The New Zealand Under-19 Development Squad returned to winning ways in the Lion Foundation National Women's League on North Harbour Stadium's outer oval on November 6, but they were forced to fend off a late fightback by North Harbour before prevailing 3-2 in front of a 200-strong crowd in this sixth round encounter. Had it not been for the outstanding display of Harbour's captain and defensive lynchpin, Rebecca Simpson, however, this would have been a case of by how many for the youngsters. The four-times-capped New Zealand international produced any number of timely tackles and impressive interventions to thwart the progress of the Development Squad, all the while courageously playing through the pain barrier for the cause as the ankle injury she has been nursing for over a year left the twenty-two-year-old grimacing and hobbling at various times during the match. While she was an inspiration to her team-mates, she couldn't be everywhere when it mattered, and in the second minute, it was Tekura Tutai who was on hand to thwart the Under-19s, clearing off the line as Helen Collins was picked out by a Kirsty Yallop corner. Four minutes later, Katie Hoyle - one of the key components of a very impressive first half performance from John Herdman's charges - stripped Anne-Marie Scott of the ball in midfield, and held off her opponent's attempts to respond in kind before lashing a twenty-five yarder goalwards. Young Harbour goalkeeper Alison Bradley was well positioned to deal with this effort. In the eleventh minute, the youngsters came close again, with Collins' progress curtailed by a superb recovering tackle from Simpson. This forced a corner, which Yallop fired beyond the far post to Sarah Gregorius, who checked inside and curled a shot just beyond the opposite upright, with Renee Leota just too late to turn the ball home. Another intervention by Simpson, on Gregorius in the thirteenth minute, sent the teenager tumbling. Referee Harold Duimstra signalled a free-kick, which Yallop clipped into the goalmouth, the head of Abby Erceg her target. The gloves of Bradley appeared on the scene, however, the goalkeeper snatching the ball off the defender's head to thwart another opportunity. Several more were to follow in the next ten minutes, as Simpson, Anna Barlow, Scott and Francesca Marcellino thwarted the Under-19s at every turn. But eventually they found a way through, and when they did, in the 23rd minute, what they conjured up was well worth waiting for. Annalie Longo was the architect-in-chief of this high-pressure raid, beating two players in midfield before threading the ball to Leota. Suffice to say, Simpson stepped in at this point, again at the expense of a corner. Yallop's delivery was pawed out by Bradley to Hoyle, who sparked a swift interchange of passes between Erceg, Gregorius and Collins, before Gregorius swept over a measured cross. Yallop raced in and rose high to beat Bradley in the air, flicking the ball down for Leota to turn into Longo's path. The youngest player in the Under-19 squad produced a delightful chip which was only going to stop once it found the far corner of the net, the despairing attempt of Bradley to fingertip the ball to safety notwithstanding. It was some 323 minutes since Harbour had last conceded a goal, so the youngsters were highly delighted at having breached their opponents' defences. But the home team's response saw them charge downfield from the kick-off, Barlow at the helm. She played the ball wide to Marcellino, whose low cross into the zone, targeting Harriet Steele, left Under-19s goalkeeper Bianca Mori in two minds re coming off her line. She eventually opted to do so, and blocked at the striker's feet, but Steele was onto the rebound in an instant, and laid the ball back for Marcellino, whose shot flashed across the face of goal. Within seconds, Harbour had the ball again, Lisa Kemp and Steele combining for Barlow to send a shot careering over the crossbar at a great rate of knots, much like the speed Erceg had been exhibiting when flying down the right flank on an overlapping run for the Under-19s, a sight which was one of the features of the first half. The fifteen-year-old repeated the trick once more in the 27th minute, linking once more with Gregorius in the process. Scything inside, Erceg unleashed a cross-shot which swerved viciously, completely deceiving Bradley as it careered over her head into the net - 2-0. Harbour came back once more, the hard-working Barlow sparking a move which saw Kemp and Scott play a neat one-two before the former shot at Mori, who set off another Under-19s raid which saw Simpson tidying up once more, at the expense of another corner. Hoyle's delivery picked out Erceg, whose header flashed past the post. In the 34th minute, Collins, tiring of not being able to find a way past the seemingly impregnable Simpson via central channels, loomed large on the right wing, and exploited that angle of approach for all she was worth. Her low cross picked out Yallop, who steered the ball into the danger zone, where Leota stole in, only to find you-know-who in the way once more, her shot ricocheting across the face of goal for another corner. This time, success was forthcoming from the set-piece. Hoyle's delivery was flicked on by Hannah Rishworth to Erceg, who touched the ball through to Gregorius. Her deft flick was nestling in the bottom far corner of the net before Bradley had had a chance to react - 3-0. Two minutes later, a fourth goal appeared inevitable. Erceg steamed forward to overlap Gregorius, and received a made-to-measure pass as reward for her efforts. An early cross inside found Collins in support, and she turned and let fly from twenty-five yards, only to find her nemesis in the way once more, as Simpson directed her headed clearance over her own crossbar. Soon after, Yallop sent Collins scampering down the

Rebecca Simpson Maggie Lankshear and Anna Barlow Caitlin Campbell Hannah Rishworth Sarah Nelson and Nicole Stratford Anne-Marie Scott Katie Hoyle Kirsty Yallop

