SOCCER - Relief as Force sneak in

There was little celebration as the final whistle signalled North Force's 2-1 victory over Papakura on Saturday.
Relief, with a fair chunk of frustration, was the predominant emotion on the faces of the home players and their supporters at Tikipunga Park.
North Force's finishing in the match was woeful. On another day, they might have overrun the visitors by six or seven goals but, when the normally reliable Scott Burgess squandered several good chances in the first spell, it looked like it might not be their day.
With some of the teams ahead of them on the first-division table faltering, North Force's three points saw them move one place into sixth but a victory in their unplayed fixture would see them rise to second-equal in the competition.
Papakura, fresh from a morale-boosting win over premier league Glenfield Rovers in the Chatham Cup last week, started the match strongly, knocking North Force off their stride. When the home side started to settle, they began to create scoring chances against a slightly unorganised Papakura defence. Although Burgess' talent often turns a half-chance into a real scoring opportunity, he just couldn't find his range.
Fortunately for the locals, a piece of Calvin Erick magic in the final minute of the first half was rewarded with a penalty. Erick's touch and speed saw him round a defender, who clumsily made contact - and a good Steve Schimmel penalty netted them a 1-0 lead at the break.
A second goal followed from a free-kick awarded when the lively Mark Ruddell was fouled on the edge of the penalty area in the 55th minute. Schimmel, who has taken over the role of dead-ball specialist for the side this year, lined up a strike that caught a deflection off the wall and fell to Burgess, who this time blasted the ball into the top of the net - rather than over it.
Papakura midfielder Sam Van Pomeron, seemingly helped North Force's chances of a big win further, when he was sent from the field for a second reckless tackle. But the finishing didn't improve much and when the side were on target, the Papukura keeper Russell Dixon proved too good to beat.
Any thought North Force may have had of turning their dominance on the park into further goals was stifled in the 70th minute, when a terrific long-range goal by Papakura's captain Brett Godden turned their thoughts to surviving with a lead until the end of the match.
With a rain squall further increasing the gloom in the dying moments, North Force got their final whistle and the three points, but will have to start hitting the net more when they have the chance if they want to earn promotion this season.
The young reserve team continued their good recent run with a 2-2 draw against Papakura. The team underwent a major reshuffle, with four of the under-15 academy side pulled in to play. They held a 2-1 lead over their opponents, thanks to goals to Nathan Steel and Sammy Oso before conceding a late goal. Dominic Froment was the local side's player of the day.
The Northland premier league knockout competition will be contested in the Far North after semifinal wins to Kaikohe and Kerikeri on Saturday. Kaikohe overwhelmed Tikipunga 5-2 while Kerikeri scored a good 3-2 win against Onerahi.