Dunedin footballers came up trumps in the Southern Football League on Saturday.
Dunedin City Royals recorded a massive 3-2 win against second-placed Cashmere Technical in Christchurch, while Green Island secured a 4-1 win at home against Selwyn United.
The Royals got on the board first through Ollie Peterson in the 17th minute but the home side hit back in the 32nd minute to make it 1-1 at halftime.
The visiting side drew first in the second half through Connor Neil and, 14 minutes later, Ben Stanley slotted another for the Royals to take a convincing lead.
Cashmere scored a late consolation goal but the Royals stayed strong and kept Cashmere at bay, handing the home side its first loss of the season.
Coach Richard Murray was "very happy" to see his players put their bodies on the line and show its resilience to win.
"The boys played really, really well and deserved the win," Murray said.
"We just kept battling. They were determined not to get beaten."
"It was pleasing to see because, from memory, it’s the first time since 2016 we’ve beaten them, and I know we haven’t beaten them on their home pitch for a long time.
"It was quite a big just mental block to get over so that we know that we can do it against those bigger teams.
The Royals sit just below Cashmere in third spot on the table.
At Sunnyvale, Green Island opened the scoring after only five minutes through Harrison McLean.
Selwyn then had the better of the first half and equalised on 28 minutes when Oliver Cosgrove headed in from a free kick.
Following the interval, Green Island imposed themselves on the game and took the lead on 59 minutes through Adam Hewson’s deflected shot.
Two minutes later, it was 3-1 when McLean scored his second and the home side killed off the game on 76 minutes, when Stefan Millidrag peeled off the back post to head home following a well directed free kick.
Green Island now sits seventh on the table.
— Kayla Hodge and Neville Watson
