Reigning Lion Foundation National Women's League champions Auckland were comfortable 6-0 winners over Waikato-Bay of Plenty at Hamilton's Gower Park in their second round encounter on October 15, but the “A Team”, while happy with the points, were less so with the quality of their performance, one best described as scrappy. They set out their intentions right from the kick-off, only the offside flag denying Rebecca Tegg the opening goal of the game just forty-five seconds into the match. The same player then fired narrowly wide in the fourth minute, after evading two challenges on receipt of a pass arriving from the respective ball-winning and distribution efforts of Maia Jackman and Kirsty Yallop. After Sarah McLaughlin had rattled the advertising hoardings behind Jenny Bindon's goal with a long-range effort, the “A Team” strung together a neat move featuring Petria Rennie, Yallop, captain Marlies Oostdam and Sarah Gibbs, whose well-weighted cross for Emma Kete was pawed off the striker's head by Carla Johl. Wai-BOP's goalkeeper denied Kete again when Auckland next threatened, seven minutes later. It followed another tidy interchange involving Melissa Ray, Kristy Hill and Tegg, who flicked the ball on for Kete to unleash a twenty-yard volley. Tegg's was a lively display. Down the left she strode in the 21st minute, her deep cross beyond all bar Jackman proving just too good for the number seven to make contact with. Seconds later, the striker let rip with a trademark left-foot drive after Rennie, Yallop and Kete had combined to engineer the opening. The effort flashed over the crossbar, as did a dipping twenty-five yarder from Hill seconds later, Rennie and Jackman having linked on the right to prise open the home team's rearguard down that flank. The 24th minute efforts of Gibbs, Oostdam and Tegg exposed Wai-BOP's backline on the left flank seconds later, only for Kete to be thwarted by the timely intervention of Dana Braunias. The barrage of pressure to which Wai-BOP's defence was being subjected had to pay dividends sooner or later, and in the 25th minute, the dam burst. Oostdam's angled pass down the left allowed Tegg to dart in front of Kimberley Lewis and thrash home a first-time shot on the turn via the defender, who later received running repairs to a lower leg problem. Once Auckland had the scent of blood in their nostrils, the were lion-like in their eagerness to savour the taste of a fresh kill. Seconds after her goal, Tegg nearly had another, her back-heel from Jackman's pass allowing Yallop and Kete to engineer an opening which the goalscorer sent soaring over the crossbar by not a lot at all! In the 29th minute, the champions doubled their lead, solely through the perception of Kete. Anticipating that Kelly Aitken would play a back-pass to Johl from wide out by the touchline, the striker set off towards the penalty area, and was at top speed as Johl was coming out to meet the ball. The `keeper never got it, Kete slipping the ball past her before rolling it home as the fast-closing Lewis arrived far too late to retrieve the situation. A great piece of opportunism, which was matched by the look of horror on Aitken's face as she looked up upon playing the ball back to Johl to see the goalscorer appearing on the scene. Kete was still celebrating when her next opportunity materialised, two minutes later. Oostdam supplied her with the ball, and the striker evaded the clutches of both Vanessa Lambert and Johl before sending a rising drive over the top of an open goal - talk about “After the Lord Mayor's Show, the muck cart!” Keen to make amends, Kete picked up a pass from Humby on half-way in the 33rd minute, turned and tore downfield at a great rate of knots before slipping Tegg through a square defence. The striker side-stepped the exposed figure of Johl and drilled home goal number three. Auckland were in mesmerising form at this point in the match, and Wai-BOP's players were giving the impression of being somewhat spellbound at times, so much time and space were they affording the “A Team”. Naturally enough, they took full advantage, and contrived another enterprising move in the 35th minute which had all-comers applauding. Gibbs, Humby and Ray zipped the ball around among them, the last-mentioned spraying it wide to Oostdam, who cruised down the left before curling a cross over the head of Tegg for her opposite flank player, Jackman, to home in on. Her deft volley dipped just the wrong side of the crossbar - a move which deserved better fate. After a couple of range-finding twenty-yarders from Yallop had zoomed over and wide of Johl's goal, the `keeper saved bravely at the feet of Kete in the 41st minute, after Humby, Gibbs and Oostdam had linked on the left. The first-mentioned of this trio was responsible for creating the last chance of the half two minutes later, from a corner. Her delivery picked out the plunging figure of Jackman, who directed her full-length diving header up and just over the angle of bar and post. The “A Team” opted to rest a couple of minor injury concerns at half-time, allowing Terry McCahill and Zoe Thompson to join in the fun. The latter wasted little time in announcing her arrival, for within a minute of the kick-off, Wai-BOP were kicking off again. Oostdam sent Thompson scooting through the inside-left channel, and the striker's first touch of the game was exquisite, deftly clipping the ball over the advancing Johl to make it 4-0. Going into this match, teams from Waikato, Bay of Plenty or, since the introduction of federation football, the two provinces combined, have scored just seven goals against Auckland in forty-eight games. Such was the “A Team”'s dominance of this match that there seemed very little likelihood of that statistic changing in a hurry, but adding to

