With half-an-hour of their National Women's League encounter still to play at Michaels Avenue on 8 October, Ellerslie were 2-0 up over Wellington United and on course to record their first win of the campaign at the third time of asking. Thirty minutes later, "The Ponies"' victory hopes lay in tatters, "The Diamonds" having carved up their opponents on the counter-attack to triumph 5-2 and propel themselves into second place on the table, three of their goals coming with ninety minutes showing on the clock. The opening quarter hour of this contest was fairly sterile, with Wellington's reliance on the long ball not making for an attractive spectacle. So when Ellerslie opened the scoring in splendid fashion in the fifteenth minute, it was a goal which greatly benefited the contest, as it meant the visitors had to change their ways if they aspired to score a win on the road. Wellington conceded possession cheaply halfway inside their own half, and Cat Pretty wasted little time in exploiting her opponent's shortcomings, swiftly spreading play wide to Kat Gow. She delivered a perfectly flighted cross into the heart of the goalmouth, where Britney Cunningham-Lee was arriving on cue to send a thumping header beyond Molly Simons - a terrific goal! Four minutes later, Simons got away with murder after getting herself into trouble by trying to dribble her way out of it with Cilla Fa'afua and Cunningham-Lee bearing down on her at pace. The 'keeper evaded the former but not the latter, who swiftly slipped the ball back to Pretty, some twenty-five yards out from goal. With Simons in no man's land, Ellerslie's captain unleashed a chipped effort which was bound for the untended net until drifting inches past the post, much to the relief of Wellington's custodian - guarantee she was buying herself a Lotto ticket at the airport on the way home after that close call! Cunningham-Lee featured again in the 22nd minute, this time on the charge out of defence as Ellerslie launched a counter-attack. Cara Chung's timely tackle thwarted the striker and rewarded Ellie Kabayama, who weaved past two opponents before letting fly. Petra Wedlake saved low to her right, then looked on with relief three minutes later as a dipping twenty-five yarder from Natalie Olson hit the crossbar. No one in white was following in, but "The Diamonds" continued to press for an equaliser, with Simon, Chung - a great touch - and Kabayama combining to release Olson down the right sixty seconds later. She scythed inside Hollie Leona but over-hit her through ball for Pepi Olliver-Bell, something Wellington was guilty of on numerous occasions in this encounter - the fundamentals of ball retention seemed lost on the runners-up in both this year's Kate Sheppard Cup and Central Region Premier Women's League competitions, who were wasteful and wildly inaccurate with numerous shots in the general direction of goal as well. Wedlake produced two more saves to keep the visitors at bay before the half-hour, blocking from Jemma Robertson in a one-on-one situation before racing out to prevent a Kabayama cross from reaching Robertson seconds later. Ellerslie responded to this via Fa'afua, who sent a twenty-five yarder sizzling past Simons' right-hand post on the half-hour, then drilled one into the goalkeeper's midriff eight minutes later, as the home team enjoyed a spell in the ascendancy. Their last chance to double their lead before the interval came through Anita Trudgen five minutes before the interval. She stormed down the left before getting the better of Chung, only to see Simons smother her attempt to find the net at the keeper's near post. Two minutes after half-time, "The Ponies" were two goals to the good via another neat move. Fa'afua teamed up with half-time substitute, Marillia Braga, to feed Pretty, who released the overlapping figure of Trudgen at pace down the left. She stormed to the by-line before whipping in a low cross which the retreating figure of Caelin Patterson couldn't avoid turning into her own net - an "oggie", but when you're bottom of the league, you'll take goals in your favour any way they come! Wellington looked to hit back within five minutes. Kabayama intercepted a clearance and sent Olliver-Bell charging through on goal. In such situations,

the bottom corners of the net should be where the ball is directed, as they're far harder for goalkeepers to reach. But poor technique saw the striker execute a rising drive which Wedlake tipped over the bar - Olliver-Bell should have scored, but this was another example of Wellington's profligacy in front of goal. Ellerslie responded via Cunningham-Lee, their attacking spearhead. Her cross for Gow was cleared to Abby Wright, up in support of the attack. She evaded a challenge before picking out Gow with a low cross which the striker directed towards the target, only to see Braga, the intended beneficiary, being thwarted by Simons' timely save at her feet. Wellington halved the deficit in the 63rd minute. Patterson's timely tackle on Cunningham-Lee, with Gow storming through on the right in anticipation of a through ball which would have put her in on goal with just Simons to beat, thwarted the home team's raid and sparked a counter-attack which saw the ball swiftly moved to Robertson, whose cross to the far post found Olliver-Bell arriving on cue - 2-1, when, but for Patterson's tackle, it could easily have been 3-0, game over. Ellerslie were rocked by this setback, and after Tayla Hawes had diverted an Olson cross narrowly past her own post, Wellington levelled the scores from the resulting corner. Robertson's delivery was pawed out by Wedlake to Kabayama, who slammed the ball home from twelve yards - 2-2. "The Ponies" looked to hit back straight away, but Simons was right behind Fa'afua's long-range free-kick, awarded after yet another foul by the Wellingtonians. Their spoiling tactics are an unwelcome sight to see in the women's game, and confirms United as one of the least attractive teams this writer has reported on in four decades of covering NZ women's football, a code in which how you go about winning has always mattered more than merely claiming three points. There's always an exception within the ranks, however, and in Wellington's case, it's Olson, an attack-minded player who goes about playing the game in the right way, using skill and flair to catch the eye - there's no hint of the "dark arts" in the way she goes about her on-field business, of that be in no doubt. She was twice denied by Wedlake with around twenty minutes to play, after which referee Beth Rattray was once more called upon to police Wellington's negativity and award Ellerslie another free-kick fifteen minutes from time. Leona took this set-piece, inviting Wright to deliver a lofted cross to the far post where Kimberley Oosterbeek soared above all-comers to execute a downward header, only to see the ball bounce up and over the bar. The official's patience finally gave way seven minutes from time, Zoe Barrott earning United's first yellow card of the game. Soon after, Sophie Dijkstra entered the fray, and the substitute proved to be a Wellington weapon for which Ellerslie had no answers. Within three minutes of her introduction, Dijkstra had made known her intentions to Wedlake, the 'keeper tipping the substitute's shot round the post. Then in the ninetieth minute, the newcomer fired the visitors in front, pouncing on a loose ball after the home team had failed to clear a cross from the overlapping Jemma Catherwood, whose driving run out of defence deserved the reward which followed. From 2-0 down, Wellington now led 3-2, and they would go on to score twice more in stoppage time, Dijkstra potting the first of them from the penalty spot after Leona was rightly booked for a very late lunge on Catherwood. The scoring was wrapped up by Olliver-Bell, the striker rounding the stranded figure of Wedlake to fire the ball into an empty net with the last kick of the game, Wellington catching Ellerslie on the counter-attack as the home team looked to score twice in the time remaining, only to leave the pitch with the scoreboard reading 5-2 in favour of the now second-placed visitors. Ellerslie:     Wedlake; Wright, Oosterbeek, Hawes, Trudgen; Davison (Braga, 46), Pretty, Leona (booked, 90); Gow (Godha, 85), Cunningham-Lee, Fa'afua (Barclay, 90) Wellington:     Simons; Chung (Davies, 52), Barrott (booked, 83), Patterson, Catherwood; Preval (Brook, 90), Gilchrist, Kabayama; Olson, Olliver-Bell, Robertson (Dijkstra, 85) Referee:     Beth Rattray