Westport retained the Sarah Clearwater trophy
Grey United travelled north to Westport on Saturday with faint hopes of challenging for the men’s title. They took a 1-0 lead in at half time, thanks to Anton Merkushev’s goal. However, Martin Mulinge scored twice for Westport in the space of five minutes, before Josh Roche scored a third. Raven Brown did claim a consolation for Grey United after a fine finish, but they couldn’t find an equaliser. Westport once again retained the Sarah Clearwater trophy and will hold on to it until at least the last game of the season against Marist.
In Sunday’s game, bottom placed Paroa put in a huge performance to claim only their second win of the season, against top placed Marist, winning 3-1. Marcus Zintl scored twice and Matt Wakefore once for Paroa. Ethan Kelleher scored Marist only goal of the game.
Westport now sit three points clear of Marist, albeit having played one game extra. Both sides play twice before the end of the league, and the first of those clashes will be in Greymouth on Sunday in the 12.30pm kick off. Paroa face Grey United in the 2.30pm game.
The Goblins took a big stride towards claiming the women’s main championship after a 4-1 win over the Dragons. The Dragons had been the form side early in the season but have now gone three league games without a win, while the Goblins have now won three in a row to put themselves in a very strong position at the top of the table. The Dragons sit 6 points behind the lead, though with two games to play they can catch still catch the Goblins and compete on goal difference. However, their two remaining games are both against Westland United, who could also claim the league with two wins of their own, as they sit five points behind the lead.