They had to wait until the final game of the round but North Force finally registered a clean sheet in their Northern League first division campaign and it led to an invalueable 1-0 away victory against Lynn-Avon.
A goal to Darren Green in the 60th minute made the victory possible but
player-coach Scott Burgess said the way the team defended was the most pleasing aspect of the match.
"I couldn't be happier with the defence really, especially since we were without Danny Lavalle and Cody Lacour, the clean sheet couldn't have come at a better time," he said.
Lynn-Avon dominated possession in the first spell but rarely threatened while the visitors started the second half well and deserved their lead when Green netted. North Force have surrendered some good leads in the final few minutes of games this season and it might have done so again but for a stunning save by Leon Taylor.
"Leon pulled off an absolute stunner with about five minutes to go, it saved the match for us really," Burgess said.
The win finally pushes North Force out of the relegation zone with fellow strugglers Onehunga-Mangere and Matamata Swifts both losing on Saturday to fill the two bottom spots on the table.
North Force now trail Lynn-Avon by a single point but more importantly are three points clear of Matamata.
"Hopefully this will give us the motivation we need to kick on and pick up regular points in the second round and move away from the relegation zone and we've got some scores to settle starting this week against Papatoetoe at home," Burgess said.
Meanwhile in the Northland Premier Division, Kerikeri's 4-3 win over competition leaders Kamo throws the competition wide open. Tikipunga's 1-0 win over Bream Bay Flyers saw them close to within two points of Kamo in second place, while FC Whangarei's 1-0 win over Onerahi sees them in third but only a point ahead of Kerikeri - who have a game in hand.
