United had the better of the second spell and O'Sullivan gave them some breathing space when he headed home from a corner in the 75th minute. Gary Hamilton-Irvine assured the home team of three vital points when he scored late in the game.
"It has been a character building season," United coach Neil Rush said. "We are not out of the woods yet but that was a good win, and three valuable points."
Ngongotaha moved into third equal place without breaking a sweat after bottom-placed Otorohanga defaulted their game which was scheduled for Stembridge Rd. While disappointed at not having a game, Villagers coach Shane Davis took the opportunity to watch cross-town rivals United.
Old Blues coach Andy Legget was less than impressed with the pitch and the standard of refereeing after his team was beaten 3-1 by Waikato Unicol.
"The ground was basically unplayable and the game was a lottery. As for the officiating, - well the least said the better," he said.
It was a scoreless first half but Unicol were ahead 3-0 before Steve Flude scored for the visitors late in the game.
Taupo cruised to a comfortable 2-0 win over Melville United, with goals to Paul Stewart and Dillon Caldwell. That was the score at half time and Taupo stroked the ball around in the second spell dominating possession and territory but failing to add to their total.
Claudelands Rovers kept in touch with Taupo with a 3-1 win over Whakatane Town at Gower Park.
Otumoetai's up and down season continued as they were beaten 3-1 by relegation-threatened Tauranga Boys' College.
The division two competition concluded with Cambridge beating Te Awamutu 2-1 while West Hamilton also won 2-1 against Rotorua United.
