By Jack Sharp
Claudelands Rovers’ hopes of catching runaway leaders Cambridge will depend heavily on a win this weekend against Taupo in the Lotto NRFL Men’s Southern Conference.
Trailing Cambridge by eight points (and having played one more game than their rivals), it looks like the title race is as good as over.
What the table doesn’t show is that the two leaders have still to meet twice in their remaining fixtures.
They are booked for a showdown at John Kerkhof Park in Round 17 on August 3, and also have to find a date for the postponed Round 10 match at Rovers’ Galloway Park.
To keep alive their hopes of catching Cambridge, the three points will be needed at Taupo on Saturday.
Game of the week
Taupo have won four on the trot — all by decent margins — since they last lost, 5-1 to Cambridge six weeks ago.
Claudelands Rovers have won their last three games, including taking the WaiBOP Federation Challenge Shield from Ngongotaha Lakes.
Saturday’s match is not for the shield (Rovers only need to defend it when playing at home) but whoever wins will hold second place on the Conference table.
Two players are likely to have a big influence on the result.
Krishaant Singh has moved into second place on the Golden Boot ladder with 16 goals from 13 rounds of competition, and the former Cambridge striker goes into Saturday’s game on the back of a first-half hat-trick against Te Awamutu.
Joe O’Donoghue is a talisman for Taupo. They’re always a better side when he’s leading the front line, and despite missing a few games, he’s now on 13 goals for the season.
Cambridge aside, these two sides have emerged as the best in the competition and it should be a cracking game.
Player to watch
Papamoa goalkeeper Ben Pamment (30) has been a solid performer between the sticks for some time.
He celebrated his 100th appearance for Papamoa, keeping a clean sheet in his side’s goalless draw with Te Awamutu last time out.
Pamment has had spells at Tauranga City but has made the goalkeeper’s shirt his own since rejoining Papamoa last season.
Bold prediction
Waikato Unicol look vulnerable this weekend, travelling to Papamoa on the back of heavy losses to Cambridge and Taupo.
I’m picking Papamoa to beat last year’s champions by a couple of goals.
Don’t be surprised either if there’s a new Golden Boot leader after the weekend.
With Cambridge’s Bailey Webster out for the season, his 17-goal haul is ready to be overtaken by any, or all, of his nearest challengers.
Last week, I predicted comfortable wins for Cambridge, Claudelands Rovers and Taupo. Cambridge won 8-1, Claudelands won 6-0 and Taupo won 6-0.
Golden Boot
17 — Bailey Webster (Cambridge)
16 — Krishaant Singh (Claudelands Rovers)
15— Jack Connor (Cambridge), Josh Clarkin (Cambridge)
13 — Joe O’Donoghue (Taupo)
11 — Jack Boland (Otumoetai),
8 — Henry Stephen (Claudelands Rovers)
7 — Andrew Cooper (Papamoa), Kjay Morehu (Waikato Unicol), Steffano Riley (Ngongotaha Lakes), Dylan Foster (Taupo), Sean Barbour (Taupo)
Fixtures
Games to be played on Saturday July 20, 2024
Taupo v Claudelands Rovers
Crown Park, Taupo, 3pm
Cambridge v Ngongotaha Lakes
John Kerkhof Park, Cambridge, 3pm
Papamoa v Waikato Unicol
Gordon Spratt Reserve, Papamoa, 3pm
Te Awamutu v Otumoetai
The Stadium, Te Awamutu, 3pm
Jack Sharp
Jack Sharp is a long-time follower of club football in New Zealand and is a volunteer writer for Friends of Football. You can show your appreciation for his work by buying him a coffee.
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