Watch the highlights from Ngongotaha AFC v Te Atatu AFC in third round of Northern League Division 2.
Ngongotaha AFC slipped to the bottom of Northern League Division 2 after a defeat by Te Atatu AFC kept them winless this season.
Ngongotaha lost 3-0 in a heated affair that saw eight players yellow carded at Stembridge Rd yesterday. The Villagers' coach Shane Davis will feel disappointed. His third game in charge in the Northern League saw his side collapse in the second half after being all square at the break.
Last season's top scorer Mitchell Miller and striker Josh O'Sullivan were unavailable for selection and the lack of a main talisman up front really showed.
French right winger Alexis Pinto, playing up front, headed just over the bar twice from close range and Luke Barker, also in attack, should have scored but blazed the ball over inside the opening 35 minutes.
Ngongotaha's Alexis Pinto (right) came close for his side against Te Atatu AFC. Photo/Stephen Parker
Tension bubbled over as half-time approached and a flurry of yellow cards saw Ngongotaha players Harlem Simiona, Jordan McKay and Alan Ferguson booked alongside Te Atatu's Jerome Funafuti and Rhys Caples.
In the second half Caples slotted home the opener 10 minutes in after he twisted and turned in the box.
The hosts, slacker after the break, didn't play to the whistle and found themselves 2-0 down when Conner Watts pounced from close range after Ngongotaha had adjudged the ball to have gone out of play.
Ngongotaha's fate was sealed 20 minutes to go thanks to a near-post header.
To add insult to injury, Ngongotaha's midfielder Ferguson saw his firm penalty turned past the right post by Te Atatu's standout player of the day - keeper Edward Trubshoe two minutes from time.
The match continued to remain heated as Ngongotaha's captain Eamon O'Donoghue and Arus Sem were also shown yellow cards as well as Te Atatu's player-coach Ben Pauley.
Ngongotaha AFC's Jacob Davis in action against Te Atatu AFC on the weekend. Photo/Stephen Parker
The Villagers are level on a solitary point with Albany United while Te Atatu's first win of the season pushed them up to eighth.
Davis said it was a difficult result to take.
"There's not much you can say after a result like that," he said. "We didn't put the ball in the back of the net when we needed to like the last two weeks.
"If we had scored early it would have been a totally different game but it's not happening for us at this stage. There were some funny decisions from the referee but that's part of soccer and you have to put up with it."
Meanwhile, Pauley was delighted with his side's away performance.
"I'm chuffed. The boys were amazing, there were a lot of last-ditch tackles," he said. "The orange boys [Ngongotaha] were unlucky not to get a goal at the end they fought really hard and played really well but I think we really deserved those three points. We came out at half-time and really controlled the game and out of that we got a couple of good goals."
Northern League, division two results:
Ngongotaha AFC 0 Te Atatu AFC 3 Northland FC 2 Albany Utd 2 Mangere Utd 1 Claudelands Rovers AFC 1 Papakura City 3 Papatoetoe AFC 1 Fencibles Utd 1 Waiheke Utd AFC 1 Takapuna AFC v Onehunga Mangere (score to come, kick-off Sunday 3pm.)
