Harley Rodeka returned to his old club and slammed in two goals as Caversham beat Roslyn-Wakari 3-2 in the Footballsouth Premier League match at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Rodeka was part of a former Roslyn trio which included Anthony Hancock and Terry Boylan in what turned out to be a keenly contested match.
Defender James Watson gave the home side an early lead, but Rodeka scored an equaliser after some mediocre passing out of defence by Roslyn, and the score was tied at halftime.
Referee Dave Langley kept a firm grip on the match with a flurry of yellow cards, as players kept the large crowd entertained with hard, driving football and non-stop tough tackling.
Caversham's breakthrough came when Tim Cook ghosted in to stab the ball through a melee, and then Rodeka gave his side a 3-1 lead, before Sam Mepham narrowed the score to 3-2.
There was intense action at both ends in the final stanza, and a late free-kick by Roslyn skidded across Caversham's goalmouth but there were no takers.
At the Caledonian Ground, Northern enjoyed some good spells of pressure on Dunedin Technical before Mike Fridge's team grabbed the first goal when big centreback Matt Joy ploughed through Northern defenders to head a powerful goal.
Technical's Flaws brothers, Justin and Michael, used width well, but there was plenty of wasted ball that allowed Northern a larger than expected share of possession.
Even after Mike Still rammed in a low cross from Aaron Burgess for 2-0, Northern forays spelled danger as Simon Collins, and Darren Hart went past defenders and launched shots.
A fruitless day for top striker Burgess worsened when, after a collision, he had to be carried off the field, but a fine goal by Nick Dale gave Technical 3-0 cushion.
Far from lying down, Northern cranked up its effort and, from a defensive error, Mario Roy showed pace and composure to score his side's first FPL goal of the season to make the score 3-1.
The main game at the Caledonian ground was a see-saw draw between University and Southland Spirit that produced six goals.
Varsity initially played cultured possession football to open up a 2-0 lead after Luke Macris and Dave Stewart scored.
On the bounce, Southland import Mark Caldow scored twice, the second a classy chip that left stranded defenders reduced to spectator status.
Southland player-coach Barry Gardiner and Varsity's Campbell Higgins hit second-half goals for the final 3-3 scoreline, which was probably a fair result.
Mosgiel remains unbeaten after winning the derby against Green Island 3-0, thanks to goals by Regan Coldicott and veterans Phil Kelly and player-coach Mike McGarry.
In the mutually agreed venue of Alexandra, Queenstown was too strong for Grants Braes, winning 3-0 with goals from Marvin Masso (2) and Carlos Herrmann.
