Kamo notch 50th win on the trot. Make that, the swamp

Kamo  shook the monkey off their back when they reached 50 consecutive wins by beating Kerikeri  2-1 on Saturday.
They are the only Northland Premier League team to have managed the feat.
Manager Brad Flower said while it wasn't the prettiest of encounters, his troops were relieved to notch up 50 wins over the past two seasons.
"To start with, Kerikeri only had 10 men as they had guys away. But I think they played
better with 10 than they do  normally," he said.
"It was pouring with rain and the pitch was boggy.
"The guys were nervous and more worried about winning and reaching 50 than actually playing."
Kerikeri were the first to score with player/coach Danny Spake hitting an early penalty before Kamo's Keegan Baddeley levelled the score at 1-1 heading into halftime.
Twenty minutes into the second half, Nathan Steel sealed the win  with a hefty boot from 30m.
It marks a memorable year for the team. Kamo have won the league for the second year
running, the Maurice Gibson Memorial Trophy and the Dave Wilson Trophy.
They  still have the Knockout Premier final against Onerahi this weekend, along with the US1 Federation Cup semifinal against FC Whangarei.
Kerikeri have taken second spot in the league, while Tikipunga cemented third when they beat  FC Whangarei 2-0.
Meanwhile, it was a testing day for the North Force reserves and premier sides. Both struggled  against their Takapuna opponents in away matches  in the US1 Premiership on Saturday.
The reserves could not hold onto their top five spot on the table and were pushed back into seventh when Takapuna defeated them 4-1.
North Force premiers were without central defender Matty Ward and  key goalscorer Steve Schimmel at Taharoto Park.
To make matters worse, Sammy Oso was injured before halftime.
Coach Bruce Plunkett had to lace up  his boots to fill the gaps but his  efforts were not enough to hold off a menacing Takapuna outfit, who won
comfortably, 6-1.