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05/11/06
Convincing Capital Conquer North Harbour
by Jeremy Ruane
A convincing display by a physically imposing Capital Soccer combination proved too much for the more svelte North Harbour line-up to handle at McFetridge Park on Guy Fawkes Day, the visitors winning the Lion Foundation National Women's League encounter 3-0.
The home team were first out of the blocks, Cath Porteous unleashing a twenty-five yard free-kick in the second minute of play which dipped late, and brought a fine save out of Capital `keeper Lily Ran.
That was the cue for the visitors to impose themselves on proceedings, but they encountered plenty of initial resistance from a North Harbour team which looked to play a more attack-minded game to begin with, then found themselves being over-run in midfield, and had to alter their strategy to counter it.
Capital's initial thrust came on the right flank, in the fifth minute. Tonja Heinze - a very impressive performance - Wendi Henderson and Sarah Gregorius combined on the right, with the player-coach threading the ball through for Michele Clarke, who whipped in a low cross.
Ashleigh Cox spilt it, but Bridgette Armstrong, on her National Women's League debut, was on hand to get her goalkeeper out of jail on this occasion, clearing the ball to Zarnia Cogle, then blocking the midfielder's shot.
Cogle then picked out Gregorius with a crossfield ball which the NZ U-20 star met on the volley. Cox smothered this thirteenth minute effort, the last occasion she was troubled for a quarter of an hour.
That's because Rebecca Simpson and Michele Hogg, in particular, were countering everything Capital threw at them. Like doctors with an unusual patient, the visitors probed and prodded for openings in the North Harbour rearguard, but there were none to be found.
Eventually they opted for the over-the-top approach, Bria Sargent pinging it forward for Clarke to pursue. She gained a yard on Simpson, who swiftly made up the ground and did enough to force the striker to shoot wide in the 25th minute, Capital's best chance thus far.
Seconds later, they were in again, this time down the right. Simpson again averted the danger, only for Carena Oosterbaan - an eye-catching performance - to pick up the pieces and fire in a cross for Henderson. Armstrong, however, rose higher and headed the ball to safety.
Capital tried route one again in the 28th minute, and this time unlocked the door. Ran's raking clearance was allowed to bounce by the Harbour rearguard, which is not a wise plan of attack when Nicky Smith is hovering eagerly.
Like an eagle pouncing on its prey, she swooped on the scene, and played a one-two with Clarke - an unselfish return pass when she could easily have gone for goal herself - before coolly wrong-footing Cox and placing the ball into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.
1-0 to Capital, an advantage they looked to build on before the interval. Tess Murphy picked out Smith, whose clever reverse pass put Cogle in on the left. Clarke was the intended target of her cross, but Hogg had other ideas on this occasion.
Cogle had more joy picking out Smith from a corner in the 37th minute, but the striker's explosive volley screamed wide of the target. She mistimed her next effort, too, a tackle from behind on Porteous which left the midfielder requiring treatment as referee Evran Korular, who made his fair share of weird and wonderful decisions throughout, rightly brandished the yellow card on this occasion.
The second half saw the game continuing in the same vein, with the more powerful Capital side dominating proceedings. In the 52nd minute, Cogle picked out Henderson with a corner which saw New Zealand's third most-capped international cleverly back-heel the ball to Smith. Her shot on the turn crept inches past the post - the skill on show in this move deserved
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 Tess Murphy (Capital) and Monique Genet (NH)
 Anna Barlow (NH) and Carena Oosterbaan (Capital)
 Andrea Scott (Capital) and Lisa Kemp (NH)
 Staci O'Brien (NH) and Zarnia Cogle (Capital)
 Julia Baldwin (Capital)
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better reward.
Capital got their reward three minutes later through an unlikely source. Heinze fired over a corner beyond the far post, picking out Murphy as she rose high to meet it. Her looping header was greedily grabbed by Cox, who, in taking a couple of steps backwards to control the ball, inexplicably carried it over the line - 2-0, and the game, as a contest, effectively over.
The visitors continued to chance their arm, with Henderson letting fly from twenty-five yards. Cox grabbed this, then looked on in the 68th minute as Murphy sent a header bulleting past the post following another Heinze corner.
Twenty minutes from time, and with Monique Genet now having an attacking partner in crime alongside her in the form of substitute Rebecca Parkinson, North Harbour produced their first attack of note in some considerable time.
The fifteen-year-olds, Therese Saito and Lauren Mathis. Combined on the right, the latter picking out Genet with a peach of a cross. Her header flew wide, but served as a source of encouragement for the home team for the remainder of the game.
Before they could launch their next one, though, Capital mustered a couple which had the alarm bells ringing in the Harbour rearguard yet again. Clarke got the better of Hogg on the right and launched a cross which had Henderson, arriving on the far post, as its intended target. She mistimed her effort, but Oosterbaan, following up, brought a good save out of Cox.
Capital then produced another move which richly deserved a goal. Heinze and Clarke played a one-two from a corner, with the former clipping a delightfully weighted cross in towards the fast-arriving figure of Cogle. She got there a split-second too quick, and mistimed her header accordingly. Had ball and player arrived as one …
Back came Harbour, Genet roaming down the left before teaming up with Anna Barlow, who had often found herself outnumbered in midfield. On this occasion, however, she was hot on attack, and held off Henderson's challenge before lashing a low drive towards the bottom corner of the net. Ran flung herself to her left to save superbly.
After Henderson had sent a twenty-five yarder past the post, Genet forced another save from Ran, this time after Parkinson had beaten Julia Baldwin in the air. The goalkeeper's clearance sparked a counter-attack which featured Smith's ball wide to substitute Andrea Scott, and a cross over which Henderson and another new arrival, Toni West, got their wires crossed. Cogle, following up, forced a save from Cox.
Five minutes from time, a couple of wickedly struck corners by Parkinson to the near post had Capital at sixes and sevens. Henderson headed narrowly past her own post to extinguish the threat posed by the first one, while Sargent had to head clear via her own crossbar to avert the danger seconds later.
That was as close as Harbour got, for after another range-finding effort from Henderson, the visitors wrapped up the points with a cracking goal in the 89th minute. Substitute Terri-Amber Carlson picked out Henderson with a pass, and she sprayed the ball wide to Scott, who fired a deep angled cross beyond the far post.
Ghosting in behind all-comers was Smith, who slid in to expertly steer the ball home from the most oblique of angles, thus wrapping up a 3-0 victory for the league co-leaders, who are living up to their billing as pre-season favourites.
Harbour: Cox; Armstrong, Simpson, Hogg, Saito (Stevenson, 90); O'Brien (Parkinson, 65), Porteous, Barlow, Mathis, Kemp; Genet
Capital: Ran; Murphy, Sargent, Baldwin; Gregorius (Scott, 64), Oosterbaan (West, 76), Henderson, Heinze (Carlson, 87), Cogle; Smith (booked, 42), Clarke
Referee: Evran Korular
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