Ngongotahā AFC's hopes of survival in Northern Region Football League Division 2 have received a boost with a 2-1 win over third-placed Franklin United.
Ngongotahā coach Ron Cane said he experienced the full range of emotions leading up to and during the game at the Tamarahi Reserve on Saturday.
"I arrived at the ground at 11am to find the reserve team was short of players and three senior squad players had succumbed to injury so they only had 10 regular players. So, we started off with first-team players playing reserve grade and in the second game I gave one of the youngsters from the reserve grade, Kerrigan Waller, his debut.
"To be fair he never let the team down and he played his part, after playing a full game for reserves. He gave everything he had," Cane said.
Before the first team game he told his players to forget "all the turmoil" and just focus on getting the three points. That is what they did.
"I said 'shoulder to shoulder, we've got to go out and attack'. I'll tell you what, that first 45 minutes was the best the team have played in terms of constructing attacking football, it was tremendous."
Ngongotahā opened the scoring after eight minutes, through Jason Walker, and doubled the lead 10 minutes later thanks to Yamil Casas.
They took a 2-0 lead into halftime and Cane told the side they needed to continue to play attacking football, in search of a third goal, but also concentrate on defence.
Franklin's Mark Thompson scored in the 76th minute to force a tiring Ngongotahā side to endure a nervy final 15 minutes. However, the home side dug deep and got across the line for their second win of the season. They now sit in 11th place, three points behind eighth place and assured survival in the league.
The win served as a final highlight for Cane who has now stepped down from his role as coach, describing the role as "unviable".
"The win and the way they played, the commitment and character they showed, is tinged with sadness, because for me that was my last game in charge. It was better I stepped aside from a personal point of view. It's been difficult but they've given everything they've got every week."
A decision about replacing Cane will be made in the next week.
NRFL Division 2 table. Photo / Supplied
Northern Region Football League Division 2 results
Ngongotahā 2-1 Franklin United (HT: 2-0) NGO: Jason Walker 8', Yamil Casas 18' FRA: Mark Thompson 76'
Te Atatu 2-2 Northland FC (HT: 2-1) TEA: Rhys Caples 19', Andrew Dalton 33' NOR: Caleb Russ 40', Own Goal 78'
Cambridge FC 2-3 Takapuna (HT: 0-1) CAM: Josh Clarkin 53' 90' TAK: Tommy Miller 13', Jack Taylor 70', Matt Hawke 76'
Onehunga Mangere United 0-0 Metro (HT: 0-0)
Claudelands Rovers 2-0 Bucklands Beach (HT: 0-0) CLA: Perry Katesmark 65' (PEN), Jackson Houlihan 68'
Papakura City 1-5 Albany United (HT: 0-2) PAP: Rajnesh Sharma 73' ALB: Dev Pokhrel 18', Andrew Mobberley 39', Gareth Clark 50', Alex McTiernan 51', Jack Hadfield 90+3'
