Football: Te Puke Utd hit their straps with six-goal win

Joel Klein Ovink scored two goals and was player of the day in Te Puke’s 6-0 win over Hamilton Wanderers. Photo / Stuart Whitaker

Te Puke United’s first team played at home against Hamilton Wanderers, coming away with a 6-0 win.

A dominant display started off with some good passages of play, but the front line struggled to find the net. The breakthrough happened as a cross was deflected in for an own goal, and this was quickly followed by Joel Klein Ovink making it two before the break.

The second half started in similar fashion to the first. The defence kept out any pressure, allowing the forwards to attack, and with 30 minutes to go, Te Puke started cutting the Hamilton defence in half as substitute Jeevan Singh found the net with his first touch, followed by Klein Ovink getting his second. Substitute Ronan Wotten made it five with Ben Day capitalising on a backline error to make it six.

Ben Day (centre) scored Te Puke’s sixth and last goal. Photo / Stuart Whitaker

The win means Te Puke are safe in fourth place in WaiBOP League One.

Player of the day went to Klein Ovink.

Te Puke’s first team have one more game to play, also against Hamilton Wanderers, with a date to be set.

Miller Bowl

Te Puke’s Reserves played Pāpāmoa NOBs at home for a spot in the semifinal of the Miller Bowl, but fell to a 4-2 defeat.

The Black and Whites started solidly with Robby Noal giving the home side an early lead, but Pāpāmoa fired up and managed to equalise and then take the lead with goals in the 17th and 34th minutes. Noal stepped up again to make it 2-2 at halftime.

Te Puke had their fair share of chances with a couple of shots coming off the post, but unfortunately for them, the away team took their chances with a goal in the 65th and 82nd minutes securing the match and spot in the semifinals.

Te Puke Reserves play their final game on Saturday against top-of-the-table Waipuna at Litt Park – kickoff is at 12.30pm.

Women’s team

Te Puke Women travelled to Waiariki, returning empty-handed after a 2-0 loss.

A competitive first half had some good back-and-forth football, with both teams having their fair share of chances. However, solid defences on both sides kept it 0-0 until the half.

In the second half, it was Waiariki who managed to break the deadlock after 11 minutes and this seemed to sway the momentum as the home team kept pushing hard, securing another goal with 15 minutes left.

Te Puke dug deep but were unable to get on the scoreboard. Despite the result, Te Puke’s women’s side have secured second place in the WaiBOP Women’s Bay 1 league with a game to go. That game is against Te Puke’s second women’s side, Wahine Toa, at Litt Park on Sunday, kickoff 12.30pm.