Promising youngster Conor Von Keisenburg scored his first goal for North Force in their 2-0 victory over Ellerslie.
The teenager has featured strongly for the club's reserve squad all season and has made a few cameo appearances for the first team, but on Saturday he had his longest run with them.
"Normally
he has five minutes at the end of the game but he had 15-20 minutes on Saturday and impressed everyone with a well taken goal," said North Force coach Paul Cross.
The win extends North Force's winning run in the league to four games and moves them up one place on the table to fifth - putting them once again within range of the leaders.
Lynn Avon's 2-0 victory over Papakura on Saturday probably gave them the title but competition for the final promotion spot is still wide open with North Force one of four teams that can realistically earn second place.
North Force now have to face two of those teams in Melville and Metro in the their final three games as well as playing Lynn Avon - so they know what they have to do.
For now they are celebrating their return to playing consistent football, Cross said.
"Four wins is definitely the best we've done since we've been back in the first division, so we're happy with that," he said.
Sammy Oso was the other scorer midway through the first spell but Cross said it was the the North Force back four, with Alex Luiten in particular, that deserved the plaudits.
"They kept a clean sheet for the second week in a row and have stopped us conceding unnecessary goals which was a big problem for us," Cross said.
In Northland Premier League action Central Brown upset the applecart by beating Kaikohe 2-0. The result allowed Kamo to move into second place on the table after they defeated Tikipunga 3-1, with FC Whangarei strengthening their lead in the competition with a 4-2 win over Onerahi.
