Auckland maintained their unbeaten start to the Lion Foundation National Women's League competition at McLennan Park on October 24, the “A Team”'s 3-0 defeat of Mainland Soccer marking a significant milestone for women's soccer in the province in the appropriate manner. The game was the 250th senior women's representative fixture played by Auckland since the start of women's soccer in this country thirty-three years ago. In that time, they have recorded 196 wins and 24 draws, with just thirty defeats - an average of fewer than one a year! Just 117 goals have been conceded by the “A Team” since their very first fixture, a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Wellington at Petone on 9 September, 1973. Since then, some 910 goals have been fired past opponents, the latest three taking place in this well-contested affair, one marked by the rare injury-enforced absence of Terry McCahill. The early exchanges of this clash were fairly even, in the best traditions of Auckland v. Canterbury duels over the years. The visitors had come north intent on securing the three points, and played accordingly, enjoying the first opening of the match in the fourth minute. Natasha Carruth lashed a twenty-five yarder just past the post, after good work by Kelly Jarden and Clare Warner on the left. Auckland's response saw Marlies Oostdam pick out Dana Humby with a variation on their usual corner-taking routine, and the defender, some twenty-five yards out, hit a screamer on the run through a crowded goalmouth. Ingrid Bain was right behind the shot, however, and duly grabbed it. The Cantabrian custodian had to be at her best in the tenth minute, when an under-hit Sally Chetwin pass intended for Warner was pounced on by Humby. She threaded a first-time ball in behind Chetwin for Michele Keinzley to latch onto, and the reigning National Women's League Player of the Year bore down on goal with just Bain to beat. The goalkeeper tipped the striker's effort onto the post and to safety. The “A Team” were starting to get into their stride now, with Margot Bowker holding the ball up well on the left flank before rewarding Grace Vincent's darting run inside. The midfielder let fly with a curling effort which arced past the far post in the fourteenth minute. The home team weren't able to make as much headway as they desired, however, thanks to the efforts of, in particular, Ruth Bourke and Sara McGlashan. Mainland's captain and their midfield lynchpin got through a pile of work in an effort to contain their opponents, who struggled to string together any moves of merit over the course of the next ten minutes. Indeed, it was the visitors who engineered the next genuine opening, and unsurprisingly, the NZ cricket international was at its heart. Receiving the ball from Kelly Jarden, McGlashan broke down the right and fired in a low cross intended for Maree Hannay. Melissa Ray, who was directing the “A Team”'s defensive operations in the absence of McCahill, stepped in to avert the danger, and spark an Auckland attack. Their 25th minute raid was the best move of the match thus far. Vincent gathered possession in midfield and sprayed the ball wide to Maia Jackman. The captain for the day played a great ball in behind the defence for Keinzley to latch onto, but Bain managed to block this effort with her legs. She had less joy four minutes later, however, as Keinzley finally got the mix right. Humby played the ball forward to Bowker, whose header inside was intercepted by Alex Hepburn. But the young defender erred in her attempt to control the ball, and in an instant, Keinzley swooped. Once more, the Kamo resident bore down on goal, and this time she got the mix right, angling her shot across Bain and in by the far post, the `keeper getting her fingers to the shot but unable to redirect it to safety. Keinzley let her know it too - there was a fair bit of feeling on the pitch throughout proceedings, with more than a few verbal exchanges taking place which reflected the importance of the game to both sides. Now with their noses in front, Auckland looked to press home their hard-earned advantage. Jackman headed a Humby corner into the sidenetting soon after the goal, while Oostdam fired a long-range effort past the post in the 34th minute. Four minutes later, a neat move featuring Oostdam, Keinzley and Bowker on the left saw the second-mentioned whip in a cross which Mainland's defence allowed to bounce in the goalmouth. Jackman appeared on the scene, and she, Bain and the ball arrived in the same place as one. The goalkeeper, for a brief moment, was the worse for wear, but swiftly recovered. Five minutes before the interval, the “A Team” conjured up a goal rich in the Auckland hallmarks of one-touch passing and intelligent off-the-ball movement. The combined efforts of Jackman and Humby dispossessed Carruth on half-way, and the number seven darted forward upon laying the ball off to Vincent. A first-time pass to Keinzley saw the scorer of the first goal instantly turn the ball into Jackman's path,

