A youthful Auckland squad came from behind to overcome arch-rivals Capital Football 3-1 at Keith Hay Park on Sunday afternoon, as the Lion Foundation National Women's League competition kicked off its sixth season. The “A Team”'s come-from-behind triumph ensured their retention of the NZ Women's Football Challenge Cup, which is at stake whenever the holders grace home turf, and the Roy Cox Shield, which is on the line whenever the women's teams of the Queen City and the capital clash. Things were looking good for Gary Jenkins' charges in the early stages of the match, for Capital scored after just 110 seconds. Rebecca O'Neill got the better of both Sarah Gibbs and Annalie Longo before playing the ball down the line for Ashlee Delahunty, who skipped round the lunge of Abby Erceg before clipping a splendidly weighted cross to the far post. Zarnia Cogle rose highest of all and directed her header downwards. The ball cannoned off the dry ground and arced over the ring-rusty figure of Stephanie Puckrin - her first game in goal for two months - and into the net. Capital's glee was tangible, and had Wendi Henderson's driven 25-yard free-kick fizzed a yard under the crossbar, rather than a yard over it, in the sixth minute, they would have been well on the way towards taking home both trophies which were up for grabs in this match. Instead, the more experienced visitors found themselves getting the proverbial run-a-round in the first half, once their young opponents - the average age of the “A Team”'s starting line-up was just twenty - got into their stride. Auckland Football's National Women's League squad began to do so in the seventh minute, Annalie Longo, Rebecca Tegg and Betsy Hassett combining to present Merissa Smith with the chance to let fly from twenty yards. Lilly Li grabbed this effort, and another from Tegg seconds later, after Auckland's captain had evaded the clutches of Bria Sargent and Patrice Bourke, Capital's skipper. But the goalkeeper was rendered helpless on the quarter-hour, as the “A Team” drew level. Puckrin hoisted the ball forward, Tegg flicked it on, and through surged Sarah Gregorius, usually a Capital regular but having committed herself to Auckland for this campaign. Into the penalty area she surged before checking and pulling the ball back for Ria Percival, who was arriving on the far side of the penalty area. Initially, the New Zealand international had to gather the ball in from behind her, but once she had it under control, an unerring shot across the diving figure of Li sent the ball arrowing into the far corner of the net - 1-1. Liz Milne bid adieu in the aftermath of the goal, Capital's full-back having picked up an ankle injury. Her replacement, Amy Collins, required little time to adjust to the pace of the game, linking with Tess Murphy in the eighteenth minute. She picked out Cogle, who turned inside Petria Rennie and cracked a ten-yard strike past the diving figure of Puckrin, only for the ball to cannon back into play off the post. Auckland immediately counter-attacked, Gibbs, Longo, Gregorius and Smith combining to present Hassett with a chance to shoot from twenty yards. Li saved this effort, but was looking on seconds later as Annalise Van Kampen headed an inswinging corner from Gibbs off the line. The home team took the lead in the 25th minute. Gibbs' high cross saw Murphy climbing high to head clear, but only as far as Smith. Urged on by Gibbs to “run at her”, she set her sights on Bourke and led the midfield general-turned-fullback a merry dance down the right, eventually wrong-footing her retreating opponent. That gave Smith all the room she needed, and from twenty yards, she curled a sumptuous shot beyond the diving figure of Li into the top far corner of the net - a grand strike from a player whose goal return this year has not been what she would have liked. After Erceg had headed wide from a Gibbs corner, another Auckland corner was taken short by Percival, who received Smith's return pass and drilled in a driven cross to the near post. Li fumbled it, but recovered quickly before Tegg could swoop in the 32nd minute. Capital retorted through the hard-working figure of Sally Kent. She linked with Delahunty to present Henderson with a chance, but Erceg's intervention prevented her from directing the effort on target. The defender then sent Tegg surging forward seconds later, but she sent her first-time volley blazing past the post. Six minutes before half-time, Puckrin sent the ball up field once more, and Tegg flicked it down for Gregorius, who swept it wide to Percival. She let fly with a rasping drive which fizzed past Li and cannoned to safety off the far post. Three minutes later, Erceg fired a free-kick from half-way into Capital's goalmouth. Tegg's flicked header from twelve yards was grabbed well by Li, whose denials had kept the home team at bay as they fought back well from an early setback dealt to them by opponents who knew full well they had to pick their game up if they wanted to relieve their rivals of two trophies they hold in high regard.

