Fresh from a week off, Mosgiel enjoyed a goal-fest at Ocean Grove with a 6-3 win over Grants Braes on Saturday.
Two early goals by Mosgiel rocked Braes, then a ripper from 30m threatened a bath for the home side, but Kieran Putt pulled one back before Mike Abbott drove in a penalty for 4-1 at the break.
An indication of great improvement this season was Braes' fightback, which got Shannon Cox and Ben Eder on the scoresheet, and keeper Josh Columbus kept hopes alive by saving an Abbott penalty.
But there was too much experience in the Mosgiel squad, which remained composed and scored another two goals to clinch a 6-3 win to remain in fourth place in the premier league.
Another high-scoring game saw Invercargill's Spirit edge Roslyn-Wakari 5-4 at Ellis Park, with both sides attacking until the final whistle.
New Spirit signing Adrian Fonoti sliced through to open the scoring after just three minutes and home side Roslyn had to play catch-up football for the rest of the match.
Roslyn equalised with a penalty late in the first half, but Scots import Mark Caldow re-established the Spirit's lead with a fine solo goal through the heart of the home defence.
A late flurry of pressure eventually had Roslyn close the gap when Tim Mather scored, but time ran out when Timaru referee Gary McNicol blew to finish an entertaining match.
At Tonga Park, Caversham was tested in the first half by a hard-working Northern side which should have gone ahead when Liam Dungey took a penalty, but keeper James Wagget showed his class with a blocking save low at the right post.
The penalty was a wake-up call for Caversham, and just before halftime Tom Jackson flew through a gap, past keeper Ike Malpas and calmly slotted a trademark goal to make it 1-0.
With an eye on today's Chatham Cup tie with Dunedin Technical, several regular Caversham players watched from the touchline, but striker Ant Hancock got a second-half run to make the game safe at 2-0.
Dunedin Technical also had one eye on the Cup clash but did not falter in Queenstown, where it beat the Rovers 3-0 with Aaron Burgess and Michael Flaws getting on the scoresheet.
Varsity beat Green Island 2-0, which pushed the students into a mid-table logjam of four teams covered by three points.
Caversham and Technical are tied on 22 points, Mosgiel is third with 13 points, then Roslyn and University on 12 points, and in sixth place on 10 is Queenstown.
But targets switch today with sudden-death football, the main clash being at Tonga Park where Caversham and Technical lock horns.
Mosgiel is at home to Green Island, Roslyn travels to Invercargill to play Southend United, and in Timaru, Northern Hearts play Old Boys at Aorangi Park.
All kick-offs are at 2pm to allow for extra time and penalty shootouts if required.
