BV Bullets firing on all cylinders

The Blenheim Valley Bullets side made a winning start to the nationwide Kate Sheppard Cup knockout competition with a 4-2 win over Nelson Suburbs at A&P Park on Saturday.

The home side started strongly in the women’s equivalent of the Chatham Cup with a fourth minute goal, player-of-the-day Tiana Williams running onto a well-weighted pass from Maddy Rowe.

Although the visitors tested BV keeper Jaimee van Keulen, she was up to the task.

Williams continued to threaten the Suburbs goal and was rewarded in the 19th minute with her second when she latched onto a weak clearance following a corner and lofted the ball high into the net.

Despite several more half-chances, BV were held to a 2-0 lead at the break.

With the breeze at their backs the visitors lifted their game and narrowed the deficit through a Sam Crawford goal as the match turned into a proper arm wrestle.

As time wound down BV lifted again and gained some breathing space when a smart through-ball from Freya Thompson allowed Abby Owen time and space to net their third.

But Nelson were not done and a slick goal from Hannah Jones with just 15 minutes to play ramped up the excitement levels.

However, it was the home side who had the final say. Midfielder Tessa Hyland was felled in the box, then picked herself up to slot home the resulting penalty kick.

Coach Scott Kennovin was rapt with the result. He credited the teams’ commitment and mental resilience as key to their success. “Everyone gave their all today, and they deserved the great outcome - especially exciting given it was a knockout game for the cup too”, he said.

Meanwhile, in the Mayfield Motorworld men’s division one competition, first round winners Central Buccaneers and Call Care Trojans picked up wins.

Buccaneers downed Central Wolves 3-2 at Athletic Park. They led 3-0 at the break, goals coming from the prolific Tom Hall and Ben Shallcrass. However, Wolves dominated the second half, Steve McCaa converting a penalty and Matt McCormick netting late to set up a tight finish.

Trojans beat Rangers Development 2-0, Tomas Lupani scoring just before the break, then Scott Denmark converted a penalty for handball midway through the second spell. Players of the game for a gritty Development side who fought to the finish were Josh Clamp, Callum McDonald and Jake Bezant.

The third match, between BV Masters and Call Care Hotspurs ended in a 4-4 stalemate.

Hotspurs led 2-1 at halftime, Aaron Henderson and Nathan Mathieson scoring while Ben Clarke picked up a goal for Masters.

Clarke scored his second soon after oranges to level it up but Kyle Evans put Hotspurs ahead soon after. Ian Allen levelled the scores again and, with time ticking down, that appeared a likely outcome. However, when Francisco Zimmermann put Hotspurs ahead in the final minutes it appeared they may have snatched a result but Allen bagged his second a minute later to share the points.

In division two action, Call Care Spartans beat Rangers COM 3-2, Central Privateers and Rangers Masters drew 3-3 and Redwood Masters overcame Picton 2-1.