Sarah Gibbs (Auckland) in full flight, watched by Wendi Henderson (Capital) Grace Vincent (Auckland) Tess Murphy (Capital) Sarah Gregorius (Auckland) chased by Patrice Bourke (Capital) Stephanie Puckrin (Auckland) Bria Sargent (Capital)

They certainly did so, with the start of the second half something of an arm wrestle as both teams engineered openings leading up to the hour mark. Li denied both Sarah Gs - Gregorius and Gibbs - with saves, grabbing the former's lobbed effort under the bar before smothering the latter's 25-yard free-kick. In between times, Cogle had headed a Bourke cross wide after the captain had played a one-two with Henderson from a short corner. Cogle then unleashed another effort, but Puckrin was right this twenty-yarder, and promptly sparked a counter-attack which featured the enterprise Gregorius and Tegg, but not the quality finish which Hassett had hoped to provide. The exchanges continued. Kristy Hill - not her best game by a long chalk! - picked out Gregorius with a cross which she headed down to Tegg, who returned the favour. Li and Collins combined to thwart Gregorius, prior to Auckland surviving a real scare, in the 65th minute. Cogle fired in a corner, which Tegg headed out. Henderson returned the ball with interest, and defensive hesitance in Auckland's goalmouth saw O'Neill move in for the kill. Puckrin somehow kept out her effort with a fine reflex save. The “A Team” retorted with two raids in as many minutes two minutes later. Gibbs, Longo, Gregorius and Tegg engineered an opening for Hassett, but Sargent closed her down well, only to pick out Gibbs with her clearance. The feisty fullback picked out Tegg with her pass, but the striker was clattered by Li as the goalkeeper saved at her feet. Anna Green had entered the fray at Smith's expense on the hour mark, and her first notable contribution materialised in the 71st minute, as she raced down the left past three opponents before pulling the ball back for Gregorius. She had to turn it into Tegg's path, and her twenty-yarder sizzled past the far post. The resulting goal-kick landed at Longo's feet, and New Zealand's youngest international set sail for goal, Capital players beating a hasty retreat as she scampered downfield. Kent confronted her, but Longo skipped inside her opponent and let fly from twenty yards, only for Li to save well. Puckrin replied in kind fifteen minutes from time, turning away Henderson's free-kick after a clumsy foul by Hill had presented the veteran with the chance to level the scores. Capital continued to press, encouraged by a tiring Auckland combination. Substitute Renee Leota linked with Cogle, who miscued her cross for Henderson. Erceg - assured as ever in defence - beat her Football Ferns team-mate in the air, but the dropping ball sat up perfectly for O'Neill, Capital's best-performed player executing a spectacular volley which cleared the crossbar by mere inches. Grace Vincent had entered the fray by this time, and together with fellow substitute Emma Kete, revived the “A Team”'s flagging fortunes. The latter was involved in Auckland's next raids, linking with Hill, Percival and Gregorius in the 83rd minute. The last-mentioned was in the clear, but volleyed over the top, then fired wide after more industry from fiery front-runner Kete, who found herself the recipient of a Percival cross in the 85th minute, after Vincent had sent her racing down the right. Kete's air-shot was good news for Hackett, and her touch allowed Green to let fly. Li saved well, and sparked a swift counter-attack which culminated in Cogle's cross from the left. Gibbs headed the ball out to O'Neill, who evaded two challenges before letting fly past an unsighted Puckrin. The `keeper was mightily relieved to see the ball creep inches past her left-hand upright. Puckrin's resulting goal-kick saw Vincent win possession on half-way, and she laid the ball off neatly to Green. Her beautifully weighted angled cross in behind the defence found Gregorius ghosting through the inside right channel. The striker - the pick, for this writer, of the home team's charges on the day - controlled the ball splendidly on her chest before delivering the coup de grace under the advancing figure of Li with her very next stride, a class finish to clinch the “A Team”'s come-from-behind victory. The reigning champions looked to rub salt in Capital's wounds in stoppage time, with Green and Kete combining with Gregorius. The last-mentioned's chipped cross was met by the flying figure of Kete, whose diving header flashed across the face of goal. But 3-1 was Auckland's lot, and while they've plenty to work on, particularly in second phase play and fifty-fifty battles, they were a pleasure to watch when in possession, frequently stringing together multi-pass moves which stretched Capital to the fullest. The visitors were, in many ways, closer than the scoreline suggests, but that said, the efforts of Li, in particular, tended to keep the score down. It will certainly take a good team to beat them - Jill Gilmore's young charges are definitely that! Auckland:     Puckrin; Rennie, Hill, Erceg, Gibbs; Percival, Longo (Vincent, 77), Hassett, Smith (Green, 61); Gregorius, Tegg (Kete, 82) Capital:     Li; Milne (Collins, 15), Murphy, Sargent, Bourke; Delahunty, Van Kampen (Leota, 59), O'Neill (Carlson, 90), Kent, Cogle; Henderson Referee:     Mike Hester