The New Zealand Under-19 Development Squad hinted at what a fair few of their Lion Foundation National Women's League rivals could face this season as they handed Mainland Soccer a 3-0 beating on the Terry Conley Sports Fields at Bexley Reserve on October 9. The opening exchanges of a match played under rolling substitutes conditions - primarily to fulfil the developmental purposes for which the Under-19s are playing in this league - were fairly even until Kirsty Yallop stamped her class on proceedings, and soon afterwards, the youngsters started to engineer some goalscoring chances. Yallop rattled the sidenetting in the seventh minute with a twenty-five-yard free-kick, ten minutes prior to a tidy right flank move featuring Petria Rennie, Emma Harrison, Renee Leota and Katie Hoyle, whose rasping drive was deflected to safety. Three minutes later, Harrison executed a delightful turn to evade Kirsty Palmer's clutches before pinging over a cross beyond Ruth Bourke for Nicole Stratford, who was homing in on the ball beyond her. The Waikato-based midfielder unleashed a volleyed lob which left Ingrid Bain beaten all ends up, but fortune was on the goalkeeper's side this time round, as the crossbar intervened. Greatly encouraged by this, the youngsters streamed forward, Yallop releasing Leota with a measured forty-yard through ball. The striker took it on in her stride before checking her run and turning the sphere back into Yallop's path, the midfielder having steamed up in support. She hit a swerving twenty-yard drive which Bain did well to turn round the post. Harrison and Stratford then went close without hitting the target, before the Under-19s deservedly hit the front in the 26th minute, courtesy an unwilling source. Yallop, Kimberley Lewis, Sarah Gregorious and Stratford linked down the left, with the last-mentioned's cross being inadvertently steered into her own net by Sally Chetwin, as the defender attempted to clear the threat. Three minutes on, and New Zealand international Yallop was instigating more problems, this time linking with Leota and Harrison again, with the last-mentioned's cross arcing just beyond the incoming Stratford on the far post. Seconds later, more good work by Yallop engineered an opening for Hoyle, whose twenty-yard shot was turned to safety by Bain. The Cantabrians looked very much in need of this match, as to describe their first half display as disjointed is being kind. There was very little evidence of cohesive team play from the black-clad contingent throughout the first spell, during which time they only mustered one possible scoring opportunity of note, to which Bianca Mori was alert as Chetwin's free-kick sought out Palmer's run in behind the defence. Generally, however, it was Bain who was keeping the Mainlanders in the game, and before the interval she saved further efforts from Hoyle, twice, and Rennie, after the overlapping full-back's run had been spotted by Yallop. Right on half-time, Bain was beaten by Yallop, whose inswinging corner was hooked off the line by Kelly Jarden, the last act of a half which prompted Mainland's coaches, Rowena and Mike Fulham, to call for some cohesion between the defensive, midfield and attacking units, which ensured a second half showing more in keeping with the footballing traditions of those chosen to sport red-and-black kit each season. This was quickly evident through the better utilisation of Natasha Carruth as the key link player in the attack. The New Brighton goal-getter was far more productive when working in tandem with Clare Warner, and it took just four minutes for the duo to add some much-needed zest to Mainland's insipid attacking approach thus far.

Emma Harrison and Kelly Jarden Sara McGlashan and Kimberley Lewis Hannah Rishworth Deb Hindle

But upon being released by Carruth, Warner simply couldn't shake off Rennie, who stuck to her opponent like glue and forced her well away from the target - a fine piece of defending. The youngsters' response saw half-time substitutes Annalie Longo, Ria Percival and Helen Collins combining cleverly, the second-mentioned's measured cross to the far post seeing the Northern Premier Women's League's top goalscorer send a header flashing just wide of the mark. It was one of the rare occasions when Percival got the better of Mainland's ageless defender, Deb Hindle, whose experience ensured the precocious youngster was generally well contained. She got free in the 65th minute, however, Longo picking up the pieces after Rennie and Alex Hepburn had clashed in an aerial duel. The fourteen-year-old sprayed the ball wide to Yallop, who curled in an inviting cross beyond Collins. Percival was stealing in behind her team-mate, however, and hit a first-time drive wide of the mark. Just prior to this, the Mainlanders had been denied an equaliser by Mori, who smothered Sara McGlashan's effort after Palmer had evaded two challenges when cutting in from the right. Longo matched this in the 67th minute, but shot at Bain when Collins and Gregorious were better placed to capitalise. Two goals in four minutes killed the game off as a contest, and both were similar in both instigation and execution. In the seventieth minute, it was Harrison who provided the through ball, while Yallop pounced on a headed interception by Longo three minutes later to split the Mainland defence once more with an angled pass. Collins was the beneficiary on both occasions, stealing a march on Ruth Bourke before rounding the advancing Bain and tucking the ball into the empty net - simple football, but oh so effective when well executed, as was the case in these two instances. At 3-0 down, the Mainlanders woke up to the fact that they needed to restore some respectability to the scoreline, and went about seeking at least one goal to reward their afternoon's work. McGlashan drilled a shot into the sidenetting, while before having a goal disallowed for offside, Warner brought the very best out of Mori, the goalkeeper diving high to her right to grab the fiercely struck twenty-yarder, which had “goal” written all over it from the moment it left the striker's boot. Bourke had Mori scrambling as she sent a thirty-yard free-kick whistling narrowly over the crossbar with eleven minutes to play, as the youngsters began to tire. But Hannah Rishworth, Rennie and Abby Erceg managed to contain the Cantabrians remaining attacks, while at the other end of the park, Collins earned herself a talking-to from referee Marco Cassamassina after clattering into the advancing figure of Bain as she eagerly pursued a Gregorious through ball, the prospect of a hat-trick uppermost in the goal-hungry youngster's mind. Collins had done enough damage already, however, her double-strike doing much to clinch a 3-0 win for the Under-19s, who will continue to improve with every game they play in this competition. The Mainlanders have to also - they will benefit greatly from this match, a gallop they looked very much in need of. Mainland:     Bain; Chetwin, Bourke, McGlashan, Jarden; Warner, White (Hindle, 18) (Bosscher, 73), Scott (Hannay, 83), Palmer; Carruth (Hepburn, 35), Hannay (Carruth, 46) NZ U-19s:     Mori; Rennie, Baldwin (Erceg, 46), Rishworth, Lewis (Harrison, 67); Harrison (Lankshear, 46), Yallop (Hoyle, 81), Hoyle (Longo, 46), Stratford (Percival, 13) (Stratford, 16), (Percival, 46); Leota (Collins, 46), Gregorious Referee:     Marco Cassamassina