Kamo grab knockout victory

Kamo and Onerahi dished up a thrilling clash in the Northland Men's Knockout final at Kamo Sports Park.
The final on Saturday went down to the wire and the game was decided on a penalty shootout, with Kamo claiming a one-goal win.
Kamo's Sammy Oso set up both his team's goals for Paul Cross and Jacob Manaton. Onerahi's BJ Howie scored a penalty for his side, before Harley Freeman found the back of the net make it 2-2 at fulltime. A penalty shootout was held when it was still two-all at the end of extra time.
Kamo goalie Mike Cottan did well to save two crucial shots, while Gavin Allan, Paulo Gomes and Manaton successfully shot three penalties, scraping through to win 3-2 on penalties.
Stafford Choat Cup matches were meant to start on Saturday, but the games were postponed and they will get under way this weekend, with Kamo chasing their fifth consecutive cup win.
Things fell into place nicely for North Force in the Northern Federation grading round, when they defeated Mount Albert-Ponsonby 3-0 in Auckland.
North Force skipper Scott Burgess heaped praise on his side for a quality performance.
"It all came together for us, particularly in the second half ... we defended for long periods at a time, but we kept our shape, which is something we haven't done for the last six weeks," he said.
Mount Albert had several scoring opportunities in the first half but failed to capitalise on them, and North Force defended well to keep it scoreless at halftime, Burgess said.
Burgess led the way for his team early in the second half, finding the back of the net to put his team in front.
Mt Albert came close to equalising but North Force's goalie Leon Taylor made the save, adding to a solid overall performance.
Steve Schimmel followed his skipper's lead and extended the gap, before Charlton Lacour added North Force's final goal.
The victory puts North Force in fifth place on the table. With only two games remaining - against Manurewa (away) and in Whangarei against Hamilton Wanderers - North Force are clear of the bottom two places on the table and relegation fears.
North Force Women remain at the top of the US1 Women's Championship following their 2-0 win over Glenfield Reserves, at Kamo yesterday.
While it was not North Force's best game of football, coach Dee Tunstall said they would happily take the win.
"A lot of the girls are going away to the National Secondary Schools Tournament next week, and they have been training hard for that and it showed on the pitch," she said.
Twenty-five minutes into the first half, Kelsey Evansgrabbed the first goal of the match. Georgia Green repeated the feat with a second half goal, and despite their fatigue, North Force held on to win the match.
North Force Women have two matches remaining in September - against Waitakere in Auckland, and Hibiscus Coast at home - and they only need to win one more to claim the title.