Victory revives Tga City's season

Tauranga City United have shrugged off a difficult week, which culminated in the departure of both coaches after a string of mediocre results, to put themselves right back in the hunt for promotion with a gutsy 2-1 away win over Fencibles United in Auckland on Saturday.
Co-coaches Grant Turner and John Whitley stepped down on Tuesday, leaving Tauranga's push for top-two and promotion out of the Northern League's second division in limbo.
But the side - same playing personnel but with multiple positional changes - went to Auckland and got the job done, with recycled player/coach Ian Stringfellow and Joel Wakelin putting the side 2-0 up in the first 12 minutes before they survived a tense second half to grab a full share of the points. It was Tauranga's first win in three weeks and leaves them level second with Fencibles on 23 points, with the Auckland side boasting a slightly superior goal difference.
Ngaruawahia continue to snap at Tauranga's heels and are a point back in fourth with a game in hand.
Stringfellow said there was plenty of resolve from the players to shrug off the road trip and regain some winning form.
"It's certainly been a different week and the way the league situation was it was already a big game. With what happened earlier in the week we had that extra bit of motivation to get a win and put the week behind us."
Stringfellow's message pre-kickoff was that the situation Tauranga found themselves in probably seemed a lot worse than it was. "Okay, so we'd had a couple of games where we hadn't performed, but the reality was we were only three points behind second, not facing relegation and sometimes a new voice can make a difference."
Tauranga rejigged their midfield and striking formation and brought in federation team coach Vinnie Smith to play in goal, with Smith offering to stand-in after Tauranga's previous three stoppers were either injured or defected to rugby. "Vinnie's played in goal at a good level and we knew he couldn't let us down."
Tauranga celebrated the final whistle like they'd won the league but almost as important as the win was the resolve they'd shown to stave off a Fencibles fightback.
"The game definitely tightened up in the second half, with few chances for either side, but in a way that suited us because in the past we haven't done well holding a lead. We'll often continue to create chances but then get exposed numbers-wise pushing forward."
Tauranga's push for promotion ramps up a level over the next two weeks with a home game this Saturday against fifth-placed Hibiscus Coast, before taking on Ngaruawahia away the following weekend.