Goals to Kieran Lynn and David Samuel saw Bream Bay United draw level with Currie Electrical Springfield at the top of the Northland Men's Premier Hockey competition.
The 2-0 win moved them from third place into a share of first in the closest contest for several seasons but more importantly- they beat Springfield for the first time this year.
"We really had to play hard for the win. It was always going to be a tight game after two draws in our previous two matches but we were very pleased it went well for us," Bream Bay coach Vicki Gribble said.
Slick passing saw left half Lynn score a goal just after the break to set up the win before another goal, finished by Samuel, saw them fortify their advantage with 10 minutes to go.
Gribble said they had squandered a number of chances to put the game away so the second goal came as a relief.
The other premier grade match saw bottom placed Morris and Morris Mangapai also move up the table with a narrow 3-2 win over Dempster and Hill Electrical Maungakaramea.
Player-coach Mark Thorne was in the thick of the action with two goals in the physical encounter and said he was pleased with the way the team played in the final, frantic 10 minutes of the game.
"It's taking a bit longer than we thought to get used to the new structure we're trying this year but while there's still plenty to work on, we think it's starting to come together now - right in time for the important part of the season," Thorne said.
It was Mangapai's third straight victory over their old rivals and the two teams are now level on 10 points, two points behind the leaders.
Women's Premier Grade leaders ChillTech Old Girls comfortably beat Gilmore Brown Springfield 4-0 to establish a healthy seven point lead at the top of the table. Nicola McDonnell-Kelly scored a double with Tarannah Vette and Laura Douglas scoring to drop Springfield into third.
Club Auto Hikurangi moved up into second place after two deflected goals from penalty corners by Jo McQueen saw them come from behind to beat a fast-improving Whangarei Girls' High School side 2-1.
There is a break from regular competition next weekend with Whangarei hosting the national-21 competition.
