Tauranga City's lack of quality in front of goal again came back to haunt them in a 3-1 loss to Claudelands Rovers at Links Ave yesterday.
Just as in the opening round 2-0 loss to Mangere United, the home side had much the better of the possession and territory stakes, but could not convert those advantages into goals when it mattered most.
An early chance to City striker Jack McNabb proved an omen of things to come, with his shot rolling tantalisingly away from Claudelands keeper Matthew Wheeler without anyone flashing on to it at the back post. After a brief period of end-to-end play, the game settled into a familiar rhythm, with Rovers happy to sit with men behind the ball, waiting to hit on the break.
When the visitors transitioned to attack, their distinct pace advantage showed, with far less effort going into producing their numerous first-half chances.
Never was that more apparent than when composed Claudelands striker Darius Kubuya ran on to a simple through ball in the 12th minute, before neatly tucking his strike beyond stranded City keeper Simeon Clark to make it 1-0.