Marlies Oostdam Grace Vincent Kristy Hill Maia Jackman Sarah Gibbs

and she clipped a gem of a cross into the near post area. Bowker had made a cleverly angled run, and arrived bang on cue to deftly steer a precise volley beyond Bain and inside her near post - 2-0, the perfect reward for a lovely move. Straight from the kick-off, McGlashan led the Mainland riposte, charging down the left before firing in a cross for Carruth. The striker jinked inside Humby but shot straight at Stephanie Puckrin, who cleared the ball downfield. It ricocheted off Jarden to Vincent, who sprayed the ball wide to Jackman once more. Her cross to the far post provided Bowker with a new part in her hair - the second goalscorer only just failed to make contact with the final act of note in the half. Soon after the second half commenced, Bowker's pressure forced Chetwin into gifting the ball to her in the penalty area, and the striker swiftly steered the sphere inside to Keinzley. It looked a goal all over, but Alana Gunn had other ideas, and blocked the New Zealand international's effort at point-blank range. After Vincent and Chetwin had exchanged wayward shots on goal, Keinzley spurned another chance to extend Auckland's advantage in the 56th minute. Jackman burst down the right and whipped in a cross beyond the far post for Bowker, who, with the angle reduced, opted to steer the ball across for Keinzley to turn home. It was just too far in front of her, however. Incredibly, Keinzley spurned another chance to score two minutes later - on another day she'd have scored five! This time, Jackman forced Bain into fumbling the ball, which fell kindly for the striker. But Keinzley failed to get enough purchase on the snapshot, allowing Bourke to step in and clean up. Humby showed her team-mates the way to goal in the 65th minute with a sumptuous free-kick. From near the left-hand edge of the penalty area, on a rather tight angle, she curled a beauty over both the defensive wall and Bain, and just under the crossbar. Again, the `keeper got her fingertips to it, but it wasn't enough - 3-0. That goal broke the resistance of the Mainlanders, McGlashan apart - not once did she concede defeat in the face of adversity, an example of which a few of her team-mates could take heed should they find themselves in similar circumstances any time soon. The “A Team” followed up their third goal with another flowing move, rich in both style and substance. Sarah Gibbs - back to her usual dynamic self - kicked things off, and the ball was swiftly interchanged between Oostdam, Vincent, Kristy Hill, Jackman, Sandee Hui and Humby, who played it forward for Jackman once more. She cut inside and curled a left-foot shot across the face of goal - this move deserved better fate. Fifteen minutes from time, an Oostdam free-kick was blocked by the defensive wall, but Bowker latched onto the rebound and returned possession to the taker. This time, Oostdam picked out Hill with her cross, and she laid the ball back for Vincent, whose rising twelve-yard drive clipped the top of the crossbar. That was Hill's last act of consequence, with her departure seeing Jackman moving inside to a position totally new to her. From central midfield, she was soon moved to right back, but not before Mainland had had what appeared to be legitimate claims for a penalty turned away by referee Matthew Cooke, Ray seeming to use her forearm to good advantage when clearing under pressure from Georgia Goulding. Not long before the final whistle, McGlashan fired the visitors' last shot in anger over the crossbar from twenty-five yards. But there was still time for the “A Team” to give Bain and company cause for concern, with Humby central to both opportunities. She released substitute Rebecca Tegg down the right on the first occasion, with the striker drilling in a cross for Oostdam. Her shot cannoned to safety off Gunn, who was another to prove her worth in this battle. The last act of the match saw Auckland earn a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area. Ray stole forward and took up an inviting position which the Cantabrians appeared to ignore. They weren't the only ones - Humby, too, overlooked her defensive sidekick's claims and went for goal herself, this time firing the ball over the bar to leave the “A Team” three goals to the good come the final whistle, and well placed to make the play-offs once more. The Mainlanders, in stark contrast, slumped to the bottom of the table with this defeat, which, of the three games this writer has seen them play in the Lion Foundation National Women's League thus far, was their best performance yet. Making the play-offs from here, however, might prove a bridge too far. Auckland:     Puckrin; Hui (Rainbow, 86), Humby, Ray, Gibbs; Jackman, Hill (Fraser, 77), Vincent, Oostdam; Keinzley, Bowker (Tegg, 84) Mainland:     Bain; Gunn, Bourke, Chetwin, Hepburn; Goulding, McGlashan (booked, 35), Jarden (Scott, 82), Warner; Carruth (Palmer, 79), Hannay (Gilchrist, 59) Referee:     Matthew Cooke