On Saturday the Awakeri Events Centre was the venue for a local derby in BOP division one. Gary Fowell Builders Plains Rangers hosted Whakatane Town, with pride the biggest thing at stake. There was end to end entertainment as both sides tried to get the upper hand. Whakatane had the first sniffs at goal, and then Rangers got going. Dean Butterworth tried his luck from distance, then Ben McPherson got through, but the Whakatane keeper held his nerve to thwart the danger. An even battle ensued. After 25 minutes Rangers keeper Christian Wetting made an excellent one on one save. Rangers finished the half strongly. A Matt Dalgity shot curled just wide. McPherson got the ball in the Whakatane net with a great shot, but the linesman had his flag up for off side.
The visitors got an early break through in the second half. A Rangers defender pushed his opponent and Whakatane converted the resulting penalty. Soon afterwards, a Rangers free kick drifted agonisingly wide of the post. Fifteen minutes in and Whakatane scored from a fast break to consolidate their lead, five minutes later a wayward Rangers pass gave another chance, which was gratefully accepted. Late in the half Rangers fought their way back into it. McPherson was tripped in the box and stepped up to score the resulting penalty. Four minutes later Dalgity was also tripped in the box, but this penalty was saved. Whakatane hung on to win the entertaining clash 3 - 1.
Kendon Gibson's two goals saw him named player of the day for Whakatane, while the hard working Joel Ogilvy got the nod for Rangers.
This Saturday Rangers have a hard final task in the league, an away trip to Te Puke, who beat Whakatane 9 - 1 the previous week.
On Sunday Gary Fowell Builders Plains Rangers women had an exciting day in the Pullar Cup tournament. Rangers lost to league winners Rotorua in the first round, but they got through to the Bowl final, where they met Te Puke. Rangers played their best football of the year and were unfortunate to concede a goal with only two minutes to go, to lose 1 - 0. Holly Davis up front, Jenny Fox in midfield and Colleen Pryde in goal were all outstanding in a very good team performance. This weekend Rangers women play their game on Saturday, at home to Taupo, with a 2 30pm kick off.