Western Springs maintained their perfect start to the National Women's League on September 24, but were made to work hard for their 3-2 win over reigning champions Canterbury United Pride at Seddon Fields, where the visitors dominated the opening half-hour of play. Kate Loye wasted little time in taking control of the game from midfield in the opening stages, her cultured left foot akin to a wand as she pinged the ball short, long, wide and inside in imperious fashion. Her third minute ball forward to Ella McCann was touched on for Britney-Lee Nicholson, whose first shot of the game was blocked to safety by Lily Jervis. "The Hoops" responded straight away, forcing a corner which Lara Colpi delivered into the danger zone. It was cleared to Arisa Takeda, whose shot was grabbed by Una Foyle. She immediately launched a counter-attack down the right, from where the ball across to Nicholson was just cleared off her toes by Springs' custodian, Angelique Tuisamoa. The long ball was a ploy Canterbury used to great effect in the first half of this contest, first doing so in the eighth minute of play. Ellena Firth picked out Nicholson with her raking pass, and the Futsal Fern instantly drew a parried save from Tuisamoa. Nicholson instantly pursued the rebound, with Jaedici Uluvili for company, and the striker got the better of the defender before hitting the post with her effort, the rebound being gratefully smothered by the recovering goalkeeper. Tuisamoa was in action again in the eleventh minute, dealing well with Lara Wall's driven cross after the eye-catchingly-performed fullback caught Rina Hirano in possession just inside Springs half and stormed down the left - Wall's raids down the flank were a feature of Canterbury's play throughout this enthralling contest. Within seconds, Nicholson was once again in possession, the recipient of another early ball from deep. Tuisamoa blocked her attempted lob, the rebound from which fell perfectly for Chloe Bellamy to despatch into an empty net … the shriek of dismay which followed said everything which needed saying regarding her finish. Loye and McCann both tested Tuisamoa from distance before the twenty minute mark saw Colpi execute a scrumptious turn which left Firth wondering where the Young Ferns prospect had got to. Colpi wasted little time in picked out Hirano, who swiftly invited the overlapping figure of Takeda to let fly. Foyle was quick to grab this effort, and looked on three minutes later as Tuisamoa grabbed a deflected shot from McCann, after Bellamy and Nicholson had combined to play in their team-mate. Two minutes later, Uluvili and Tuisamoa combined to produce some very sloppy defensive work on Springs' part, the needless concession of a corner being the outcome. The delivery of this wasn't cleared, inviting Mikaela Hunt to stride onto the ball and unleash a missile which narrowly cleared the left-hand angle of Tuisamoa's goal. In the 31st minute, and very much against the run of play, Springs opened the scoring. A United move broke down on halfway, and Hirano was swift to exploit the opportunity it presented. The playmaker surged forward before spotting Sofia Garcia's angled run and delivering a made-to-measure pass into her stride. Springs' co-captain strode onto the ball, calmly took it round the approaching figure of Foyle then fair hammered the sphere into the far corner of the net to give "The Hoops" a lead they hadn't even looked like realising to this point in the contest. Canterbury were swift to seek an equaliser, Lottie Mortlock and Bellamy both being denied by Tuisamoa in the next three minutes. And after Colpi had been denied a second Springs goal by the offside flag, Nicholson's wickedly struck inswinging corner was pawed out from beneath her crossbar by Tuisamoa - it was in for all money without the 'keeper's intervention. Six minutes before half-time, Takeda and Hirano teamed up once more, the latter sending Firth for an Echo (Scouse football vernacular!) before motoring away downfield. Foyle parried her drive, the ball rebounding past the incoming figure of Garcia, who would have had a tap-in for 2-0 had it rolled into her stride. Back came Canterbury, Loye's ball forward being headed out by Jervis, but only as far as Bellamy. She blasted a twenty-yarder towards the target, but Tuisamoa was perfectly placed to thwart her lively opponent. The next save Tuisamoa produced, two minutes before half-time, was, quite simply, world class! If Allison Becker had pulled off this denial, they'd be raving about it for at least a week in England's media, make no mistake! Nicholson and Rebecca Lake worked a one-two which resulted in the striker playing Bellamy in through the inside-right channel. She checked her run and picked out McCann with a delightfully weighted cross which the striker headed back across Tuisamoa, who was anticipating the ball going to her right.

