A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
Gisborne United fought back from a goal down to beat pacesetters Maycenvale 2-1 in Pacific Premiership football in Hastings on Saturday.
Already in second place, Heavy Equipment Services Gisborne United now lie two points behind Maycenvale with a game in hand.
In Levin, Waikanae Beach TOP10 Gisborne Thistle beat Levin 2-1 to stay in touch with the three teams above them in the Central Federation League.
Thistle have 12 points from four wins and two losses, while league leaders Havelock North Wanderers have 16 from five wins and a draw, Massey University have 16 from five wins, a draw and a loss, and Palmerston North Marist have 13 from four wins, a draw and a loss.
Gisborne United suffered a setback 20 minutes into their game against Maycenvale, when centreback Kieran Higham's sliding tackle was judged to be a foul and striker Xavier Herrick scored from the penalty spot.
Higham set up the equaliser 10 minutes later, sending a free-kick from about the halfway line into the Maycenvale penalty area. Midfielder Corey Adams did the rest, making a run into the box and directing his header over the advancing goalkeeper into the net.
Right-winger Sam Royston scored the winner 20 minutes from the end. Striker Josh Adams beat two players going down the left wing, got to the byline and squared the ball across the goal. Royston had made a run from the right wing into the goal area and finished the move from close range.
Player-coach Kieran Venema said the team knew they had to perform well to beat the league leaders.
“Everyone stood up,” he said.
“We started well and I felt we had the better of the game.
“I told the boys beforehand that it would be won in the middle of the park, and our guys in there frustrated and disrupted the Maycenvale midfield.”
It was an outstanding team effort, but he wanted to make special mention of midfielders Corey Adams and James Bristow, and defenders Adam Simpson, Malcolm Marfell and Mal Scammell.
Adams was dominant in midfield, while Bristow looked to receive the ball and was composed when he had it.
Rightback Simpson won a lot of ball from good challenges and caused Maycenvale problems when he moved forward, Venema said.
Leftback Marfell made some “really good” challenges, and centreback Scammell made some goal-saving tackles.
With United away again next week, to Western Rangers in Hastings, Venema has a simple wish: “We want to be playing like this in every game”.
Two outstanding goals earned Thistle victory over a feisty Levin side.
In the sixth minute, wide striker Oli Davies beat a player and laid the ball back to skipper Nick Land, who passed to fellow midfielder Cullen Spawforth just outside the centre-circle in Levin's half. He took a touch and hit a 35-metre right-footed drive that cleared the goalkeeper, hit the underside of the bar and bounced off the ground into the net.
Thistle doubled their lead in the 74th minute with a reward for persistence on the back of good team play.
Rightback Justo Rodriguez intercepted a Levin free-kick taken from just inside their half. After passes between Rodriguez, Spawforth, Land, Daniel Venema and Ema Martos, the ball was sent over the defence for Sam Patterson.
He made his run from the right flank into the middle and, as the Levin centreback played the ball back, Patterson continued his run and got to the ball first to slip it past the advancing keeper.
Deep into added time, Levin scored their goal from the penalty spot for a foul on a Levin player.
Thistle coach Garrett Blair said Land was man of the match for the way he stepped in at centreback without missing a beat after Ander Batarrita — struggling with a calf injury — had to be replaced at halftime. Martos came on in the holding midfield spot left vacant by Land's shift to centreback.
Daniel Venema also came on at halftime, to replace leftback Kuba Jerabek, who had been nursing a calf injury and hadn't trained on Thursday.
Five minutes after halftime, striker Jimmy Somerton, who hurt his hip in a first-half collision with the Levin keeper, came off for Oska Smith.
Apart from Land, standout performances for Thistle came from wide striker Patterson in his first full first-team game in two seasons, Tomek Frooms in an attacking midfield role, rightback Rodriguez and keeper Mitchell Stewart-Hill, who had a solid game and communicated well with his defence.
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