Northern Football retained the ASB National Women's League crown at Fred Taylor Park on 16 December, seeing off Auckland Football 2-0 thanks to a solid second half display in the Grand Final, after the visitors had enjoyed the better of the first half exchanges. The home team enjoyed the better of the early exchanges, but before too long Auckland were starting to impose their game-plan on proceedings, with Pam Yates forced to race off her line to clear off the toes of Rebecca Tegg after the striker had caught the off-colour Tessa Berger in possession in the sixth minute. Five minutes later, Jess Verdon played the ball to Steph Skilton, who worked a one-two with Jessie Mathews before wrong-footing Rebecca Burrows and slipping a pass through Northern's rearguard which Melanie Gooch was just a stride away from reaching. Auckland pressed again soon after, Skilton combining with Hannah Kraakman, who was allowed to run at the Northern defence. She swerved past Estelle Harrison, who was particularly ill-at-ease throughout proceedings when dealing with the winger, and promptly supplied a pass to Gooch. Her teasing, hanging cross invited Tegg to hurtle in towards goal, her objective being to head the ball home. When she arrived, however, she did so at the same time as Yates, and while the ball duly entered the net, it was by foul means rather than fair, referee Anna-Marie Keighley rightly ruling that Tegg had impeded the 'keeper in her eagerness to score. Kraakman was soon in action again, Marlies Oostdam picking out her team-mate with a seventeenth minute pass which allowed the striker to get the better of Harrison once again, before forcing a smothering save from Yates at her near post. Oostdam's range of passing was to the fore again four minutes later, pinging one down the left for Tegg to chase. That all was not well with Berger was clearly evident from the ease with which Auckland's leading scorer tore past Northern's fearless stopper, and it was much to Berger's relief that Tegg's thunderous volley cannoned to safety off the near post. Auckland looked to exploit Berger's shortcomings again soon after, Mathews playing a delightfully angled ball in behind the defence for Tegg to stride onto, with Yates in no-man's land. A lob would have done for Northern's vocal custodian, but Tegg miscued her effort entirely, her shot flying across the face of goal, the striker's reaction one which suggested she knew full well she'd spurned a great chance to open the scoring. Northern engineered their first chance of the match in the 26th minute. Kate Seatter's ball forward saw Katie Rood beat Erin Nayler to the ball, only to fire it into the side-netting with the goal at her mercy. Seconds later, Georgia Brown - whose last match in New Zealand this was before taking up a scholarship at Temple University in Philadelphia - thundered a twenty yarder into the same side-netting, her shot careering just beyond the flying figure of Nayler as she dived to cover her near post. Brown found herself double-teamed on half-way on the half-hour by the combined efforts of Skilton and Kraakman, who raced forward before picking out Mathews with a pass which the young midfielder steered into the stride of Gooch. Only a superbly timed tackle from Bridgette Armstrong - she had a massive game in defence - spared Northern's blushes on this occasion, while after Hannah Hoeksema had fired wide at the other end of the park following good work by Tayla O'Brien, Kraakman and Gooch combined to haunt Harrison once more before setting up Tegg, whose shot on the turn flew high past the far angle. That effort brought an entertaining but scoreless first half to a close, with Auckland ahead on points. The

Tessa Berger clears as Rebecca Tegg flies in Caitlin Smallfield holds off Jesse Mathews Steph Skilton and Tessa O'Brien tangle Marlies Oostdam

reigning champions copped a half-time rev-up from coach Mauro Donoso, and began the second half strongly, Burrows rewarding Smallfield's good off-the-ball movement with a pass which allowed the fullback to pick out O'Brien. The speedster controlled the ball neatly before turning and thrashing a twenty-yarder narrowly past Nayler's left-hand post a mere ninety seconds after the half had kicked off. When Northern next raided, they took the lead. Brown made in-roads down the left before laying the ball back into the stride of Harrison, whose first-time cross was a peach, arcing away from the target, but perfectly into the path of the incoming figure of O'Brien, whose bullet header flew past the diving figure of Nayler and arrowed into the bottom corner of the net. Cue delight for the reigning champions, and an advantage they rarely looked like relinquishing from that point on, now that Burrows had grabbed hold of the midfield battle and, in doing so, stifled the supply which Tegg and Gooch had enjoyed throughout the first forty-five minutes. Occasionally, Auckland threatened, a case in point seeing Mathews lash a pot-shot wide of an open goal in the 55th minute after combining with Gooch on the left before targeting Tegg with a cross which lured Yates out of goal, and prompted Armstrong to take charge of proceedings, only to clear the ball back to the midfielder. But Northern were in control, and after Burrows and Brown had stung the gloves of Nayler from distance, they doubled their advantage in the 66th minute. Oostdam conceded a silly free-kick by hauling back O'Brien after the younger player caught the former Football Fern in possession. Referee Keighley eventually booked the offender - as ever, the official had her moments in this match, some of note, some not so noteworthy. Harrison took the free-kick, a twenty-five yarder which was tipped onto the bar by the Junior Ferns' number one, who could only look on in despair as Brown bundled home the rebound, the hint of offside about the effort prompting Auckland to appeal for the goal to be ruled out. Referee Keighley consulted with her assistant before pointing to the centre circle. If they harboured any hopes of mounting a fourth comeback in this year's ASB National Women's League, Auckland had to score next, and straight from the kick-off, Tegg had the chance to do so. But Yates smothered her effort, and later grabbed a header the striker directed straight at her after a break down the right by substitute Kayla Spyve. That was it as far as Auckland as an attacking force was concerned, however, Northern going close on a handful of occasions in the final ten minutes, most notably through Brown, whose dipping thirty yarder was tipped onto the bar by Nayler, who also smothered a couple of shots from Burrows in this period, with Verdon's superbly timed tackle thwarting the midfielder on another occasion. The title-holders had already done enough to ensure back-to-back crowns, however, and they celebrated in style following the final whistle, which brought down the curtain on the 2012 season - a breakthrough year on a number of fronts for the women's game in New Zealand. Until next season, stay safe, enjoy life, and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Northern:     Yates; Smallfield, Berger, Armstrong, Harrison; O'Brien, Seatter, Burrows, Brown; Rood, Hoeksema Auckland:     Nayler; Strickland (Anthony, 89), Verdon, Oostdam (booked, 66), Head (Mettam, 90); Carter, Skilton, Mathews (Robert, 82); Kraakman (Oldfield, 76), Tegg (booked, 90), Gooch (Spyve, 84) Referee:     Anna-Marie Keighley