Burling's strike propels Villa

A stunning first-half goal by Troy Burling highlighted Douglas Villa's 2-1 win over Stop Out in their Capital second division football match played in Wellington on Saturday.

Burling eluded several would-be tacklers with a mix of speed and nifty footwork before slotting the ball in the back of the net.

That goal, and another by Lane Gilmour, had Douglas Villa 2-0 up at the end of a first half in which they spent most of the first 20 minutes on hard defence.

"They [Stop Out] threw everything at us early on but we managed to weather the storm and hit back," Douglas Villa spokesman Nathan Cottle said.

Stop Out closed the gap to just the one goal when they scored early in the second half but while they continued to mount some dangerous attacks, the Douglas Villa defence held them at bay.

In Capital third division play Gardner Electrical Masterton lost 4-0 to Petone while the Wairarapa United seconds went on a goal scoring spree against Upper Hutt City, winning 7-2.

Greytown White Swan maintained their lead in division one of the Wairarapa football championship with a 7-2 defeat of Carterton Redbacks Greytown A1 Homes beat Masterton Trevs Sports Athletic 2-1, Douglas Villa Good Beginnings beat Carterton Skulls 5-3 and Masterton McAuleys beat Masterton Lions 3-2.

Heading the points table in division two is Douglas Villa Laser Electrical. They defeated Masterton Pacific United 4-0 on Saturday while other games in that grade saw Douglas Villa Wairarapa Funeral Services draw 0-0 with Carterton Shoe Clinic Social, Greytown Turkey Red beat Masterton Farmlands Presidents 3-1 and Featherston United beat Wairarapa Evergreens 5-1.