Wellington United and Palmerston North Marist will be hunting goals next weekend as the Ultra Football W-League comes down to the final game of the season.

The teams remain deadlocked at the top of the table, with both sitting on 34 points after 13 of the 14 games this season following wins on the weekend.

Wellington United triumphed 4-1 over bottom-placed North Wellington thanks to a hat-trick from Charlotte Wilford-Carroll, while Jemma Robertson scored her 25^th goal of the season to pull three clear of Palmerston North’s Mikaela Boxall in the Golden Boot race.

The result confirmed North Wellington’s relegation.

Boxall played a rare 90 minutes with scoring in her side’s 2-1 win over Wairarapa United.

Wairarapa took the lead in the 21^st minute after a goal from Florence MacIntyre. Palmerston North hit back via Kaitlyn Watts in the 41^st minute before Charlotte Lancaster got the crucial winner in the 70^th minute.

The margin of victory hurt Palmerston North though, and they now face an uphill task to claim the league title.

They play North Wellington at home in their final match on Saturday, while Wellington United are away to fifth-placed Western Suburbs. Marist must beat North Wellington by a margin of at least three more goals than Wellington United beat Wests by.

Saturday’s other matches saw Wests beat Seatoun 2-0, while Petone and Waterside Karori drew 2-2.

In the Ultra Football Central League, Miramar Rangers maintained their one-point lead over Western Suburbs with a 4-1 win over Napier City Rovers.

Sam Mason-Smith joined Wellington Olympic’s Gianni Bouzoukis at the top of the Golden Boot standings on 14 goals after he scored a brace in the victory.

Wests scored a comfortable 2-0 win over Waterside Karori with goals in each half from Karori’s Conor Butler (own goal) and Wests’ Sean Bright.

Olympic remain seven points adrift of Miramar after their 2-0 win against Stop Out – the goals coming from Tom Jackson and Hamish Watson.

At the bottom of the table, Petone and Wairarapa played out a thrilling 3-3 draw.

Wairarapa were up 2-0 after 17 minutes, but Petone hit back after halftime to get back to 2-2 in the 63^rd minute. Wairarapa looked to have secured the vital three points after a Josh Rudland goal in the 84^th minute, only for Isaac Snell to again equalise for Petone two minutes later.

Wairarapa remain bottom with five games to go, level on nine points with Petone, but four goals behind on goal difference.

The last match of the round saw North Wellington move six points clear of the relegation zone with a 2-1 win over Lower Hutt City.

In the women’s Capital Premier division, Victoria University were crowned champions and gained promotion of the W-League after a 3-1 win over Kapiti Coast United.

In the men’s Capital Premier division, Wainuiomata moved into the box seat for making the Central League playoff after they beat Wests’ reserves 3-1 and Upper Hutt City lost 3-1 to North Wellington’s reserves.

Wainui are one point ahead with three games to play.

Ultra Football W-League round 13 results

Wellington United 4 (Charlotte Wilford-Carroll 24’ 67’ 88’, Jemma Roberston 62’) North Wellington 1 (Nicola Ross 87’). HT: 1-0.

Palmerston North Marist 2 (Kaitlyn Watts 41’, Charlotte Lancaster 70’) Wairarapa United 1 (Florence MacIntyre 21’). HT: 1-1.

Western Suburbs 2 (Macey Fraser 46’, Beth Whiteside 74’) Seatoun 0. HT: 0-0.

Petone 2 (Alex McIntosh 17’, Olivia Gibbs 88’) Waterside Karori 2 (Kaley Ward 56’, Millie Lynskey 84’). HT: 1-0.

Golden Boot: 25: Jemma Robertson (Wellington United); 22: Mikaela Boxall (PNM)

Ultra Football Central League round 13 results

Miramar Rangers 4 (Sam Mason-Smith 23’ 29’, Jorge Akers 43’, Joao Moreira 49’) Napier City Rovers 1 (Zac Madsen 57’). HT: 3-0.

Western Suburbs 2 (Conor Butler 25’ (o.g.), Sean Bright 57’) Waterside Karori 0. HT: 1-0.

Wellington Olympic 2 (Tom Jackson 21’, Hamish Watson 53’) Stop Out 0. HT: 1-0.

Wairarapa United 3 (Cameron Lindsay 5’, Hugo Delhommelle 17’, Joshua Rudland 84’) Petone 3 (Jaga Scott-Greenfield 54’, Alex Shepherd-Reynolds 63’, Isaac Snell 86’). HT: 2-0.

North Wellington 2 (Fox Slotemaker 44’, Jesse Randall 68’) Lower Hutt City 1 (Blake Driehuis 22’). HT: 1-1.

Golden Boot: 14: Gianni Bouzoukis (Wellington Olympic), Sam Mason-Smith (Miramar Rangers); 13: Jesse Randall (North Wellington); 12: Jack-Henry Sinclair (Wellington Olympic).

Article added: Monday 07 September 2020