Reigning National Women’s Soccer League champions Auckland-Manukau maintained their grip on the Challenge Trophy with an emphatic 8-0 drubbing of cross-town rivals United Soccer at Seaside Park on Labour Day. The North Harbour-based opposition were denied the services of their defensive stalwart, Rebecca Simpson, moments before kick-off, when the New Zealand international pulled a quad muscle. But even had she been on the park, the visitors would have been hard-pressed to stave off the many and varied threats posed by an Auckland side which dictated terms throughout a largely one-sided local derby, and, in the post-match words of long-time North Harbour campaigner Gillian Thurlow, "gave us a bit of a footballing lesson". Refreshed by a week which allowed their New Zealand internationals to recover and return to their regular routines, the Auckland side set about stamping their authority on this match, against opponents who were playing their second match in three days, right from the off. Making her fiftieth appearance for Auckland in this match - just the seventeenth player in the thirty-two year history of women’s soccer in the province to do so, Maia Jackman was in particularly dominant mood, and played accordingly in her new central defensive role. The home team’s captain won just about everything in the air, including an eighth minute duel which she guided down to new central defensive partner Melissa Ray - long-time defensive stalwart Terry McCahill was a non-playing substitute for Auckland in this match, and you can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times that has been the case since her initial appearances for the province in 1989. Ray, another to perform well, played the ball forward for Leah Tagaloa to chase, but the youngster was unable to guide her effort on target, due largely to the presence of the closing figure of goalkeeper Rebecca Meyer. She saved well from Zoe Thompson five minutes later, after Kirsty Yallop and Michele Keinzley had linked well with the striker, who, in the fourteenth minute, raced down the right before drilling a cross into the goalmouth. Fran Ebbett cleared the ball, but only to Hannah Rishworth, who gained due reward for making her supporting run by sweeping the ball past the diving Meyer and into the far corner of the net, her shot from the edge of the penalty area taking a deflection en route. Sarah Gibbs was primed and dangerous for this game against her old province, and produced a performance to match. She relished the fullback role afforded her, and sparked a nineteenth minute raid with a lay-off to Jackman, prompting the captain to ping a peach of a measured through ball into Thompson’s stride. The striker should have done far better than to shoot tamely at Meyer. Keinzley showed her team-mate the way to goal in the 24th minute. Yallop neatly controlled a poor goal-kick in the air, with Tagaloa flicking the ball in behind the defence. Hesitancy reigned supreme, from Meyer particularly, and the alarm bells were ringing unceremoniously when Keinzley suddenly appeared

on the scene like a fox in a hen-house. Her finish was typically ferocious - 2-0, and a goal her performance merited. The North Harbourites weren’t without their opportunities, with Emma Kete forcing the ball home twice in the course of the match. But the offside flag proved her downfall in the 29th minute, while her handball offence was spotted in stoppage time. Two other incidents in the last quarter of an hour involving the lively number nine saw her fire across the face of goal after Thurlow had flicked on a clearance from replacement goalkeeper, Ali Bradley, before Kete outmuscled Ray - a feat not easily achieved - as she pursued an Ebbett clearance and fired narrowly over the crossbar. These moments apart, however, there was little for the visiting supporters to cheer, save for the well-performed Hayley Sterling’s efforts - she can be proud of her performance in the face of adversity. Instead, they could only look on and encourage a squad who were often seen chasing shadows as Auckland spread the ball around from flank to flank, producing some very tidy passages of play in the process. After Gibbs had complimented her neat control in midfield with a measured through ball which Keinzley sent curling over the crossbar, another fine ball forward by Jackman picked out Tagaloa, who linked with Keinzley and Thompson. The last-mentioned carried on her run despite Tagaloa being tripped by an opponent as she looked to provide a supporting run inside her team-mate, Thompson charging towards the byline before crossing for