left flank, the striker crossing for Gregorius to set up Leota, who directed her header at Bradley. Then, four minutes before half-time, Collins finally found herself free to run at goal, but with Simpson bearing down on her, she directed her shot wide of both Bradley and the post. Still, 3-0 at half-time was a comfortable advantage for the Under-19s to boast. As it turned out, it was as well they had that buffer, because the second half display of a side much changed from that which dominated the first spell was well below par. All appeared to go according to plan initially, with Ria Percival and Nicole Stratford both engineering openings for Collins inside the first four minutes of the spell. But while the striker sent the former's cross over the bar, Simpson ensured she never got a chance to exploit the opportunity Stratford engineered. After these chances, the Under-19s rather lost their way, mustering just one opportunity in the next twenty-five minutes, during which time a string of substitutions broke up the continuity of the contest - the downside to matches in which the rolling substitutions concept is observed. Before that came about, however, Harbour's fourteen-year-old powerhouse finally got an opportunity to cause some problems of her own, and Caitlin Campbell didn't disappoint, her dipping long-range free-kick giving the back-pedalling Ashleigh Cox plenty of cause for concern before she pawed the ball over her crossbar on the hour. Twelve minutes later, Emma Kete's comeback from a hamstring injury saw her attempts to make her mark on the scoreboard foundering on the defensive rock that was Simpson, after Kimberley Lewis and Stratford - a most effective left-flank partnership which flourished in much the same way Erceg and Gregorius did down the right in the first spell - had combined to create the opening. Two minutes later, the Lewis-Stratford ticket was responsible for another opportunity, with Bradley forced to tip Stratford's drive round the post for a corner. Referee Duimstra deemed otherwise, however, and from the resulting goal-kick, Harbour pulled a goal back. Rishworth had produced another sound defensive effort, but saw danger looming large when Fran Ebbett came up with possession on the right near half-way, and swiftly moved to cover the threat. Julia Baldwin - not her best display by any means - failed to cover her defensive side-kick's actions, so when Ebbett laid the ball back to Scott, who swept a first-time ball through the heart of the Under-19s defence, there was a cavernous hole into which Campbell was surging. Cox raced off her line, but was given no chance by the Harbour youngster, who gleefully lobbed home her first-ever goal for North Harbour's senior representative team in her second season at this level - 3-1. From the resumption, Percival stormed down the right and fired in a low cross for Stratford, who swept the ball inches past Bradley's left-hand post, the `keeper well beaten. But the goal had given Harbour fresh heart, and Scott sent Campbell through once more. Sam Selwyn stepped in this time, and played the ball back to Cox, who directed her clearance straight to Marcellino. The midfielder's disbelief in being gifted this chance was evident in her failure to fully exploit it, the fast-retreating figure of Cox the most relieved player on the park as she gratefully grabbed her opponent's shot. Seven minutes from time, the Under-19s turned to their left flank combination to try to restore their three-goal margin. Lewis cruised forward before releasing Stratford, who swept past three opponents en route to the heart of the Harbour goalmouth. She looked odds on to score, but as she pulled her leg back to shoot, Simpson swooped to produce a stunning goal-saving tackle - brilliant stuff. Baldwin, at the other end of the park, will have learnt a lot from watching Simpson's never-say-die display, but she didn't apply it in the 86th minute of play, as Ebbett robbed her of the ball as the Under-19s defender looked to shepherd it over the goal-line. The substitute, who added substance aplenty to an initially lightweight line-up upon her introduction to the fray, promptly whipped in a low cross which Cox completely missed. The goalkeeper was relieved to find Rishworth on hand to clear the danger her lapse in concentration caused, but Cath Porteous pounced on the ball some twenty-five yards out and let fly, only for the now fully attentive custodian to pull off a fine save. Cox was found wanting again three minutes later, however, after Yallop had tangled with Scott and conceded a free-kick some thirty yards out from goal. That range is well within Campbell's limits, and she didn't think twice about letting fly. The ball soared over the head of the static goalkeeper and crashed high into the net - 3-2, and Harbour very much with their tails up as a result. Their dream comeback wasn't to eventuate, however, and indeed, they should have conceded a fourth goal before the final whistle. A beautifully weighted twenty-five yard free-kick by Percival beat both Bradley and the defensive wall, but not the crossbar, off which it dropped down into the goalmouth. Stratford was following in, but somehow steered the last chance of the game wide of an open goal. It meant that the Under-19s would only prevail by a 3-2 margin - it should have been far bigger, and but for the indomitable Simpson, doubtless would have been. Harbour:     Bradley; Nelson, Tutai (booked, 90), Simpson, Hogg (Shields, 46) (Kemp, 73); Campbell, Marceline (Porteous, 46 (booked, 80), Barlow (Marcellino, 70), Scott, Kemp (Ebbett, 37); Steele (Shields, 80) NZ U-19s:     Mori (Cox, 46); Erceg (Lewis, 46), Baldwin, Rishworth, Rennie (Selwyn, 67) (Erceg, 85); Gregorius (Percival, 46), Hoyle (Lankshear, 46), Yallop, Longo (Harrison, 46), Leota (Stratford, 46); Collins (Kete, 70) (Gregorius, 80) Referee:     Harold Duimstra