Northern Lights' season of frustration in the National Women's League continued at McLennan Park on October 18, as they were held to a scoreless draw by an Auckland Football side which will look back on this match as one from which they were lucky to emerge with a point. The visitors were all over their hosts from the outset, with Jane Barnett's chip on the run twanging off the top of Corina Brown's crossbar just twenty-five seconds into this latest Battle of the Bridge, one played at a frenetic pace throughout proceedings. Auckland's 'keeper proved equal to a Malia Steinmetz shot in the tenth minute, but when the Junior Ferns captain let rip from twenty-five yards two minutes later, after Barnett and Sammi Tawharu had combined on the left … Steinmetz's shot was hit with such ferocity that there is doubt whether the net would have contained it had the ball struck same. Instead, Malia's missile slammed into the stanchion holding up part of the netting, and rebounded back into the field of play a good five yards beyond the edge of the penalty area. She will never again hit a shot as sweetly as that in her life! It deserved better fate. Buoyed by that close call, Northern pressed again, Kate Loye letting rip from twenty-five yards and only narrowly clearing the crossbar with her effort. And from a Loye corner in the 25th minute, a looping header from amid a cluster of sky blue shirts was cleared off the line by Sarah Morton. Auckland's fullback, incidentally, had played a pivotal role in her team's lone attack of note to this point, eight minutes earlier. Following a cleared Steph Skilton free-kick, Morton gathered the ball on the left and stood up both Dayna Stevens and Nicole Stratford before whipping in a teasing cross-shot which Anna Leat did well to grab under her crossbar while under pressure. On the half-hour, Northern should have opened the scoring, and Stevens will still be kicking herself for not doing so this time next month! Brown played the ball out to Skilton, who was in no position to receive the pass with Stevens anticipating the prospect. Sure enough, Auckland's captain was stripped of possession by the striker, who had just Brown to beat to open the scoring. But the 'keeper who, in this writer's eyes, is second only to Victoria Esson as the best women's footballing custodian playing within these shores at present made amends for her blunder big-time, her superb recovering challenge on the edge of her penalty area denying Northern a certain goal. That denial gave Auckland a welcome boost, and they nearly took the lead four minutes later. Jade Parris, Morton and Britney Cunningham-Lee linked on the left, with the last-mentioned's cross being spilled by Leat. Aneka Mittendorff was on hand to clean up on her 'keeper's behalf, averting the danger. Northern were creating all sorts of problems down the right, where Nicole Stratford was enjoying the freedom of virtually half of McLennan Park at times, so frequently was she marauding forward unchecked. Someone in white wasn't doing their job, but it was hard to pinpoint who because they were putting out fires all over the park, the latest being lit in the 37th minute. This one was of Auckland's making, Genevieve Ryan, to be precise. Her awful error let in Stevens, but Brown was once more to the rescue, dashing off her line to clear off the striker's toes. Loye powered through a couple of challenges two minutes later before letting rip from an acute angle. Her shot narrowly cleared the crossbar, while on the stroke of half-time, Stevens finally got the better of Brown with a header which she couldn't guide on target, following a move featuring Mittendorff, Claudia Bunge and the overlapping Liz Savage, whose delivery to the near post was delicious. Northern continued to put their cross-town rivals under the cosh in the second spell. Half-time substitute Grace Jale played the ball back to Bianca Stiles five minutes into the half. The defender lost her footing at that inopportune moment, presenting Barnett with the ball on a plate. But instead of setting sail for goal, she went for a long-range shot, the sort which Brown gobbles up with her eyes closed. Two minutes later, Stiles made amends for her untimely stumble, combining with Rebekah Van Dort to block a barrage of Lights-sourced heavy artillery, Stevens and Tawharu prominent figures in a concerted attack which was bravely dealt with by Auckland's central defenders. A rare Auckland raid materialised in the 54th

