Loss puts Mangere on notice

A football tournament in Fiji last weekend might just have cost Mangere United a place in the Northern Region Football League's first division next season.

With nine frontline players away at the tournament and another three unavailable because of suspension, a medical emergency – a kidney transplant – and family reasons, the second division leaders were crushed 7-0 by Tauranga City at Centre Park last Saturday.

The loss could well be the final straw. It puts Hibiscus Coast in charge of the group and if they win the division, they will be the ones elevated to next season's first division.

Mangere's Stephen Yates is a frustrated coach yet he refuses to surrender.

He's confident Mangere can win their five remaining matches against Waiuku on Saturday and Papakura City, Western Springs, Pukekohe and Fencibles in the following four weeks.

His only prayer is that someone beats Hibiscus Coast or pinches a point off them.

Mangere have the best for and against record in the division and if there's a tie at the top of the table, Yates knows his team will go through.

"With no more tournaments and everyone back on board I'm confident we can win our last five matches," he says.

"We've just got to keep winning matches. We've lost only two of our last 10 matches and both of them were to Tauranga City. On both occasions we had players away at tournaments, one in the United States and the other in Fiji. It certainly is frustrating."

That first loss cost Mangere a place in the first division and a crack at the premiers. They slipped from third to seventh and missed the cut by one.

Yates hopes they won't be denied again by the second.

Onehunga Mangere, the beneficiaries of Mangere United's first slip-up against Tauranga, are finding life tough in division 1B.

Their 5-2 loss to former premier side Lynn Avon last Saturday was their second on the trot and has left them lying seventh in the eight-team league with three rounds remaining.

They are four points clear of bottom-placed Ngaruawahia. The team that finishes last heads down to division two next year.

Joel Facon and substitute Lionel Kum got Onehunga Mangere's goals against Lynn Avon.

Onehunga Mangere face another former premier club Onehunga Sports at Waikaraka Park in Onehunga tomorrow.

Manurewa lie second in division 1B after a 1-1 draw with Hamilton Wanderers in Hamilton last Saturday while Eastern Suburbs pulled ahead of them on goal difference with a 6-0 win over Mt Albert Ponsonby.

The pair meet at War Memorial Park in Manurewa tomorrow and with the winner of the pool getting promoted to the premier division next season both teams will be desperate for maximum points.

Papatoetoe AFC are running fourth in this group and look to have achieved their goal of staying a first division side next season. They face Mt Albert-Ponsonby at Murdoch Park in Papatoetoe tomorrow.

The team will be well-rested after their game against Takapuna last Saturday was postponed.

Matches kick off at 2.45pm.

- © Fairfax NZ News