There were no radical upsets in the weekend's Footballsouth Premier League, but there were still some coaches biting nails on the touchline.
Roslyn-Wakari had to rely on a 90th-minute penalty to beat Green Island 4-3 at Ellis Park, and Spirit FC self-destructed by missing a penalty and scoring an own goal to lose 1-0 to Mosgiel in Invercargill.
The form book ran true at Sunnyvale where Dunedin Technical beat Northern 5-0, and Caversham notched a 7-2 win in Queenstown. University was also comfortable with a 3-1 win over Grants Braes.
An expectant crowd at Ellis Park saw Green Island charge to an early lead when Dan Rutter scored with an expert arcing volley that left keeper Peter Evans grabbing thin air.
In his best game for some time, Tom Connor led the Roslyn fightback with pace and penetration as he first tapped in after a free kick from the training ground, then took route one through gaps in the defence to lace Roslyn into a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.
Earlier in the season, Green Island would have folded, but coach Rod Fleming's team, chasing its fourth consecutive win, showed resilience, and Rutter headed an absolutely brilliant equaliser.
Despite an icy wind, spectators were warmed by attacking play from both sides.
Brad Johnstone, in his last game for the club, pushed Roslyn ahead with a cool penalty.
Then the green scarves were waving as Taylor McCormack equalised, and it took two superb diving saves by Evans to keep Roslyn in the game.
Some spectators were heading for the clubhouse and a consolation beer when referee Edward Cook pointed to the penalty spot and, as cool as the weather, Mike Cunningham tucked the winner low past Sam Reid's despairing dive.
Caversham's 7-2 win kept coach Richard Murray's side in contention, level in second place with Roslyn on 32 points, but still five points behind Technical with four FPL matches to play.
Technical has yet to play the Spirit, Caversham, Northern and Roslyn, plus it has Sunday's Chatham Cup tie against Bay Olympic, making for a tricky run-in.
At Sunnyvale, Technical was never in danger against a flat Northern side, but played more long ball than one would have expected for a team tuning up to play quality opposition in the cup.
Even top striker Aaron Burgess missed several open goal chances, but typically he still scored twice to take his season's tally to 26. Fellow striker Brad Rodden caught the eye with an aggressive performance that earned a hat trick.
University coach Luke Macris got on the scorecard in his side's 3-1 win over Grants Braes. Guileherme Melo and Geordie Mansford also scored. After a three-match run without defeat, Braes' goal by Saad Ali was not enough to lift the seasiders off the bottom slot.
