Aaron Burgess led the Dunedin Technical attack with authority on Saturday, scoring a hat trick in his side's 4-1 win over Caversham at the Caledonian Ground.
The hat trick strengthens Burgess's claim for a starting place in next week's Chatham Cup semifinal after he was rested last week, with coach Mike Fridge continually fine-tuning his squad.
Fridge was without international midfielder Mike Cunningham and Ross Mackenzie, who was out of town, but with Andy Coburn turning in another powerhouse game, Technical took early control of the Otago Daily Times Premier League match.
Caversham struggled to take the initiative, and struggled in wet conditions, coach Steve Fleming said.
"We just tackled, while Tech went in to win the ball.
"We were also guilty of giving possession away, and paid the penalty."
Certainly there was space to spare as Burgess emerged after 24 minutes and hammered a shot on the run that flew past keeper Dave O'Donavan to open the scoring.
A good header by Tom Jackson tested Technical keeper Nick Tarrant, then referee Callum Alexander, on the advice of assistant referee Brent Best, sent Caversham manager Andy Deeley into the stand for continual criticism of the officials.
Technical stayed focused and, on an intercept, Burgess set up the second goal with a long wide pass that harnessed the pace of John Lang, and when the speedy forward's cross arrived, Burgess was there at the far post to make it 2-0 at half-time.
A revitalised Caversham started the second half in earnest, and drove deep into Technical's defence with a series of free kicks and corners that were well supported by forward runs.
Defender Mike Smith almost scored at the far post with a twisting volley, then it was Patrick Fleming diving into the melee to score with a brave header after a right-wing corner on the hour. At that stage, Caversham played its most positive attacking football, but paid the penalty for pushing forward when Burgess robbed Smith and laced Technical into a 3-1 lead.
Some loose play at both ends should have produced more goals, but Technical clinched the result from a left-wing corner, with Lang again finding space and timing his jump perfectly to head strongly past O'Donavan.
Fridge was buoyant after the match. "I am delighted with the win, which maintains our momentum and keeps us in the hunt for the Championship.
We are now four points behind Caversham and Roslyn, with a game in hand," he said.
At Ellis Park, Roslyn-Wakari beat Green Island 3-2, with James Watson, Ant Hancock and Ben Keat providing the home goals.
Mosgiel fought out a 2-2 draw with Queenstown as Al Rickerby and Phil Kelly scored at Memorial Park, and Lucas Araujo got both of Rovers' goals.
Scotsman Barry Gardiner led Spirit FC's scoring spree with two goals in the 5-1 win over Grants Braes, and a Darren Hart penalty equalised for Northern to draw 1-1 with University after Peter Rae had given the students an early lead.
