Football: Te Puke United open their account for 2024

Andrew Skerten scored Te Puke's only goal in the win over Tokoroa.

Football

Te Puke United secured their first win of the season at their second attempt with a 1-0 win away at Tokoroa.

The black and whites started slowly, giving the ball away cheaply, but an in-tune defence and some strong work ethic turned the game around. Te Puke looked to pass the ball around more and create opportunities but were unable to finish any of them. A couple of injury-enforced substitutions changed the dynamic, but there were no goals at half-time.

Both teams started the second half strongly, playing the ball around well and looking to get on the board with Te Puke having the better of the chances which finally paid off in the 69th minute when Andrew Skerten found the back of the net for the first and only goal of the game.

Tokoroa went hard for the final 15 minutes, but resilient defending kept them out until the final whistle. Alex Johnson was man of the match.

Te Puke play at home against Ōtorohanga at 3pm on Saturday.

Reserves

Te Puke men’s reserves made the trip to Rotorua to face Waiariki and, on a wet and windy day, lost 2-1.

Te Puke dominated most of the first half with Arturo Poblete crossing the ball through to Ronan Wotten to score the first goal of the game. A slight lapse in concentration during a Waiariki free kick led to an equaliser, 1-1, just before half-time.

A highly physical, aggressive second half led to a few yellow cards to Waiariki and some good discipline shown by Te Puke. Te Puke had several more shots on goal throughout the second half but they couldn’t quite finish. A goal scored from another free kick by Waiariki led to a 2-1 score. Te Puke played hard to the final minute but couldn’t find an equaliser. The man of the match was Sebastian Toro.

The reserves play FM Pāpāmoa FC Rovers at Litt Park on Saturday, kick off at 12.30pm.

Women’s team

The women’s team travelled the short distance to Pāpāmoa to face the Icons, dominating the game to win 7-0.

A strong state saw Chynna Davie scoring in the first minutes of the game. The pressure built from there with Shanaye Fox scoring in the 10th followed by Davie getting her second.

The backline kept any promising attack out allowing the front time to play. Jaclyn Grant got on to the scoreboard in the 30th minute and Davie secured her hat-trick just before the half.

The second half started much the same with Davie scoring the final two goals in quick succession. A couple of injuries along with tired legs slowed the game down but a solid performance all-round kept the Pāpāmoa attack at bay. Karlina Steiner won the woman of the match award.

Te Puke Women play at home on Sunday against Tauranga City Wolves, kick off 12.30pm.

Wahine Toa

Wahine Toa went up against last season’s Bay 1 winners Whakatāne failing to an 11-0 loss.

Te Puke had a strong start with a couple of early chances to score just missing the target but a strong away team got into gear with many attacking opportunities, Wahine Toa worked hard to keep them out but Whakatāne managed to score four before the break.

While there were many positives from the second half, tired legs hit and Whakatāne scored seven more goals.

Woman of the match: Megan Leigh

Wahine Toa play away against Waiaraki on Sunday at 11am.