minute, with Parris ploughing a lone furrow through the inside left channel before rolling the ball invitingly across the goalmouth, with Leat swooping on the sphere just before the fast-arriving figure of Paige Satchell could pounce. Satchell wasn't getting many opportunities to take on Northern's defence in this match, but her defensive work was exemplary. Many's the time a potential attack by the visitors foundered on the speedster swooping on an unsuspecting opponent and retrieving possession for an Auckland side which was proving more competitive in the second spell. This was further emphasised just before the hour mark, when Ryan and Parris worked a one-two on the right. The overlapping fullback's cross wasn't cleared, a situation upon which Cunningham-Lee pounced with glee. But before she could pull the trigger, Stratford produced a superb tackle to deny the youngster in the act of shooting. Back came Northern, Steinmetz's charging run from half-way culminating in a twenty-yarder which Brown gathered at the second attempt. Lucy Carter was the beneficiary of her distribution, and the penalty specialist dinked one over the top which gave Bunge cause for concern aplenty, not least because Parris was breathing down her neck. Fortunately for Northern, the dropping ball struck the striker, not the defender, allowing the visitors to start the ball rolling on a counter-attack. They didn't make much progress, however, because Satchell's fine work to retrieve possession for the home team. She surged forward before releasing Cunningham-Lee down the left, from where she raced inside before delivering a cross a little behind Parris. Instead of taking a touch to make the opportunity more presentable for herself, however, the striker snatched at the chance, and over the bar the ball flew - Auckland's best chance, no question, and the grimace on Parris' face spoke volumes. Successive Northern set-pieces were the next things to threaten a long-overdue change to the scoreboard, but Mittendorff was unable to capitalise on neither the corner nor the free-kick of Barnett. For the former, she was crowded out at near post, while her header from the latter careered over the crossbar at a great rate of knots. After Skilton had blocked a drive from substitute Arabella Maynard, there was a break in play in the 74th minute when Stevens' pursuit of a ball forward prompted the retreating figure of Van Dort to come off worse in a collision with the charging figure of Brown, who crashed into the defender in her desperation to clear the danger. Auckland's defensive lynchpin recovered, though not fully, but adequately enough to see out the match, which was prevented from swinging Northern's way nine minutes from time by an offside flag which controversially denied Tawharu what would almost certainly have been the winning goal - the retreating figure of Barnett was the player flagged, but was she in the active area of play? Northern weren't overly pleased with the outcome - fair seething is a more accurate description! But they pressed on, with Steinmetz lashing another long-range effort narrowly past the far post before a vital challenge by Ryan thwarted Savage at the end of a mazy run by this versatile campaigner. Savage's resulting corner was headed out by Van Dort to Stevens, who unleashed an absolute screamer which, like Steinmetz's first half effort, would have broken the net had it been on target. But it flew wide - another let-off for the home team. And another followed, Brown's clearance under pressure from Stevens not being capitalised upon by Northern, who nearly paid the price for their profligacy right at the death as Skilton, following a Satchell raid down the left, unleashed a forty yard piledriver which Leat, largely unoccupied hitherto, kept out in fine style - a terrific save which matched the quality and ferocity of the shot. 'Twas the last act in a rip-roaring encounter between these great rivals, a game which had everything but goals, something Northern in particular will be keen to rectify in the return encounter on the QBE Stadium Tigerturf on Tuesday evening. Anything other than a win for the home team on that occasion, and their NWL hopes for 2018 may be all but dashed. Auckland:     Brown; Ryan, Stiles, Van Dort, Morton; Carter, Skilton, N. Mettam (Jale, 46); Satchell, Parris, Cunningham-Lee (Gow, 77) Northern:     Leat; Stratford (Pritchard, 81), Mittendorff, Bunge, Savage; Steinmetz, McCarroll (Maynard, 66), Loye; Stevens, Tawharu, Barnett (Turnbull, 87) Referee:     Wendy McNeely