Football: Kerikeri edges Kamo to draw

Kerikeri's Robbie Kingsman makes a nifty stop as he moves upfield ahead of Kamo's Calvin Erick. That's referee Craig Crawford watching on. Photo / John Stone

Kerikeri played their way out of trouble to take a psychological advantage in their battle against Kamo for the 2016 Northland Premier League Football title.

The two unbeaten teams squared off at Kamo on Saturday with a late Robbie Kingman header earning the visitors a 2-all draw and the slightest of edges in the title race.

Kingman got on the end of a fantastic, curling Rodrigo Sala cross from the right flank with eight minutes left to play leaving the Kerikeri skipper happy to get a share of the points.

"It's always good to get something from a trip to Kamo - this was the big game of the round for us, the make or break game potentially of the whole league, so it was big for us to get a draw and I think overall we were pretty happy with the way we played," he said.

The visiting side started with Timo Obrez heading home from a corner in the first 10 minutes. Kamo then showed their championship potential by regaining rhythm and began to threaten Kerikeri's goal.

Acting Kamo captain Keegan Baddeley continued his impressive scoring form by equalising in the second quarter before taking the lead - with a header from a pinpoint Adam Salmon cross - at the beginning of the second spell.

Despite his double, Baddeley was less than happy with the draw. "If we could have just held them out for a few more minutes at the end there we would have got the three points, but we missed our captain Dominic Fromont in the backline - he's out with an ACL injury - and he might have made that little bit of difference we needed," Baddeley said. He added the draw wasn't as bad as a loss and there was still a long way to go in the competition.

"All we have to do is keep on winning every week and hope Kerikeri slip up somewhere else and then go up there later in the season and see if we can finish the job," he said.

The result certainly keeps the rivalry red hot with Kingman saying the league title is all important to them this season after they were knocked out of the Chatham Cup. The game wasn't without its controversy - Kamo had to give up on a first half goal for offside and in the final minute the Kerikeri players appealed for a penalty after a collision between Sala and Kamo goalkeeper Stane Stanners.

Stanners was solid in goal denying Sala in a one-on-one opportunity in the lead-up to the penalty appeal. Shane King stepped up in the second spell for Kerikeri helping them to dominate the midfield and possession in the final quarter which led to their equaliser.

In other premier grade matches, FC Whangarei proved their win last week wasn't a fluke with a 2-1 win over third-placed Onerahi at Morningside Park.

Liam Winn capitalised on a goalkeeping error by Onerahi to go 1-0 up before Darren Green scored again just before the break. Onerahi came out swinging after half-time but couldn't break down the FC defence - buoyed by good local support - until the dying moments of the game when Harley Freeman made it 2-1.

Bream Bay United played some of their best football of the season and goals to Kevin Mooney and Jermaine Hall saw then lead Kaitaia 2-0 at the 70-minute mark of their match at Ruakaka. Kaitaia then flicked a switch and scored almost at will with goals to brothers' Bayley and Kian Milne (2), Shane McDonald and Dan Dewaal completing an extraordinary 5-2 win.

Central Brown got back to their winning ways with a 1-0 win over Tikipunga. Rory Hogg scored the winner but it was the central defenders Bryn Hughes and Zippy Stanners who earned the biggest plaudits by keeping the young Tikipunga side at bay as they chased an equaliser.

Northland Division 1 Results:

Kamo 9 Onerahi 0, FC Whangarei 7 Bream Bay 3, Onerahi New 0 Madhatters Blue 3, Tikipunga Pet Essentials 6 Central Brown 0, Tikipunga Orange 1 Kerikeri Jerkovich 2.