With no regular football played over Queens Birthday weekend, all focus turned to the Chatham Cup and Kate Shepherd Cup round 2 matches; both played between a Nelson and Blenheim side. On Monday, the Nelson Suburbs Mainland Premier League team took on the 1st Division side, Blenheim Rangers. And it was a story of opportunities spurned as a frustrated and tired Suburbs team, coming off a draw in the MPL on Saturday against Selwyn, travelled over the hill to take on a determined Rangers. The game was tight right through until the Nelson boys finally secured victory in the 85th minute.

It was much of the same in the second-round knock-out match for the national Kate Shepherd Cup on Saturday between the Blenheim Valley Bullets and the Hothouse Creative Richmond Foxes at A&P park.

Coming off a tough loss two weeks ago against a solid Richmond side, the BV Bullets had something to prove. Today’s game took on an entirely different hue to the two team’s last face-off in what was to prove to be a very tight-knit match. 
 
BV came out strongly, but Foxes’ Paige Fergusson fired the first shot. It went shy of the goal, however, bustled off to the left by Bullets’ Keeper Jaimee Van Keulen. 
 
Although Foxes continued to look dangerous, BV kept them closed down in a very even passage of play which continued for the first 20 minutes. 
 
A superbly taken penalty from Tessa Hyland was the home side’s first real opportunity just after the 20-minute mark. The shot tracked high and on target but was deftly saved by Foxes’ keeper, Lara Malcolm. 
 
Shortly after, a solidly struck ball from Richmond’s Jenny Harvey made a resounding crack as it bounced off the left post in a lucky (or unlucky - depending on one’s perspective!) miss.
 
Foxes’ Megan Hobson also sent a high searching ball goalward, but it zipped over the top of the goal. 
 
With only minutes to play in the half, BV momentarily lost the ball in the midfield and out of nowhere came a blistering shot from Jenny Harvey from around 40 metres out. It scraped just under the top of the net to secure a goal for the Foxes.  The halftime whistle blew soon after on a 1-0 scoreline, which reflected a very evenly contested half. 
 
The second half continued with both sides well-matched, and no opportunities were converted into goals. A ball to the face saw BV’s Freya Thompson in the blood bin for nearly 5 minutes, but BV soldiered on with ten players and conceded no ground. 
 
Finally, in the 72nd minute, Foxes’ Fergusson put a beautiful finish on a ball - sending it into the very bottom left of the goal, leaving Van Keulen no chance of getting a hand to it - and nudging the Foxes 2-0 ahead. 
 
Both sides came back hard, and a cheeky wee shot from Hannah Cook looked like it might just pay off but went a little wide in the end.
 
BV stitched together some neat passing play and made good ground. A neatly weighted through ball from Lea Poletti to Lauren Sloan saw her blast through the last defender and smack it home in what was to be the games final goal. The full-time whistle went with a 2-1 victory to Richmond. 
 
Coach Scott Kennovin said it was a great effort from the home side. “It was a pleasing turnaround from 2 weeks ago. We’re back on track for the season after last time’s shock result. We wish the Richmond Foxes the best of luck going on to their third round of the Kate Shepherd Cup - as the last Top of the South team still standing.”
 
Article added: Tuesday 08 June 2021