The quality of Auckland's football proved too much for Waikato to handle on August 10, as Keith Garland's side won the provinces' National Championship round-robin match 2-0 at Petone's Memorial Ground. On a challenging pitch, Auckand were rarely tested by the Hamiltonians, with Andrea Rogers, with a free-kick, the only player to test Auckland goalkeeper Yvonne Vale throughout the first half. The "A Team", meanwhile, were ever-threatening. Amanda Crawford, Gillian Thurlow and the outstanding Maria Wilkie were central figures in the majority of Auckland's attacks, with the first-mentioned closest to breaking the first half deadlock, when she struck the crossbar with a free-kick five minutes before the interval. In the second half, Auckland moved up a gear, and Waikato never looked like making the game a contest as a result. Yet for all Auckland's pressure - Maia Jackman joined the aforementioned trio in going close during this forty-minute spell - Waikato could well have taken the lead in the 56th minute. Danish import Pernille Andersen saw Patrice Bourke clear her effort off the line. Moments later, the same Waikato player stumbled and fell while rounding Terry McCahill in the penalty box. Referee Eddie McDonald surprised patrons with his decision - penalty! Vale responded magnificently to the challenge posed by the spot-kick, diving to her right to brilliantly turn away Andersen's effort. From this, Auckland gained inspiration, and within sixty seconds had punished Waikato in the best manner possible. Wilkie ran Waikato's defence ragged down the right, but Rebecca Rolls denied the speedster the goal she richly deserved with a save she knew little about. The ball fell into the path of Crawford, who capped off a fine personal performance by burying the ball in the bottom corner, on the hour. The "A Team" went from strength to strength after this, and cemented their undoubted on-field superiority with a further goal, in injury time. The source was an unlikely one - Michele Cox's head. The midfielder emerged through the ruck to nod home Crawford's well-weighted near-post corner, through the legs of Rolls. 2-0, and deservedly so. The teams met again the next day, this time in the semi-final, where a net-busting drive from Jan Muir, seven minutes from time, saw Auckland advance to their thirteenth consecutive National Women's Soccer Tournament final, 1-0 the outcome.