Northern Football came from behind to down a much-improved Auckland combination 2-1 at Parrs Park on November 6, and become the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the ASB National Women's Youth League this season. Hannah Carlsen and Rebecca Tegg exchanged early efforts on goal in this "Battle of the Bridge" encounter, with Auckland showing a far greater appetite for the fight than had been witnessed when the sides clashed a fortnight ago. It made for a far more competitive match, albeit one marred throughout by heavy showers which were more in keeping with what you'd expect in the winter season rather than the advent of summer which this competition is timed to herald. After Rebecca Rolls had saved at the feet of Tayla O'Brien, Daisy Cleverley pounced on a miscued Megan Lee clearance and let fly with a dipping twenty-five yarder which narrowly cleared the crossbar of the back-pedalling Pam Yates, who was to feature prominently in the final stages of this encounter. Lee made amends for her nineteenth minute blemish three minutes later, setting forth on a stirring solo surge which saw her evade the challenges of Martine Puketapu and Tina Kolose en route to the Auckland penalty area, where she went to ground under the sturdy challenge of Michelle Windsor. Cries for a penalty were swiftly heard, but rightly or wrongly, extremely well-placed referee Steven Black ultimately decided that play should continue, after having taken a few seconds to consider an incident which occurred five yards ahead of him. A big call, certainly, but one about which the official had no doubts. Auckland responded by launching a two-on-one raid, with Puketapu racing through to the right of Tegg, who charged towards goal. She was forced away from the target, however, by a fine piece of defending from Jess Innes, who hurtled across in cover to such good effect that the striker was unable to fire a shot on target or pick out her young team-mate with a pass. An untimely bounce denied Steph Skilton a clean strike on target in the 27th minute, but the gathered throngs who were braving the elements didn't have too much longer to wait for the opening goal - sixty seconds, in fact. Caitlin Campbell's first half display was not one she will recall fondly. Distribution was certainly not her forte in those forty-five minutes, and when Cleverley swooped on one such stray pass in the 28th minute, she swiftly showed the fullback a clean pair of heels as she tore off towards goal, then lashed a low drive across Yates into the far corner of the net. Auckland's lead was short-lived. Just three minutes later, a Lucy Carter error in her own defensive third was mercilessly punished by Hannah Wilkinson, whose unerring finish beyond the advancing figure of Rolls levelled the scores - 1-1. While they were celebrating the goal, Northern withdrew Lee from the fray, the victim of an awkward landing as she tussled with Puketapu on half-way minutes earlier. Both went to ground, with the defender's fall "cushioned" by the heel of the prone striker's boot, Lee's stomach bearing the brunt of the collision. Ouch - big time! Six minutes after the equaliser, Northern came desperately close to taking the lead. O'Brien raced down the right and fired in a teasing cross which lured Rolls out of goal. Claudia Crasborn was racing in to meet the delivery, and her presence denied the 'keeper the chance to catch the ball cleanly. It spilled loose, behind Wilkinson but perfectly into the stride of Skilton. Windsor blocked her effort, but could do little about the goal which gave Northern a 2-1 lead two minutes before half-time. The move was instigated by Crasborn on the left. She worked a one-two with Rebecca Burrows before linking with Wilkinson inside her. The striker's pass invited Burrows to run at the defence, but as Wilkinson ran around behind her, the midfielder touched the ball into the stride of the league's leading markswoman, who thrashed an unerring angled twenty yard drive inside Rolls' near post - a cracking finish! Northern looked to consolidate their lead in the early stages of the second spell, with Wilkinson going desperately close to completing her hat-trick in the 49th minute. Windsor thwarted her initial opportunity, but only cleared the ball as far as O'Brien, who swept a low cross into the goalmouth. Instinctively, Wilkinson stretched out a leg and

