Northern Lights claimed bragging rights in the National Women's League's "Battle of the Bridge" on October 23, overpowering reigning champions Auckland Football 2-0 to edge ahead of their crosstown rivals on goal difference as the pursuit of runaway leaders Canterbury United Pride continued on the QBE Stadium Tigerturf. And an extremely poorly lit QBE Stadium Tigerturf at that! How bad? Each floodlight pylon holds five lights. On the stand side of the ground, two lights are out on the western pole, and four - out of five, remember! - on the eastern pillar. You could argue strongly that there's better lighting on display at a candlelit dinner! The menu on this occasion was as good as you'll see at this time of year, as the vast majority of the region's foremost Lotto Northern Premier Women's League players cast club loyalties aside to settle once and for all which federation was best on show in 2018. Having been held to a scoreless draw at McLennan Park five nights ago, Northern - by far the more dominant team in that affair - were keen to impose themselves again on this occasion, but this time with the addition of a goal or two to confirm their superiority on the scoreboard. They certainly set about the task in the right vein, but it was Auckland who fired the first shot in anger, captain Steph Skilton unleashing a twenty-five yarder which flew just a yard past the far post in the ninth minute. Northern hit back straight away, Vegas McCarroll, Sammi Tawharu and Jane Barnett combining for the last-mentioned to unleash a curling effort which the cap-less Nadia Olla grabbed greedily as she looked into the setting sun. She threw the ball out to Genevieve Ryan, who promptly gifted possession to Liz Savage. Her first-time through ball had Barnett in hot pursuit, but Olla raced off her line to save at her feet. After Kate Loye had sent one fizzing over the bar, a slick sixteenth minute move saw McCarroll, Malia Steinmetz and Savage link down the left, with the overlapping fullback evading a challenge before delivering a cross which beat both Olla and Bianca Stiles and fell perfectly for Tawharu, who somehow badly mis-timed her shot. Corners from Barnett and Loye tested Olla to the fullest soon after - she did well to hang onto the latter's delivery under pressure aplenty - before Dayna Stevens forced an error from Stiles which presented Barnett with the chance to unleash a teasing chip. It drifted narrowly over, but the ball was soon back at Barnett's feet. From the resulting goal kick, Nicole Stratford - she was guilty of a few too many robust challenges for referee Anna-Marie Keighley's liking - sent the striker scampering through the offside trap. What looked a great chance for Northern was superbly snuffed out by the retreating Rebekah Van Dort, who outpaced Barnett - no mean feat in itself - to position herself superbly between striker, ball and the on-rushing figure of Olla, who saved this 21st minute threat at the feet of both players. Brilliant defending! The hosts wouldn't go away, however. Four minutes later, Loye unleashed a piledriver which crashed against the crossbar. The rebound fell perfectly into the stride of the incoming figure of Stevens, but from six yards, she headed over the bar with the goal at her mercy. Eager to make amends for that glaring miss, Stevens turned provider four minutes later. Olla parried her cross, with Stiles first to react to the loose ball as Tawharu hovered with intent. There was a brief respite in goalmouth incident over the course of the next few minutes, but none in the intensity of this most local of representative derbies, with Auckland striving to put their rivals on the back foot for a few minutes. Northern's pressure didn't relent, however, but after Stevens went close following a clever improvised back-heeled pass from Barnett, the visitors fired their first shot in anger in half-an-hour. Sarah Morton's cross was flicked on by Grace Jale to Jade Parris, who controlled the ball well but directed her volley straight at Anna Leat. That gave Auckland a sniff, and seconds later they should have broken the deadlock. Parris and Jale combined to send Paige Satchell haring through Northern's offside trap, leaving herself with just Leat to beat, a feat she neatly managed via a rising twenty yard drive six minutes before half-time. Sadly for the speedster, it rose a yard higher than intended - a let-off for Northern, who wouldn't allow another. Within a minute, Barnett, Tawharu and Stratford combined to put the ball in the danger zone. Olla grabbed it, but Stevens arrived a split-second later and bundled goalkeeper and ball over the line a la the legendary Nat Lofthouse. No goal, of course, but we didn't have too much longer to wait for that situation to be revised. After Stevens forced an opening and drew a solid save from Olla low to her left, sustained Northern pressure finally paid dividends a minute before half-