Keinzley. She checked and shot, only for the post to come to United’s rescue. The visitors scrambled the ball away for a corner, which Rebecca Sowden clipped into the danger zone. The head of Rishworth was her target, and she found it perfectly. But Meyer plucked the ball off the midfielder’s head like a plum off a tree - an excellent piece of anticipation. Sadly for her, it was all for nought, as in the 43rd minute, Auckland extended their advantage still further. Jackman sparked the move off, but the lion’s share of the work was done by the recipient of her pass, Sowden. Encouraging Petria Rennie to set off on an overlapping run around her, the midfielder surged inside on a diagonal run before playing a neat one-two with Keinzley, then thrashing a twenty-yard drive into the bottom left-hand corner of Meyer’s goal - 3-0, and a classy goal to boot. The second half was only seven minutes old when the reigning champions struck a fourth goal. Tagaloa was at the heart of this creation, cleverly turning Tania Oldfield before crossing for Sowden. Thompson took over, but found her way to goal blocked. That of Yallop wasn’t, and the striker’s lay-off prompted the midfielder to lash an unerring twenty yard drive into the net via the underside of the crossbar. Sowden, Tagaloa and Thompson combined to engineer an opening which Keinzley sent arrowing pat the far post after beating two opponents two minutes later, before a lovely flowing move culminated in Keinzley and Sowden - an exceptional second half performance - combining to present Yallop with a chance which

which the youngster sent careering past the post at a great rate of knots. In the 69th minute, Gibbs whipped in a corner which hit the inside of the far post and ricocheted into the goalmouth. The ball struck the luckless figure of Ebbett and looped over the similarly unfortunate Meyer and into the net by the near post, with which the goalkeeper collided in her efforts to prevent Auckland’s fifth goal. She was unable to continue, prompting Bradley’s introduction as United’s third substitute, ten minutes after the withdrawal of Anna Perkins and, much to the surprise of the gathered throngs, the ultra-competitive Anna Barlow from the fray. The changes made little impact upon the home team’s dominance, although one they effected - the industrious Vicki Rainbow took over seamlessly from Yallop in midfield - was to have an impact on the scoreboard twice in five minutes later in the match. Beforehand, Jackman joined the attack in an eightieth minute raid, turning Ally Pratt neatly before combining with Kimberley Lewis and Sowden. Jackman then saw her shot blocked, but the rebound fell perfectly for Sowden, who executed a gem of a low twenty-five yard drive across Bradley and in by the foot of the far post - 6-0. Within sixty seconds, the champions had added another goal. This time, it was exhibition stuff, one-touch passing which had United spellbound as the ball whizzed from Lewis to Sowden, to Rainbow, to Tagaloa, to Tegg, to Tagaloa again, then to Rainbow once more. The midfielder’s first-time twenty-five yard effort, while not struck cleanly, arced over the flailing figure of Bradley and into the net for a sumptuous seventh goal. And still they weren’t done with. Five minutes later, Gibbs fired another corner over, this time beyond the far post. Rainbow was lurking in anticipation of just such a delivery, and smashed a thumping low volley through the crowded goalmouth into the net from a tight angle for Auckland’s eighth goal of the contest. It could have been nine in stoppage time, as Sowden encouraged Lewis to roam forward in support, while providing Tegg with a fine pass. The striker laid the ball back to the overlapping defender, who checked inside before unleashing a swerving effort which needed a superb full-stretch save from the flying figure of Bradley to keep it out. Eight was Auckland’s lot, however, the home team maintaining the pressure right to the end against their young and largely inexperienced opponents, whose arduous weekend has left them propping up the National Women’s Soccer League table - in stark contrast to their opponents, whose sights are firmly set on a return to first place in the not-too-distant future. On this emphatic display, few would begrudge it of them. Auckland:     Cox; Rennie (Lewis, 76), Jackman, Ray, Gibbs; Sowden, Yallop (Rainbow, 69), Rishworth, Keinzley; Tagaloa, Thompson (Tegg, 76) United:          Meyer (Bradley, 72); Hayle, Ebbett, Stembridge, Oldfield, Sterling; Pratt, Barlow (Mason, 62), Thurlow; Perkins (Genet, 62), Kete Referee:     Sam Tompsett