For the second consecutive week, Rotorua United put up a gutsy and spirited performance but at the end of 90 minutes had nothing to show for it. AFC Fury would have targeted this game as one they should win but had United scored in the 10th minute, when Fury somehow managed to clear off the line, it could have been different.
After a competitive 42 minutes it was a cruel blow for United when Fury scored to take a 1-0 lead at the break. The visitors looked to wrest the initiative after the restart but United defended well and regained parity although their finishing was lacking.
Fury held on to their 1-0 lead and when the final whistle blew were happy to walk away with three points.
Tauranga Old Blues dropped two valuable points after a 2-2 draw with Cambridge, while Otumoetai remained firmly rooted to the bottom after a 4-0 loss to Tauranga City.
Taupo were missing several players when they travelled to Waikato Unicol but put in a plucky display lost just 1-0.
Whakatane Town retained their fourth place after scraping past Matamata Swifts 2-1.
Meanwhile in Division Two, after last week's 16-0 trouncing, Rotorua United put up a much better performance against HRFC but still lost 4-1 to remain at the bottom of the table.
In other games, Matamata beat West Hamilton 3-0, Old Blues beat Cambridge 4-2, Papamoa won against Tauranga Boys' 1-0, while Tokoroa's match against Tauranga City was postponed.
