emma Andrews field goal and a Siobhan Nuzum low drag flick to leave the game in the balance. A well taken finish by Jeanna Richardson sealed the win for Old Girls and a deserved three competition points.
Ecolab Te Awamutu gave their semi final aspirations a boost with a come from behind 3-2 win over Suburbs. Renee Ngatai and Kate Mahon had given Suburbs a handy 2-0 half time lead but Chloe Nesbitt and Luisa Balsom both converted second half chances to restore parity. In the dying seconds Te Awamutu’s Mary-Rose Scanlon converted a contentiously awarded penalty stroke to seal the win and join Suburbs on 9 points. New competition leaders Fraser Tech were made to fight far harder than anticipated against a revamped PR Carter Contracting University side. With exams and holidays impacting on player availability, Uni Coach Gemma Sweeney had her faith in reserve grade imports well rewarded with a superb first half performance with goal tender Alahna van den Berg and defender Tracey Oakes both rominent. Tech’s normally reliable set piece was awry in the first half but a clever variation, finished off by Amy Williams, broke the deadlock early in the second stanza. Monic Bothma added a second to seal the win and three points for Tech who regained top spot on the table.
Report by Vaughan Hilton