Hannah Wilkinson (Nthn) fends off Michelle Windsor (Akld) Martine Puketapu (Akld) takes on the covering Jess Innes (Nthn) Claudia Crasborn (Nthn) takes on Courteney Van Lieshout (Akld) Chelsey Wood (Akld) Hannah Carlsen (Nthn)

diverted the ball inches past the far post - far too close for Auckland's comfort. Skilton had supplied that opening, and repeated the dose three minutes later, this time for Crasborn's benefit. Her low cross was spilled by Rolls, who recovered her error before Wilkinson could capitalise on the opening. Auckland's 'keeper also grabbed a rising drive from Crasborn before the hour mark. At the other end of the park, Tegg was waging a personal battle with Yates, who was equal to the task in the early stages of the contest. After racing out of her goal to clear her lines as Tegg pursued Cleverley's through ball, the former New Zealand goalkeeper capably dealt with a steepling speculative effort from Auckland's leading scorer on the hour. Back came Northern, Caitlin Smallfield's ball over the top allowing Wilkinson to outpace Chelsey Wood en route to the edge of the penalty area, from where she unleashed a rising drive over both Rolls and the crossbar in the 66th minute. Three minutes later, Wilkinson wrong-footed Wood again, this time on receipt of an Innes pass. Rolls parried the striker's drive into the path of substitute Katie Rood, who turned the ball inside for Skilton. Before she had a chance to capitalise, Jessie Mathews, who had been standing on the sideline for fully five minutes waiting for the ball to go out of play before she could enter the fray as a substitute, showed how keen she was to make up for lost time with a timely interception. Despite having not played for some months due to a broken ankle, Mathews was quickly into her stride in this match, and in the 73rd minute played a delightful through ball for Tegg to latch onto. The striker's first-time drive was well smothered by Yates, whose poor clearance invited her nemesis to chance her arm once more seconds later. But Tegg was denied by the recovering goalkeeper, who surprised the striker with another wayward clearance in the 82nd minute which went straight to Tegg. Again, she was unable to capitalise, lobbing the ball straight back to a rather relieved Yates. Those close calls gave Auckland renewed impetus, and after Rood had been thwarted by Rolls, the 'keeper launched the ball downfield five minutes from time, Tegg her intended target. The striker duly flicked the ball on into the stride of Puketapu, who nipped in behind Rebecca O'Neill and found herself with just Yates to beat. The 'keeper's sprawling save took just enough pace off the shot for the fast-retreating O'Neill to clear the danger, and spark a Northern counter-attack which culminated in Liz Milne letting fly from thirty yards. Rolls dealt with this effort convincingly, but was denied having to deal with the threat posed by the fast-approaching figure of Skilton seconds later thanks to a superbly timed tackle by Rachel Head, who left the striker wondering where the ball had gone, given it wasn't in the net ahead of her. The fullback, meanwhile, was instigating an Auckland counter-attack which featured the contributions of Puketapu and Jess Snell, whose defence-splitting pass rolled just too far behind the advancing figure of Tegg to allow her to take advantage of the opening. Another followed soon after, with Tegg letting fly with a shot which cleared the bar as she made inroads down the right. This came seconds after Windsor had cleared the threat posed by Wilkinson's cross, intended for the fast-approaching figure of Skilton in these captivating final minutes. In the very last minute of the match, Auckland had a great chance to level the scores with a last-gasp equaliser, much like they had against Waikato-Bay of Plenty seven days prior. This time, Cleverley and Puketapu combined to play in Tegg, who was desperate to score the equaliser. She duly let fly, only to be thwarted by Yates' fine denial with her legs, a save which ensured Northern of victory against their cross-town rivals in a hard-fought but very well and cleanly contested fixture Auckland:     Rolls; Van Lieshout, Windsor, Wood, Head; Puketapu, Kolose (Mathews, 61), Carter, Cleverley; Hetherington (Snell, 68), Tegg Northern:     Yates; Campbell, Smallfield, Lee (O'Neill, 32), Innes; O'Brien (Rood, 63), Burrows (Milne, 81), Carlsen, Crasborn (Knott, 74); Wilkinson, Skilton Referee:     Steven Black