Football: Tough draw for Rotorua United

Rotorua Utd goal keeper Andrew Gibbs takes a high ball during the 1-1 draw with Papamoa

While Ngongotaha were securing the WaiBOP premiership title with a 2-1 win at Cambridge, there was a full programme of games for those teams that will now be also-rans in 2016.

Rotorua United travelled to Papamoa on Saturday sitting one place and two points ahead of their hosts. Nothing much had changed by the end of the day, the 1-1 draw meaning it was very much status quo for the sixth and seventh placed sides.

Short on troops, Rotorua coach Ian Walker had to call on three players who had already put in appearances earlier in the day, and even then he only had the bare minimum 11 players to call on.

"That made it a bit of a tough day at the office, so I am happy with a point," he said. "It was a pretty fair result for both sides, and both sides would have been disappointed with a loss. It was quite a scrappy game and a lot was let go, but 1-1 is a pretty fair result."

Rotorua were winning 1-0 at half time through a goal to Ash Gower-Rudman, Papamoa pulling one back in the second half, scored by Mehdi El Barakat.

In other games, Waikato Stud Matamata Swifts won 3-0 at rock bottom Tauranga City United thanks to goals from Jordane Lambert, Chris Walker and Ben Vogt and moved level with Cambridge on 41 points ahead of this Saturday's clash between the two central
Waikato rivals. Fourth placed Otumoetai First Credit Union dropped more points, this time at Waikato Unicol after being held to a 1-1 draw.

At the other end of the table, Charlie McIlwaine's hat trick gave Tauranga Boys' College a priceless 3-2 win at Old Blues, moving the students ahead of Katikati and out of the drop zone. Katikati lost 4-1 at Melville United and sit level on points with Boys' College but have a worse goal difference and have played a game more.