Soccer: Papatoetoe's narrow win over Force

North Force's Josh Hacker could only applaud as the Papatoetoe goalkeeper pulled off a fantastic save to maintain his side's 1-0 lead late in the second spell in their Northern League encounter.

The fingertip save to keep out Hacker's goal bound shot was a stunner and turned out to be enough to secure all three points for the visitors to Tikipunga Park on Saturday.

Papatoetoe took an early lead, capitalising on a corner to score in the third minute and despite both side's efforts, there was no further score in the match.

Despite the loss North Force coach Dave Alabaster was pleased with the way his young team is beginning to perform late in the competition.

"We played very well and given the conditions, we probably deserved to get something out of the game but I was proud of the way they kept at it," he said.

Papatoetoe were fired up for the match, needing a win to maintain their Northern League Division One status for next season. The win sees them now neck and neck with Forrest Hill Milford in the race to avoid the second relegation spot.

North Force can no longer expect a miracle and Alabaster said the young side - many of them new to the league this year - are already resigned to playing in Division Two next year.

"We know we are going down but as a team they're finally beginning to play with more confidence and play better football," he said. "It won't do us any harm to play in the second division next year, if we can keep this group of young guys together for a couple of years we might have a half decent team."

At the other end of the table Glenfield Rovers look to be favourites for the title after beating Forrest Hill 3-0 but Ngaruawahia and Eastern Suburbs still have the opportunity to haul them in.

In other matches at Tikipunga on Saturday, the senior reserves went down 4-1 to Papatoetoe. Earlier, an under strength North Force girl's under-15 team drew 0-0 with Onehunga-Mangere. The draw maintained their mid-table position in the premier Auckland league competition.