time, with Barnett, Tawharu and Loye prominent in a raid which culminated in Steinmetz rifling the ball home from the edge of the area. 1-0 Northern, and very nearly a second goal in the time remaining. Steinmetz caught Ryan in possession, inviting Loye to pick out Barnett with a cross. Olla grabbed her shot to bring the half to a close. The home team piled on the pressure right from the resumption, with Satchell's super tackle denying Loye in the act of shooting following an Aneka Mittendorff throw-in three minutes into the second spell. Claudia Bunge responded in kind to deny Jale two minutes later, after Stiles, Nicole Mettam and Skilton had combined through midfield, but Northern kept on coming, their front three - Stevens, Tawharu and Barnett - interchanging passes prior to a cross which Stratford, flying in on the far post, was unable to direct on target. Olla was to the fore again soon after, plucking a Loye cross off Stevens' head before saving at the feet of Tawharu following a super run from half-way past three opponents by Steinmetz, who had intercepted a pass to engineer the counter-attack. Auckland were largely feeding on scraps - it's hard to see them retaining their title on the evidence of these "Battle of the Bridge" encounters - but fashioned another opportunity in the 66th minute. Mettam's lobbed ball was allowed to bounce by Northern's defence, prompting Parris and Satchell to converge on the scene like bees near a hive. The latter pulled the trigger, but Bunge fearlessly foiled another threat in the style which earned her the Most Improved Player award in the Lotto Northern Premier Women's League this year. There was no way back for Auckland two minutes later, as Northern doubled their lead. Yet another Mittendorff throw-in caused concerns galore in Auckland's goalmouth, but the ball was cleared back to the central defender, who thrashed it back into the danger zone with interest. It ricocheted off a defender and fell invitingly into the stride of Stevens, whose desire to make amends for her first half blemish was sated as she squeezed the ball past the advancing figure of Olla to leave the reigning champions with a mountain to climb, their first defeat of the campaign now looming large in the gathering gloom. There would be no respite for the visitors, with Northern going desperately close to a third goal in the 71st minute. Savage chipped one into the area, where Stevens rose high to beat the hesitant figure of Olla in the air. As the ball bounced towards the unguarded net, a blue blur hurtled in from nowhere - Morton's desperate goal-line clearance gave her team-mates hope in an area where their opportunities were few. Another Mittendorff throw-in was flicked into the danger zone by substitute Maggie Jenkins, who charged in after it and rattled the near post side-netting with her attempt, which was swiftly followed by a twenty-five yarder from Steinmetz - Olla was right behind it. Ten minutes from time, Auckland substitute Kathryn-Ann Gow drew a save from Leat, to which Northern responded with further goal threats. Stiles' vital clearance prevented substitutes Jenkins and Helena Kelderman from exploiting a probing pass from Steinmetz, while Jenkins' free-kick to the far post four minutes from time caused chaos aplenty, the ball ultimately ricocheting past the upright off a defender. A last-gasp bid by Auckland to get on the scoreboard narrowly failed as the flying figure of Van Dort - her performance deserved a goal - headed Bernadette Goulding's corner inches over the bar, a threat to which Northern responded with the final attack of the night. Savage and Tawharu teamed up with Saskia Vosper, who was back from having her World Cup dreams shattered by a broken foot and eager to make an impact. This wasn't far from being of the devastating variety, a thunderous twenty-five yarder which beat Olla all ends up but flew just past the far post. A third goal wouldn't have flattered Northern by any means. They were far too good for Auckland both here and five nights earlier in Papakura, and their reward for this 2-0 triumph was to edge ahead of their cross-town rivals into the second play-off spot … plus bragging rights, of course! Both teams will face challenges in the remainder of the campaign, however, with the Young Ferns' U-17 Women's World Cup Finals and the Football Ferns' OFC Women's World Cup qualifiers certain to challenge not only the playing depth of both squads, but their respective prospects of fulfilling their Grand Final ambitions. Northern:     Leat; Stratford (booked, 27) (Vosper, 82), Mittendorff, Bunge, Savage; Steinmetz, McCarroll, Loye (Maynard, 72); Stevens (Kelderman, 77), Tawharu, Barnett (Jenkins, 61) Auckland:     Olla; Ryan (Nottingham, 82), Stiles, Van Dort, Morton; Carter (Goulding, 73), Skilton, Jale, N. Mettam (Gow, 73); Satchell, Parris Referee:     Anna-Marie Keighley