Hawke's Bay United stunned competition leaders Nelson Marlborough Falcons in the sixth round of the ASB Youth Football League with a 3-1 win in Napier on Sunday.
Entering the Park Island encounter Hawke's Bay United were bottom of the competition having lost their previous five matches while Nelson Marlborough sat
top of the table with five wins from as many matches. But the form book went out the window inside the opening 11 minutes with the home side two goals to the good via a seventh minute penalty to Alex Palezevic and a strike from Fane Morgan four minutes later.
A Falcons' own goal before halftime put the visitors into a deeper hole and despite a late second half response via substitute Carl Connor-McLean, Mark Johnston's team couldn't recover. Speaking after the game Hawke's Bay United coach Dave Carswell said it was especially satisfying to claim their first win over the league's leading team.
"We're absolutely stoked," said Carswell. "The lads worked their socks off today in trying conditions and we were up against a very good competitor in Nelson. It was nice to knock them off."
Despite finding themselves at the foot of the table going into Sunday's game Carswell said his side had been playing well enough without finding a scoring touch.