Forced to change direction, the 'keeper launched herself to her left and managed to get her fingertips to the ball, taking some of the pace off it. It continued goalwards, however, and it looked in for all money. Tuisamoa, however, had other ideas, quickly rising from the turf to pursue the sphere, which struck the inside of the post, only to be stopped on the line by the 'keeper's recovering dive. An absolutely brilliant piece of goalkeeping - it'll take something a wee bit special to supersede this where any "Save of the Season" awards are concerned. It certainly must have left Canterbury wondering if this wasn't meant to be their day, a theme which continued into the second spell. Uluvili's failure to clear her lines in the 49th minute allowed McCann a sight of goal, but Jervis was quickly across to spare her defensive partner's blushes. Seconds later, Mortlock motored down the left at pace before delivering a cross which Jervis could only clear as far as Bellamy, who was once more denied by Tuisamoa. Springs responded via Garcia, who was played through by Sammi Tawharu and sent a first-time thirty yard drive screaming over the bar, the prelude to two goals in six minutes which left United with a Mount Everest-like task on their  agenda. "The Hoops" doubled their advantage in the 52nd minute. Jervis' defensive free-kick picked out Emma Pijnenburg, whose beautiful first touch earned her a yard of space, which was all she needed to produce a sublime angled pass into the stride of Colpi, racing through the inside left channel. She took the ball on and rode a tackle from Firth before battering the ball beyond Foyle - 2-0, a goal to which Canterbury responded via a Nicholson corner to the far post which Lake just failed to turn home. 2-0 became 3-0 in the 58th minute. Mere seconds after United made a triple substitution, one of the newcomers, Kendrah Smith, directed a stray pass straight to Tawharu, who swiftly combined with Takeda and Hirano. Her deft curling effort from twenty-five yards arced over Foyle's flailing fingertips before hitting the crossbar, rebounding off the back of the goalkeeper, and ricocheting off Foyle into the net - an "oggie" of the most unfortunate kind, not that Springs were complaining! It was time for the title-holders to show us what they're made of, and they set about the task with gusto. Tuisamoa smothered a McCann effort following Petra Buyck's 62nd minute corner, before Lisa Evans was denied in the act of shooting by Jervis, an action matched at the other end of the park seconds later as Wall's timely tackle denied Garcia as she was poised to pull the trigger. Tawharu then had a goal ruled out by the offside flag, before Maggie Pedersen, upon being picked out by Colpi, drew a save from Foyle, a feat matched by Tuisamoa in the 71st minute to deny Whitney Hepburn's twenty-five yarder. Ten minutes from time, Canterbury scored a goal no one present could possibly have begrudged them - their performance more than merited at least one strike. And it was a beauty, the ball battered into the top far corner from twenty-five yards by Buyck after the former Three Kings United and Ellerslie starlet had stormed downfield from halfway. Buoyed by the goal, United set about adding to their tally, Tuisamoa denying Evans in the 83rd minute. But Springs had no intention of letting this game slip away, Garcia only being prevented from restoring their three-goal advantage five minutes from time by Foyle's fingertip save, Pijnenburg and Colpi having combined to open up the visitors' defence. Sophia Dyer was desperately unlucky not to achieve that feat as the game entered stoppage time, the post denying her after she fired a shot beyond Foyle, who gratefully grabbed the rebound and launched an attack from which Canterbury would reduce the deficit still further. Referee Beth Rattray awarded the visitors a free-kick some twenty-five yards from goal on the angle, towards the right-hand touchline. Buyck stepped up and uncorked a gem of a strike which beat Tuisamoa all ends up and gave the Cantabrians hope that the great comeback might still be on. Sadly for them, time was their enemy, Springs holding on for a hard-earned three points from this five-goal thriller, Tuisamoa their star turn on a rare day for the reigning champions - it's not often Canterbury have had their colours lowered in this competition in recent seasons, and one suspects it won't happen too often in the coming weeks, despite the change of format having introduced the northern region's four leading club teams to the National Women's League. Springs:     Tuisamoa; Pedersen (Irvine, 86), Uluvili, Jervis, Takeda; Pijnenburg, Taitimu (Innes 59), Colpi; Garcia (Lythe, 86), Tawharu (Dyer, 69), Hirano Canterbury:     Foyle; Firth (Evans, 57), Lake, Hunt, Wall; Mortlock (Smith, 57), Hepburn, Loye; McCann (Guildford, 72), Bellamy, Nicholson (Buyck, 57) Referee:     Beth Rattray