It was back to winning ways for the Whakatāne Town men’s football team in the Baywide Division One League, thanks to Ricky Owen’s 57th minute effort.

His goal secured Whakatāne a valuable 1-0 away victory at Papamoa, always a tough place to play.

The first half was fairly even between Papamoa Bay 1 and Pullar Builders Whakatāne with both teams creating chances in the final third.

Papamoa seemed the hungrier and more aggressive of the two early on and started edging ahead, but were unable to convert any of their chances.

Whakatane went into halftime the happier of the two sides having kept the home side scoreless. The second half had Whakatāne controlling more of the possession and that paid off with Owen chipping the keeper from outside of the box.

Whakatāne defender Marcus Keighley and winger Jared Mclaughlin went off injured with an already depleted squad, but Whakatāne held onto the lead, keeping possession and playing better football overall.

Having to play in the defensive end because of the injuries, Connor Davies was superb for Whakatāne, looking solid at the back as if he had been playing there all year.

The win takes Whakatāne to third place behind Otumoetai and Tauranga City Relics, with Whakatāne having a game in hand, which could close the gap to two points behind leaders Tauranga.

This week, Whakatāne hosts Waipuna Rangers at Rex Morpeth at 12.30pm on Saturday.

It’s a game Whakatāne Town will want to win, especially at home on their fortress of Rex Morpeth Park, and they’d love a good crowd to come out and cheer them on.

Their over 35s team remain winless and rooted to the bottom of their table.
In the Baywide division two grade, Ōhope Sharks were beaten again, falling 3-0 to Te Puke United Bay 2 and in the Baywide Division Three League, Kawerau showed promise but were outclassed by Waipuna Warriors 5 - 2.