Kamo cement lead for absent coach

Kamo managed to strengthen their lead at the top of the Northland Premier Football League table despite the absence of their coach Russell Badderley, who was away watching the FA Cup Final at Wembley.
The Kamo coach might have expected a better result with his regular side strengthened by the club's North Force players but Onerahi defended well throughout and just coughed up a single goal to Sammy Oso to separate the teams at fulltime.
Full marks must go to Onerahi keeper, Eduardo Fernandes, who made a series of stunning saves to keep the visitors from establishing a more comfortable lead.
The win will have salved the troubled soul of Badderley, who joined his brother Warren and son Keegan at Wembley to watch their beloved Stoke City being defeated by Manchester City in an extremely rare cup final outing.
The other match played in the Northland round saw a disappointing 1-1 draw between FC Whangarei and Tikipunga. The sides both trail Kamo on the table and sought a win to narrow the points' deficit.
The match was fairly even in the first spell but FC Whangarei had the better chances. The home side started the second spell with a goal to Owen Liiv and both sides continued to play some attractive football with Steve Crowley particularly good for Tikipunga.
Crowley's brother Mike - playing for FC - was then dismissed for dissent which proved to be a turning point and with 15 minutes to go Tikipunga equalised with a well-worked goal finished by Patrick Moon. Although they searched for the winner Tikipunga were forced to settle for a point although FC may have nicked a win if they had scored from one of their late breakaway attempts.
FC Whangarei's premier reserve team went top of the table after they beat Tikipunga 6-3 with Nick Vette scoring a hat-trick.
Meanwhile, Kerikeri's run in the Chatham Cup ended in the first round proper, with a 4-1 defeat by Waiuku at the Waipapa Domain.
North Force didn't play because of the Chatham Cup round and now turn their attention to a series of home games played on Sundays to try and raise their home profile.
The club's Brad Flower said the clash between North Force's games and the Northland Premier League games meant many North Force supporters were unable to attend the side's home matches - and the Sunday scheduling would allow them to come along.
The first match is this Sunday against Takapuna, with the main game at 2.45pm.