Canterbury United Pride scored a come-from-behind 2-1 triumph over Northern Lights at McFetridge Park on October 14 to surge five points clear of the beaten side as they maintained their perfect start to the season. In a contest neither side deserved to lose, victory in this high quality contest was ultimately determined by an individual error brought about through concerted pressure, something which both teams applied liberally throughout this engaging encounter. The visitors were quickly out of the blocks, but it was Northern who swiftly grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, forcing Victoria Esson to produce her first save in the seventh minute, flicking the ball off the boot of Jane Barnett after Maggie Jenkins had flicked on Liz Savage's searching ball in from the left. Seconds later, Malia Steinmetz linked up with the speedy Barnett, whose cross picked out Kate Loye. Her first touch was exquisite, and invited a fierce volley to be struck, only for Arna Roberts to take one for the team at point-blank range as the Canterbury starlet charged down Loye's shot. Barnett was involved again in the tenth minute - her Northern team-mates wasted no time in making her earn her keep after she missed the opening matches to have a well-earned break in Rarotonga! Nicole Stratford's ball invited Barnett to scoot down the right, and while Annabel Gilchrist careered across in cover, she was unable to prevent the delivery of a cross which careered across the bows of the incoming figure of Jenkins. Northern's dominance continued three minutes later with Stratford and Barnett working a one-two on the right, the fullback delivering the cross which Sammi Tawharu blazed over on the volley. Esson's resulting goal-kick wasn't her greatest, with Barnett and Tawharu combining to present Jenkins with a great chance, one she directed straight to a grateful goalkeeper, who was called into action once more in the eighteenth minute to paw away a cross from Stratford after she had been released down the right by Aneka Mittendorff, then worked a one-two with Tawharu. Jenkins' resulting corner saw Mittendorff and Stratford double-team Esson, who was prevented from reaching the ball by their actions - a defensive free-kick, for sure. But referee Sarah Jones saw no offence, and Esson was livid as she awarded a goal, Claudia Bunge having prodded the ball home from close range in the ensuing nineteenth minute scramble. While the goal's legality was in question, there was no question that Northern deserved the lead to this point, as they had been by far the dominant side, to the extent that Canterbury's talisman, Annalie Longo, had been largely anonymous to this point. Northern went close to doubling their lead in the 22nd minute. Savage switched play to fellow fullback Stratford, who surged forward before releasing Tawharu into space on the right, from where she picked out Barnett with a cross. She directed her header straight at Esson. After this, the home team eased off the pressure - not of their own volition, mind. For Canterbury began to assert themselves on proceedings, with Macey Fraser becoming increasingly prominent as they did so. In the 34th minute, midfield anchor Whitney Hepburn combined with Roberts for the benefit of the relative of the late Alan Fraser, for many years the highly influential secretary of the Auckland Football Association - how NZ Football could do with someone of his standing and immense knowledge of the game taking charge of proceedings during these current times of turmoil! Fraser's dipping twenty-five yarder had Anna Leat scrambling before she saw it land on the roof of her net, but when Fraser whipped in a 36th minute corner, neither Northern's 'keeper nor her defenders could do anything to stop Hepburn flying in to meet the delivery with a thumping close-range header, which ricocheted into the net to bring about parity - 1-1. Within seconds, Leat was in Looney Tunes mode - there's no other way to describe her actions in a remarkable thirty-second cameo in which she: spilled a Claudia Bunge pass which ricocheted skywards off Monique Barker; nonchalantly chased after the ball as it headed towards goal then made a spectacular camera-friendly dive to save it; promptly cleared it straight to Jayda Stewart.

Little wonder the Canterbury striker was unable to capitalise upon the gift - like the rest of us, she was probably trying to come to terms with exactly what she had just witnessed. It really was a quite bizarre cameo from Leat, whose actions contrasted starkly with those of her opposite number, Esson, without peer in her position nationwide in this writer's eyes, as she proved once more on the stroke of half-time, getting down well to turn a low drive from Steinmetz round the post after the midfielder's powerful run with ball at toe had taken her from half-way to the edge of the penalty area. Canterbury began the second spell brightly, Chloe Jones landing a header on the roof of the net from Fraser's 47th minute corner, before Gabrielle Rennie got the better of Savage and played in Stewart, who went down under the twin challenges of Bunge and Mittendorff to prompt strong penalty claims seven minutes later. Referee Jones wasn't having a bar of them, however, and soon Northern were back in the driving seat, pressing for their second go-ahead goal of the game from around the hour mark. Savage showed both Fraser and Roberts a clean pair of heels at this point as she scampered down the left before picking out Steinmetz with her cross. This was flicked on to Tawharu, whose header flashed narrowly past the post with Esson scrambling across her goal to make sure. Two minutes later, Leat, Savage, Steinmetz and Jenkins combined to play in Barnett, whose twenty-yarder was grabbed by Esson, who was ultimately the difference between the teams in this contest. Never was that more evident than in the 64th minute. Loye and Savage worked a lovely one-two on the left before the former delivered a sumptuous through ball into the stride of Jenkins - for once, not offside. She bore down on goal with just Esson to beat, but the outstretched leg of Canterbury's number one saved a certain goal. Jenkins enjoyed another opportunity three minutes later, Tawharu having flicked on Leat's long clearance into the striker's stride. Gilchrist gave chase and forced a hurried shot, one which Esson was right behind. How Gilchrist wasn't called for as clear-cut a handball offence as you will ever see fifteen minutes from time only referee Jones can explain - she certainly turned a deaf ear to Northern's collective cries of "Penalty!" in expert fashion! Bunge played the ball forward, Tawharu flicked it on, and controlling it with her hand and gaining an advantage from doing so was Gilchrist - how could it not be anything but a spot-kick? At that moment, you sensed that today was not meant to be for Northern, and so it proved, as their lights were dimmed eight minutes from time. Tremendous pressure by Rennie on Savage forced her to play an under-hit back-pass towards Leat, who had no chance of preventing substitute Cody Taylor swooping on the sphere before slipping it through the goalkeeper's legs - 2-1 Canterbury. Northern instantly set about the task of redressing the balance, Steinmetz and Tawharu combined to reward the run of substitute Dayna Stevens. Gilchrist raced across to deny the newcomer in the act of shooting. Barnett then saw her shot blocked before Hepburn blocked a Steinmetz piledriver at point-blank range - she slumped to the ground twice in the remaining minutes with head knock symptoms, and looked more than a little dazed after the final whistle. Hepburn's headed equaliser had laid the foundation for Canterbury to collect their fourth win from as many matches, and even at this stage, they look a fair bet to make their sixth successive Grand Final appearance in December. Whether or not they'll face Northern remains to be seen - their Labour weekend encounters with crosstown rivals Auckland Football seem certain to be pivotal fixtures in the campaigns of both teams in the race to be New Zealand's premier women's footballing federation. Northern:     Leat; Stratford, Mittendorff, Bunge, Savage; Steinmetz, McCarroll (booked 71) (Maynard, 90), Loye; Jenkins (Stevens, 81), Tawharu, Barnett Canterbury:     Esson; Gilchrist, Jones, Herman-Watt; Roberts, Longo, Hepburn (Cameron, 90), Fraser; Barker (Abbott, 58), Stewart (C. Taylor, 74), Rennie (K. Taylor, 90) Referee:     Sarah Jones