Football

Te Puke’s first team travelled to Matamata.

A slow start for Te Puke had them on the back foot early on, with Matamata playing well through the middle. This led to an early goal 13 minutes in, which was followed by a second 10 minutes later. Te Puke managed to stem the flow and prevent more goals in the half.

The second half saw Te Puke holding onto the ball and creating more pressure and chances, finally making the break through when Jed Melton chipped the goalkeeper in the 69th minute. Matamata then upped their game for the last 20 with some back-and-forth ball and a good finish in the 80th put the game to bed at 3-1 to the home side.

Player of the day: Jed Melton. The first team are at home to Tokoroa on Saturday, with a 3pm kick off.

Te Puke faced off against second-placed Pāpāmoa at home, a last-minute goal to the visitors securing the win 4-3.

The reserves had a hard road in front of them early on as Pāpāmoa scored two goals in the first 15 minutes. A determined Te Puke team matched Pāpāmoa and Alexis Cjuro made the breakthrough before the break to make it 2-1.

Te Puke came out stronger in the second half looking for an equaliser, but a resilient Pāpāmoa held off any attacks and found the net through a penalty in the 65th minute. Daniel Lagerwaard replied for Te Puke to make it 3-2 followed shortly afterwards by a Carlos Hernandez goal to tie the game 3-all. A last-minute play saw Pāpāmoa snatch the win.

Player of the day: Ronan Wotten. The reverses play away against Ngongotahā Lakes on Saturday, kick off 12.30pm.

Women’s Team

Te Puke’s womens’ team took on Pāpāmoa Icons at Litt Park on Sunday, winning 7-0.

Another solid start saw them 1-0 up through Chynna Davie within five minutes. Te Puke kept the pressure on while giving Pāpāmoa few chances to get back into the game with some solid defensive work. A well-placed corner from Jaclyn Grant found Kelly Barker outside the box who chipped it on to Sammi Parish’s head who made it 2-0. Soon after, Parish’s second goal gave Te Puke a 3-0 half-time lead.

The second half started with some great work as Te Puke passed the ball around well looking for an opening, which paid off as Maia Moko made it 4-0. The Black and Whites kept creating chances, resulting in Parish securing her hat-trick, quickly followed by Caroline Silveira getting on the board. With the game nearing its end, Kyla Wood slotted home her first senior women’s goal.

Player of the day: Jade Snare. The women’s team play Tauranga City away on Sunday, kick off 11am.

Wahine Toa

Wahine Toa visited Whakatāne, losing 4-0.

The team had an amazing first half, going toe to toe with last year’s champions, putting together some nice football and keeping any promising attacks at bay while goalkeeper Ema Kingi cleared up the rest. However, Whakatāne made a breakthrough in the 44th minute, ending the half 1-0.

The hosts found the net twice early in the second half but Wahine Toa kept strong and fought to the very end with a solid performance over the whole field and were unlucky not to get on the scoresheet on a few occasions. As the game was finishing, Whakatāne found their fourth goal.

Player of the day: Ema Kingi. Wahine Toa play at home against Waiariki at 12.30pm on Sunday.

-Te Puke Times.