Auckland began their quest to add another Lion Foundation National Women's League title to their impressive portfolio with a comfortable 7-1 win over the Young Ferns at Riverhills Park on 1 November, captain Kirsty Yallop giving herself an early 23rd birthday present by leading the way with a four-goal haul. It was a rusty display by the “A Team”, with many of Richard Wilson's squad kicking a ball in anger for the first time in at least six weeks in some cases, and up to three months in others. That lack of physical and mental match fitness was evident throughout this Northern Conference encounter against a Young Ferns team which boasted a complete change of personnel from that which accounted for Waikato-Bay of Plenty a week ago, as coach Dave Edmondson takes the opportunity to view all his options at this early stage of New Zealand's FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Finals campaign. They found themselves under the cosh from the country's foremost provincial team just two minutes into the match. Maia Jackman brought about the first of many saves Chloe-May Geurts was called upon to make throughout proceedings by warming her gloves with a stinging twenty-five yarder. The `keeper then saved at the feet of Melanie Gooch moments after the provider of that opportunity, Grace Vincent, had blazed over from ten yards following good work by Rebecca Tegg. Gooch was then thwarted by Michelle Windsor's timely challenge after Yallop's cross-field ball had picked out Briony Fisher's run down the right, before the Young Ferns revealed themselves as an attacking threat for the first time in the twelfth minute, Brittany Dudley-Smith's pursuit of a lost cause forcing Victoria Esson to race off her line and clear. Two minutes later, Fisher's throw-in allowed Tegg to control and wriggle her way between a couple of defenders in the penalty area, one of whom upended her. Referee Renee Silvester played the advantage, as Vincent was following up and sent a low drive sizzling goalwards from the edge of the six-yard box which Geurts did well to tip onto her near post before gathering the rebound. Dudley-Smith, as had been the case during the Northern Premier Women's League, was proving a handful for Auckland's defenders, and when Kristy Hill stumbled on the quarter hour, the speedster swooped and sped clear before shooting across Esson, who produced a fine fingertip save to turn the ball round the far post. After Tegg had pounced on a mistake by Windsor but shot past the post in the aftermath, the striker was felled just outside the penalty area by Young Ferns captain Tessa McPherson. Tegg and Yallop hatched a plot which resulted in the latter's shot being cleared off the line by Alisha Lovrich to Vincent, whose shot was tipped round the post by Geurts in the 24th minute. The same trio combined from the resulting corner, Yallop's delivery to the far post being headed down by Tegg for Vincent, who was unable to do justice to her team-mates' work. But she made amends in the 27th minute, outmuscling Rebecca Burrows in midfield to instigate the move which brought about the game's first goal. Fisher was the beneficiary of Vincent's power and precision, and the former Young Ferns captain linked with Hill - she was full of energy and industry throughout proceedings - before Yallop took charge of the ball and duly hammered it home from twenty-five yards. Auckland's captain wasn't satisfied with one goal, and after seeing Windsor block her shot and Gooch denied at point-blank range by Geurts from the rebound, Yallop doubled the “A Team”'s advantage in the 29th minute with a classy finish which did justice aplenty to Tegg's deft dummy after Fisher had angled a ball in from the right. Superiority confirmed, Auckland looked to build on their lead before the interval. Spotting Fisher's blindside run, Yallop unleashed a peach of a cross-field ball which the overlapping fullback only just failed to get on the end of, while Tegg blazed over after Priscilla Duncan had slalomed through three challenges to the edge of the U-17s penalty area. Six minutes before half-time, Vincent jinked her way through a couple of challenges before testing Geurts with a corner, while the Young Ferns survived a string of testing corners from Yallop either side of the half-time whistle, the closest of which saw Tegg head over unchallenged in the 54th minute. Geurts had saved at the striker's feet soon after half-time, following Dana Humby's through ball, while Tegg squandered a trio of opportunities to get on the scoresheet prior to the hour mark, soon after which Dudley-Smith pounced on an error by Fisher and reminded Esson that it wasn't going to be all one-way traffic in the second spell. Indeed, Grace Parkinson and substitute Evie Millynn gave the “A Team”'s rearguard plenty of cause for concern as they looked to supplement Dudley-Smith's endeavours, which were rewarded in the 66th minute by a fine individual goal. Humby found the youngster's feet up somewhere

