Two goals to Calvin Erick proved to be the difference between Kamo Swifts and Onerahi as the two undefeated sides in the Northland Premier Football League clashed on Saturday.
Kamo won the decisive first-round encounter 3-1 and are now planning to complete a league victory by finishing the season unbeaten.
There was
a good crowd to watch the match at the Onerahi's Airport Ground and they weren't disappointed with the level of football on show.
Kamo alone boasted nine players with previous Northern League experience, but Onerahi weren't too far behind on that count and with Jason Teal and Christian Reynolds anchoring their midfield, Kamo were forced to find ways to bypass them to create scoring chances.
Erick scored in the 11th minute with Harley Freeman equalising for Onerahi 10 minutes later.
Erick, whose presence at the match will surely pose some questions for the North Force coaching staff during the week, doubled his tally from a goalmouth scramble just before the break to give Kamo the upper hand going into the second spell.
Kamo continued to stretch Onerahi, but solid defence and some good saves by Grant Short in the Onerahi goal kept them in the game.
Five minutes from the end, Keegan Baddeley delivered the coup de grace to Onerahi with a final goal to effectively end the contest.
At William Fraser Park, FC Whangarei beat Madhatters 5-3 to move past them and into third place on the league table.
Central Brown suffered a 0-2 defeat by Kerikeri at the Otaika Domain, while Tikipunga were beaten 0-1 by Kaikohe.
