Capital Football overcame stubborn resistance from a defiant Football South combination at the Caledonian Ground on November 8 before prevailing 6-0 in their Lion Foundation National Women’s League encounter. The visitors were afforded the ideal start when Alice Ireton motored down the left past two opponents before firing over a cross which Renee Leota tapped in just 82 seconds into the match. It was an early blow from which few expected Football South to recover. But Darren Rewi’s youngsters overcame it well, and for over an hour matched their more vaunted opponents stride for stride, putting Capital under genuine pressure which forced the visitors into mistakes aplenty - misplaced or over-hit passes were frequent, and a direct result of the terrier-like tenacity of the underdogs. South engineered their first chance in the tenth minute, with Kushla Glover playing a ball forward for Carena Oosterbaan to chase. Capital goalkeeper Sarah Duffin struggled to deal with it, and the rock-solid Amanda Rasch was forced to scramble the danger to safety. After Terri-Amber Carlson had fired wide from twenty-five yards following a wayward Emily Stitchbury clearance, Oosterbaan was felled by Rasch just outside the penalty area. The lively South striker, who fired the resulting free-kick narrowly over the crossbar, was relishing the chance to play against former team-mates, and proved a constant thorn in their side as she led from the front in fine style. In the 25th minute, Carlson laid the ball back to Lucy Sneddon, who released Leota with a ball over the top from half-way. Through the inside right channel she powered, before angling a shot across the diving figure of Stitchbury but just past the far post. Two minutes later, Ireton raced down the left once more, giving Bianca Roy the runaround in the process before scything inside and lashing a low drive towards the near post. Stitchbury tipped the effort round the upright for a corner. Melissa Bartlett’s delivery picked out the head of Nicola Ingham. Stitchbury parried this effort to safety, but the ball was soon at Bartlett’s feet again. This time, she curled in a vicious cross-shot which had Leota as its intended target, but instead ricocheted into the net off the far post - 2-0. South briefly reeled from this blow, and within seconds of the resumption, Leota collided with Stitchbury and Annie Gilchrist in pursuit of the ball, before, seconds later, threading a pass through the home team’s defence which sent Carlson haring through. Stitchbury - a good young goalkeeping prospect, this lass - was alive to the danger and saved at the striker’s feet. The ‘keeper’s wind-assisted clearance was played through by the soundly performed Elise Mamanu-Gray, and Oosterbaan raced off after it. Duffin was forced to charge off her line to save at the feet of her opponent who, three minutes later, unleashed a firecracker which sizzled past Duffin’s left-hand post, after Toni West had failed to clear Una Madden’s angled pass. Six minutes before half-time, Glover received a goal kick from Stitchbury and angled a pass through which Amelia Currier pursued for all her worth. The pressure which she put Sneddon typified that of the entire South team, and Duffin was again called upon to rescue the situation for Capital. She promptly sent the ball forward to Leota, who released the excitement machine that is Hannah Wall down the right. She set off towards goal, but found a worthy opponent in Gilchrist, who matched the Football Ferns starlet stride for stride for the bulk of this match, including on this occasion, her efforts forcing Wall to shoot wide while off-balance. South enjoyed the last two opportunities of the half, but while the attempts of Georgia Brown and Madden lacked accuracy, their efforts in engineering the opportunities typified the locals’ persistence and tenacity throughout the first half.

Hannah Wall (Cap) in a tight spot, with Sam Muirhead and Kushla Glover (FS) lining her up Terri-Amber Carlson (Cap) watched by Elise Mamanu-Gray (FS) Bianca Roy (FS) keeps a tight rein on Renee Leota (Cap) Amelia Currier (FS) and Lucy Sneddon (Cap) battle for possession

Those tactics continued to be applied by the home team after the interval, to such an extent that the only opportunity Capital was afforded in the first twenty minutes of the second half was a wayward headed attempt by Ingham following a Bartlett free-kick. Then, from seemingly nowhere, two goals in as many minutes broke the resolve of the young southerners, and put Capital on course for an emphatic victory. West hoisted a free-kick forward from half-way in the 65th minute which was allowed to bounce by the South defence. Stitchbury approached the ball, but Leota’s darting run saw her reach it first and deftly lob the sphere over the ‘keeper and one bounce into the top far corner. South were still reeling from this classic striker’s goal when they were dealt a further blow. Carlson and substitute Noel Pinnock combined down the left, with the newcomer whipping a low cross into the danger zone. Laura Wallis cleared the ball to Leota, whose lay-off invited Kelly Stembridge to let fly from twenty-five yards. Did she ever! A screamer fair flashed over the head of Stitchbury before crashing into the roof of the net, the ‘keeper fortunate not to have her fingertips as she attempted to divert the shot to safety. Despite being 4-0 down, South kept pressing, with Oosterbaan inevitably at the heart of their attacking endeavours. Brown sent the striker scampering down the right in the 71st minute, from where she picked out the unmarked Yolanda Ray with a perfectly flighted cross. The young substitute headed over from twelve yards - a great chance spurned. Six minutes later, Carlson released Pinnock down the left with a precise pass which invited a cross to match. The substitute duly delivered it, and Leota only just failed to turn it home on the far post for what would have been her hat-trick goal. Wall had had one of those days when the bounce of the ball just wouldn’t go her way. The stoic defensive effort of Gilchrist also frustrated the talented flank player too frequently for her liking, but Wall’s persistence in the face of adversity finally paid off in the 78th minute, when she wriggled through three challenges before letting fly. Stitchbury parried the shot, then saved the rebound at the feet of the incoming Pinnock, only to clear the sphere straight back to Wall. She sent Leota racing through with just the ‘keeper to beat, but the striker shot early and waywardly - by her standards, a bad miss. Stitchbury’s goal kick was not her greatest, not that Wall was complaining. She was the beneficiary, and duly bulged the net from twenty yards - 5-0. After Leota had been denied by Stitchbury, then headed narrowly wide following another free-kick from West, the visitors wrapped up the scoring in stoppage time. Another West free-kick picked out Leota, who neatly chested the ball down to Carlson. A thunderous deflected twenty-yard duly careered past the diving Stitchbury to complete the scoring, and leave Capital well on course to advance to the play-offs as Southern Conference winners, which will secure them a home semi-final in mid-December against, most likely, New Zealand’s Young Ferns, the Under-17s. South’s youngsters will take much heart from this match, having matched Capital stride for stride for a good sixty minutes at this stage of their development. They’ve still plenty to work on, of course, but the industry and endeavour they displayed throughout the bulk of this encounter will help win them many admirers along the way. South:          Stitchbury; Roy, Wallis, Gilchrist; Brown, Madden (Stafford, 86), Mamanu-Gray, Glover (Struthers, 86), Muirhead; Oosterbaan, Currier (Ray, 58) Capital:     Duffin (Lipi, 62); Sneddon, West, Rasch, Ingham; Wall (Nguyen, 90), Stembridge, Bartlett, Ireton (Pinnock, 56); Leota, Carlson Referee:     Jeff Clamp