Another home win for Collingwood FOOTBALL

Despite wet weather and soggy pitches, last Saturday’s football fixtures got a late go-ahead from Nelson Bays Football.

In their senior games, Golden Bay teams came out on top in two out of three.

Mountain Goats take on the Chin

The Bay’s Mountain Goats secured a precious away win against FC Nelson Chin. Sadly, it won’t be remembered for the score, but for the unpleasant incident caused by the Nelson Chin players which resulted in the referee calling the game off early. According to GBAFC president Phil Smith, there are likely to be serious repercussions. “Currently Mainland Football are investigating the ref abuse and the racist comments made to the Goats.”

Final score: GB Mountain Goats 5 v FC Nelson Chin 3.

Stingrays stung by Suburbs

Mid-table Stingrays hosted high-flying Nelson Suburbs in a Masters Division clash at the Rec Park that followed the form book. The home side started well with Adge Tucker and Shauli Ezroni in the back line and keeper Phil Smith thwarting early attacks.

As the game calmed down somewhat, the Stingrays pressed forward and created some good chances. It was the visitors, however, who took the lead following a well-timed offensive play that culminated in an unstoppable strike. It didn’t take Suburbs long to add to their tally, scoring a further two, one of which came from a controversial penalty award.

Although the home side created some forward momentum towards the middle of the second half Suburbs proved too strong on the day.

Final score: GB Stingrays 0 v Nelson Suburbs 3.

Roli Muntwyler Player of the Day Phil Smith said on receiving the award: "This was the best the team has played this season, I am really proud of the boys and the effort they put in."

Shield Maidens have Swans in a flap

The Shield Maidens continued their impressive form with a convincing dispatch of Nelson Suburbs Swans. Golden Bay’s senior women are developing into an impressive attacking force, but are also increasingly solid in defence. Final score: GB Shield Maidens 4 v Nelson Suburbs Swans 0. The result puts the Maidens bang in the middle of the Women’s Premiership table.

Check out this weekend's fixtures on the next page.

In their final home fixture in the round robin phase of the Tasman Rugby Senior Division 2 competition, Collingwood took on Wanderers.

All notion of playing on home turf was quickly dispelled as the rain-soaked surface turned brown. But Collingwood have good form on claggy pitches and the mud maestros proved yet again that they can grind out results in the most difficult conditions.

It wasn’t a pretty game; there was little running rugby, no tries were scored and the slippery mud-slathered ball caused problems for both sides, resulting in misplaced passes and lineout throws, as well as knock-ons and below-par kicks. The game also struggled to flow thanks to frequent stoppages for infringements, on-pitch treatment and even a lost contact lens.

It wasn’t surprising, then, that the match was decided by penalty kicks – a contest in which Collingwood came out on top. But it could have been different if Wanderers hadn’t missed their penalty in the second minute.

Not long into the match, with jerseys marinated in mud, Collingwood’s black and gold and Wanderers’ dark blue and gold – hardly contrasting at the best of times – were indistinguishable.

The referee, most likely struggling to identify the players, was particularly vigilant about penalising high tackles and one such incident effectively handed the home side a three-point lead on the 15-minute mark. Another, this time committed by Collingwood’s Ben Rillstone, led to a yellow card – one of three issued to the Black and Gold in the course of the afternoon.

The second-half continued in the same vein with the pitch cutting up and players getting bogged down. It seemed increasingly likely that the game would be decided by errors rather than inspiration, and so it turned out: Collingwood capitalised on the Wanderers’ mistakes to score a further two penalties and, despite a last-minute assault from the visitors, held firm. Final score: Collingwood 9 v Wanderers 0.

Speaking as his players were leaving the pitch, Collingwood coach Graeme Miller described the match as “good, oldfashioned rugby”. He praised his squad. “I’m proud of the team, especially at the front and at the breakdown, and we held onto the ball for longer. They [Wanderers] were just passing sideways.” He acknowledged that, although the game deteriorated towards the end, the result underlined the impregnability of “fortress” Collingwood. “That’s five wins at home.”

Tākaka hunt down Stags

Tākaka faced Valley Stags in their Division 2 match in Tapawera, where the first half was another penalty fest which ended with the Stags leading 6-3.

In the second half, Tākaka registered two tries courtesy of Wade Vickery and Kyle Gardiner plus a conversion from Riley Oakden to give them a nine-point advantage. Stags had a late rally, which produced a converted try to narrow the deficit to two points, but simply ran out of time. Final score: Valley Stags

With four rounds to play, both of the Bay’s sides have a realistic prospect of a play-off semi-final spot making tomorrow’s “Battle of the Bay” derby a potentially season-