Melissa Ray (Auckland) Sarah Gibbs (Auckland) Kelly Aitken (WBOP) Emma Kete (Auckland) Zoe Thompson (Auckland) Katherine Robinson (WBOP) Maia Jackman (Auckland)

the 164 goals scored in those matches was another matter entirely. Forward they poured once more, this time in the 53rd minute. A Yallop free-kick wasn't cleared, and Hill set up Oostdam for a first-time volley which Johl did well to paw to safety. The captain had an even better chance two minutes later, but the endeavour of Gibbs, Tegg and Thompson was for nought as Oostdam completely misfired, and groaned in despair. That miss paled in comparison to that of Thompson, seconds later. Gibbs and Oostdam linked on the left once more, the latter's cross seeing Tegg send a looping header over Johl towards the target. The `keeper turned to gather it, but was beaten to the ball by Thompson … how she managed to lift the ball over the bar from a yard out not even she can explain! Thankfully, normal service resumed in the 59th minute. Yallop had enjoyed the run of the midfield throughout this game, and when she turned Chelsey Wood, there before her was green grass aplenty into which to run, and not a blue-clad opponent within twenty yards of her. Forward she surged before slipping Thompson through the defence. Johl saved well, but couldn't hang onto the effort, much to the delight of Tegg, who thrashed home her hat-trick goal - 5-0. Auckland kept the hammer down, and carved open Wai-BOP's defence twice more in the next three minutes. Gibbs, Humby and Thompson set up Oostdam for a twenty-yarder which Johl grabbed, then Thompson, this time on the other flank, raced down the right before linking with Jackman, whose effort was blocked at point-blank range by Aitken as the defender attempted to make up for her earlier blunder. Wai-BOP then launched their second attack of the match, and inevitably McLaughlin - good prospect, this kid! - was involved. Racing down the left, she fired over a cross for Kate Trebilcock, only for Bindon to intervene. Auckland's custodian later dealt with a long-range effort from McLaughlin, and watched one from Katherine Robinson rattle the stanchion behind her goal, but those moments apart, it was Johl's goal which was under threat. Such as in the 67th minute, when Jackman roamed down the left before crossing for Tegg, whose touch for Hill saw the midfielder miscue wildly. Oostdam was on hand to pick up the pieces, but couldn't put them away, Johl saving well from the midfielder. Hill, in what was her last act of the match, then teamed up with Yallop and Tegg to present Jackman with a shooting chance, one she fired a foot over the bar from eighteen yards. That was the signal for Jenny Carlisle's first appearance in Auckland's colours since 2000. A few things have changed since then, of course, not the least of which being the kit she and her team-mates sported in this match - white shirts, red shorts and socks, the change of shorts necessary due to a colour clash with the home team's royal blue ensemble. Twenty minutes from time, Oostdam ranged down the left before crossing to the near post. Arriving on cue was Tegg, who hit the post with her effort, the rebound cannoning off her head and wide of the mark. Two minutes later, a poor Johl clearance was pounced on by Oostdam, who again crossed for Tegg. Despite being in the penalty area, the striker had time to look through last week's sports pages in The New Zealand Herald in search of in-depth women's soccer stories, such was the inattention being paid her by the Wai-BOP defence. Her search having proven fruitless, Tegg lifted her shot over Johl, but hit the crossbar. Still Auckland pressed, their quest for goals undiminished. Both Tegg and Thompson went hurtling in after a low cross-shot from Oostdam then snaked across the face of goal, the substitute's eagerness to score taking her over the hoardings on this occasion! After Johl had smothered a Tegg effort, Oostdam and Ray played a neat one-two before the former linked with Tegg to set up Thompson. The hoardings rattled once more, the ball the source this time, as her shot sizzled a foot wide of the post. With four minutes remaining, a sixth goal materialised. Humby's corner was cleared to Jackman, whose cross was flicked on by Thompson back to the corner-taker, who had ventured into the penalty area in between times. Humby hit a screamer on the volley, the ball crashing down off the underside of the crossbar to cause pandemonium in the penalty area. Amongst others, Ray tried to force the ball home, before Yallop bashed the ball into the back of the net to wrap up the scoring, despite Carlisle, Oostdam and Thompson all having further chances to increase the “A Team”'s goal difference before referee Andrew Caie's final whistle. Six was Auckland's lot, however, and Wai-BOP coach, Duncan Baird, couldn't offer his opponents enough praise afterwards. “It was a wonderful opportunity for our young players to play against such a classy side”, he effused. “Very, very talented players, and a well-drilled, professional team”. True those words may be, but these same players are capable of producing football of far greater intensity, consistency and quality than was seen here, as well they know. Despite their cornucopia of creativity in this match, the report card on this display reads “Can do better”, and a high noon Challenge Cup clash with North Harbour at Douglas Field on Saturday gives the “A Team” their next opportunity to do so. Wai-BOP:     Johl; Aitken, Lewis, Lambert, Braunias (Shadbolt, 70); Trebilcock, Newman (Mathieson, 72), Wood, Robinson; McLaughlin, Brown (Mete, 68) Auckland:     Bindon; Rennie (McCahill, 46), Humby, Ray, Gibbs; Jackman, Yallop, Hill (Carlisle, 68), Oostdam; Kete (Thompson, 46), Tegg Referee:     Andrew Caie