Kirsty Yallop (Akld) Priscilla Duncan (Akld) and Hannah Carlsen (NZ) eye up the ball Dana Humby (Akld) Rebecca Tegg (Akld) flies in to control the ball, as Maia Jackman (Akld) and numerous NZ defenders take evasive action Grace Vincent (Akld) turns past Rebecca Burrows (NZ) Maia Jackman (Akld)

around her nose as she attempted to head the ball clear near the by-line, but as she appealed, and Auckland's defence stopped in anticipation of a free-kick being awarded, Dudley-Smith simply got on with the job. By the time Auckland had reacted to the silence from referee Silvester, the Eastern Suburbs youngster had dribbled through three challenges and was side-stepping a fourth, after which she fired a low shot across Esson and in off the far post from the most acute of angles - a fine goal which dragged the Young Ferns right back into the contest. Unfortunately for the youngsters, it was akin to waving a red flag at a wounded bull. Because the “A Team” simply stampeded downfield straight from the kick-off and forced a corner which Yallop delivered to the near post. Hill soared above all-comers to direct a powerful header across goal and into the far corner of the net - 3-1. Emily Cooper, who had been introduced to the fray in between the goals, gifted possession to Millynn in the 72nd minute, and she sent Parkinson dashing past Chelsey Wood - not the best half of football she's ever played, this, make no mistake! Mind, she wasn't alone in this regard. Esson was right behind Parkinson's shot, the last time Auckland's `keeper would be called into action in the time which remained. Because her team-mates laid siege to the Young Ferns' goal in the last fifteen minutes, and while they scored four goals in this period, they missed as many again as experience emphatically overcame enthusiasm. The “A Team”'s fourth goal came about more by good luck than good management, as Humby strode onto a loose ball some twenty-five yards out from goal. Her steepling chip screamed skywards before arcing down at the most awkward of angles, and any `keeper, let alone Geurts, would have had the devil's own job keeping it out. As it was, the ball's flight saw it drop just under the crossbar, with Geurts flailing in vain as she back-pedalled furiously - 4-1. Seconds later, the Young Ferns' `keeper made amends with a fine double-save to thwart both Tegg and Yallop, after the former had got to the by-line and caused mayhem at the near post, in tandem with Jackman, who instigated the “A Team”'s fifth goal, ten minutes from time. Her one-two with Cooper saw Jackman dash into the penalty area before crossing for Tegg, who couldn't get the ball onto her lethal left foot thanks to some good defensive work by McPherson and Windsor. Yallop loomed large in Tegg's sights, and the striker's lay-off invited the captain to drill home unerringly into the bottom corner of Geurts' net to finally complete her hat-trick, the scorer having been denied in her quest to do so at close quarters by the `keeper some fifteen minutes earlier. After a Yallop corner had caused a mad scramble in the Young Ferns' goalmouth - Jackman, Tegg and Gooch all went close - the “A Team” made it 6-1 in the 88th minute. Jackman picked out Yallop, whose neat control was supplemented by a ball through the inside right channel for Gooch to chase. Windsor got there first, but was caught in possession by the speedster, who did her young rival a treat before setting up a tap-in for Tegg, who at least had this to look back on after enduring, by her standards, a frustrating afternoon in front of goal. Auckland weren't finished, and after Yallop, Tegg and young debutant Stephanie Skilton had been thwarted by Geurts, the reigning champions wrapped up the scoring with virtually the last kick of the game in stoppage time. Tegg thundered down the right before slipping the ball inside to Yallop, who evaded a challenge before slotting the ball past Geurts from six yards for her fourth goal of the game, and her twelfth in just twenty-one “A Team” appearances, the last of which she made in 2006. Both teams have plenty to work on after their respective performances in this match, with the U-17s having now had first-hand experience of the sort of benchmark to which they must aspire as they continue on the road to Trinidad & Tobago. That said, this was by no means Auckland at their optimum. Much better is expected of the “A Team”, individually and collectively, over the course of the next two months, but having not played competitively for such a long time prior to this match, they should be much better for the experience come their trip to Taupo's Crown Reserve on Saturday, where they take on Waikato-Bay of Plenty from 1pm. Auckland:     Esson; Fisher (Lovitz, 83), Hill, Wood, Humby; Vincent (Cooper, 66), Duncan, Yallop; Gooch (Skilton, 89), Tegg, Jackman Young Ferns:     Geurts; Lovrich, Windsor, McPherson, Oulaghan; Barnett, Burrows, Carlsen (Millynn, 51), Lee (Innes, 65); Parkinson (Wong, 79), Dudley-Smith Referee:     Renee Silvester