A creditable performance saw South 5ths push hard against a City 7ths side who are effectively Division 4NW’s reigning champions, but are still in this league for another season after not being promoted for convoluted reasons.

The star of South’s show was new recruit Justin Lercher, who put in a high energy performance in midfield to be constantly available. The hosts pressed and had their chances, but a combination of key last-ditch clearances from City and wrong options at the critical time saw the hosts end scoreless. The visitors showed them how it should be done towards the end of the opening half when sharp thinking at a quickly taken free-hit opened up the space for a thunderous reverse stick shot that gave no chance to South’s teenaged goalie Joe Lynch, who otherwise made a handful of impressive saves.