Football: Tikipunga own goal keeps Whangarei's perfect record alive

Tikipunga's Steve Crowley flies over FC Whangarei goalie Brad Swann during their premier men's football clash on Saturday.

A second-half Mike Crowley own goal from Tikipunga secured FC Whangarei's second win in their Northland Men's Premier clash.

FC Whangarei controlled play early, getting off to a good start by scoring two quick first-half goals.

But Tikipunga weren't going to submit easily.

Tikipunga had the better of the middle part of Saturday's game leading into halftime, with the pressure paying off just after halftime to cut the lead to 2-1.

In the lead-up to Tikipunga's goal, their player was brought down two metres outside of the box and were awarded a free kick as a result.

Unfortunately for FC Whangarei, their four-man erect wall was not enough to stop a lofting shot by Marcus Mulhearn.

From the restart FC Whangarei made their way into Tikipunga territory, where they were awarded a corner.

A Jason Teal header deflected off Crowley, which wrong-footed Tikipunga's goalie William Morunga, resulting in the match winner.

In other premier football clashes, Kamo won 3-2 over Onerahi to get their first win of the season. Kerikeri maintained their unbeaten run with a 3-0 win over Central Brown in Kerikeri. Bream Bay United had the bye this week.

FC Whangarei 3 (Scott Burgess, Murray Wooten, own goal Mike Crowley); Tikipunga 1 (Marcus Mulhearn).