Papamoa goalkeeping coach Gary Darkes has heaped praise on young stand-in stopper Harris Edlin despite a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Melville on Saturday.

The deputy number one, who donned his gloves in the absence of injured regular Ryan Foord, endured a busy afternoon at Gower Park as Duncan Lowry's side slipped to third in the WaiBop Premiership table.

With Foord likely to be missing for the remainder of the 2018 campaign with a foot injury, and influential midfielder Dean Styles suspended, Papamoa were handed a further setback when striker Andrew Cooper pulled up with a severe groin strain in the lead-up to kick-off.

Against the odds, however, the visitors took the lead in the South Hamilton suburb when Strauss Boom netted from the edge of the box following a fine solo run.

But a second-half red card for Dave Molloy on the hour mark did little to help the cause, and teenager Edlin had little time to spectate between the posts.

In the end, it was goals from Sok Ven, Hamish Utteridge and Josh Nooijen that did the damage for Melville, leaving Papamoa with work to do ahead of next weekend's home clash with Tokoroa.

Papamoa goalkeeper Ryan Foord (left), who is currently missing with a foot injury, his replacement Harris Edlin and the club's goalkeeping coach, Gary Darkes.

'Young Harris played to his potential, while being under the cosh for long periods of the game,” said Darkes. 'He'll come out of this with confidence.

'Following Ryan Foord into the team, after the season Ryan has had, was an intimidating challenge in itself.

'But Harris grabbed the opportunity, and I'm sure he'll be eager to keep his place next Saturday.

'I've coached the boy for a good few years now, and he has really stepped up having spent almost two years recovering from what many thought was a career-ending knee injury.

'It is always hard to be part of a losing team, but I was delighted with the character he showed against Melville.”

Graphic: @WaiBOPFootball/Twitter.

Manager Lowry added: 'We have no excuses today. It was glaringly obvious that we missed the spine of our team with Ryan, Dean and Coops missing, and at times Melville swamped us in midfield.

'Credit should go to Harris and the rest of our defence. I actually thought we might get back into the game in the second-half, but the red card made life difficult.

'It was a lapse of focus from Dave Molloy and quite uncharacteristic, but it was a tough tackle and the referee was left with very little choice.”

Elsewhere in the top three, Taupo leapt to the summit after beating Tokoroa 3-1 at Strathmore Park, while Tauranga Boys' College slipped to a 2-1 defeat to Waikato Unicol at Southey Field.

Papamoa's next fixture sees them take on Tokoroa at Gordon Spratt Reserve on Saturday, August 25 (2.45pm kick-off).

Papamoa FC (3-4-3): Harris Edlin; Phillip Fletcher, Campbell Attwood, Campbell Higgins (captain); Top Khamwanthong, Cole Peverley, Mitchell Hales, Dave Molloy; Strauss Boom, Liam Molloy, Logan Crawford. Subs: Elijah Welch, Matthew De Bono, Fawwaz Ali.