Auckland United moved into second place on the National Women's League table on October 15 after fourth round action saw them eke out a 3-0 win over a determined Central Football combination at Keith Hay Park. The visitors engineered the first opening in the contest, Ashleigh Gill getting the better of Aimee Hall before seeing her seventh minute shot blocked by Jess Philpot. The rebound broke kindly for Maddison Hughes, whose fiercely struck drive was superbly saved to her left by the diving figure of Hall. After a teasing Danielle Canham cross had been punched off Shannon Henson's head by Leonie Heck, the visitors threatened again, this time via a right flank raid featuring Gill and Hughes. The beneficiary of their industry was Charlotte Noakes, whose volley flew past the post. Having had a couple of warning shots fired across their bows, United knuckled down to the task at hand and started involving Bree Johnson, whose express pace is a real handful for any defender. She gave Shannon Newlyn the slip in the nineteenth minute before picking out Henson with a low cross which allowed the striker to execute a shot on the turn. It sizzled past the post, while another Johnson raid three minutes later saw the speedster benefit from a ricochet off Newlyn, affording her space from which she sent a low cross fizzing across the goalmouth. The ball was cleared as far as Rene Wasi, whose through ball invited Henson to dash into the penalty area, where her progress was curtailed by a retreating defender running at a different angle. Much to the ire of Central's management team, referee Sam Clement pointed to the penalty spot, from where Henson slammed the ball home to open the scoring in the 23rd minute. The goal rocked the visitors, and after Talisha Green and Canham had worked a one-two which allowed the fullback to play Johnson in - her lofted shot under pressure beat Heck but arced beyond the far post, United doubled their advantage nine minutes before half-time. Yume Harashima was a class apart in this game - she and Canham were in fine form throughout proceedings - and it was the Japanese player's set-piece prowess which earned the home team their second goal. A pinpoint delivery to the near post was headed skywards by Green, but Henson was perfectly placed to head the dropping ball into the far corner of the net from close range - 2-0. Buoyed by the extra goal, United piled on the pressure in search of a third before the interval. Just a minute after doubling their lead, Harashima unleashed the pace of Wasi upon Central's defence. She surged into the area before seeing her fierce drive blocked by Heck, who looked on with relief as the covering figure of Lizzie Ingham prevented Penny Brill from netting a third goal. Two minutes later, Sarah Swinbanks played the ball back towards Heck, only to look on with horror as Wasi appeared on the scene and closed down the 'keeper's attempted clearance, the ball ricocheting off the jet-heeled striker to safety. Only Ingham's timely tackle prevented Brill from pulling the trigger at the sharp end of a concerted United attack in the 41st minute, while the visitors should have conceded a third goal at the start of the second spell, Canham pouncing on a stray pass to send Wasi through with just Heck to beat.

The goalkeeper blocked then grabbed the striker's shot, but she should have got nowhere near the opportunity - a poor finish by Wasi, who needs to work on her composure and ruthlessness in front of goal, as she could easily have had a hat-trick in this match. After Green had stung Heck's gloves from distance, Central threatened through Hughes, whose show of strength at Greer MacIntosh's expense sent the defender over the sideline. The striker picked out substitute Marina Ishimoto with her shot, but the newcomer could only direct her effort at Hall. The two number eights were next to capture the attention, Central's Grace Smith sending a twenty-yarder flying past the post, to which Canham responded by sending a peach of a pass into the stride of Henson, whose progress into the penalty area was curtailed by the timely challenge of Aimee MacNee. Henson was in again soon after, this time latching onto a Johnson pass, but the hat-trick-hunter couldn't get the better of Heck for a third time. And after Hall had plucked a Smith cross off Noakes' head, she sent Wasi racing through the inside right channel with a great chance to score. Alas for the Papua New Guinea native, she pulled her effort past the far post - to fail to hit the target from such an inviting position beggared belief! What turned out to be Central's penultimate raid of note in the match, in the 63rd minute, saw MacIntosh stepping in to clear the danger posed by Noakes after Hughes - an eye-catching performance - had got the better of Philpot on the right. Auckland put the game to bed six minutes later, with Johnson inevitably involved. She got in behind the Central defence on the left before pulling the ball back to Canham, whose rifled first-time finish into the bottom far corner from ten yards confirmed victory for the home team. They could have added a couple more, with Wasi the principal culprit. Her pace was too much for the visitors' rearguard to handle, but when faced with just Heck to beat once more, in the 73rd minute, she fired a shot which the 'keeper diverted onto the post. Two minutes later, it was all change at Grand Central Station, with both teams making three substitutions - fourth official Jack Henderson was a very busy boy, and managed to make everything happen inside ninety seconds. Those changes significantly altered the game's momentum, however, with Poppy O'Brien - a screamer which scorched the paint as it passed the post - and fellow substitute Paris Liu - the Central player fired wide from twenty yards - the only players to genuinely threaten the target in the time remaining. United were worthy winners, however, and should have triumphed by a larger margin than the final 3-0 scoreline at the expense of opponents who acquitted themselves well, even without their talisman striker Mikaela Bouwmeester to call upon on this occasion. Auckland:     Hall; McConnell, MacIntosh (Sheldon, 75), Philpot, Green (Haering, 53); Canham, Brill (Vlok, 68), Harashima; Wasi (O'Brien, 75), Henson, Johnson (Bowala, 75) Central:     Heck; Newlyn (Coakley, 65), Swinbanks, MacNee, Thomas; Gill (booked, 57 Dowsing, 75)), Smith, Ingham  (Pelham, 75), Gurnick (Ishimoto, 46); Noakes (Liu, 75), Hughes Referee:     Sam Clement