The record books will show that Northern Football kept alive their National Women's League play-offs hopes on QBE Stadium's Tigerturf pitches on 19 November by thumping last season's beaten finalists, Capital Football, 5-1, a result which ended the visitors' prospects of play-off glory with a round to spare. What the record books will not reveal is the incredible drama surrounding this sixth round tussle, which will go down in the annals as the longest-running round-robin match in the history of the competition. Never before - and hopefully never again - has a National Women's League fixture boasted 21 minutes of added time to be played at the end of a half, which, when added to the six minutes of added time at the end of the other half, means those present effectively saw or participated in a cup-tie with all the trimmings, extra time among them. And to quite some extent, this was a cup tie, because given the state of the race for the play-offs, this was a game neither Northern nor Capital could afford to lose - defeat for either quite literally meant season over, with a round to spare. It's safe to say, however, that no one who arrived at the ground to play in or watch this clash could possibly have anticipated the attrition which would unfold  over the course of this particular Sunday afternoon. The start of proceedings was delayed by fifteen minutes due to the on-site defibrillator having been borrowed but not returned. But when things did get under way, Capital showed their intentions immediately, Sarah Gregorius volleying over just eighteen seconds into the contest, after Maya Hahn and Rebecca Jefferies had combined from the kick-off. Northern's first attack was a further six minutes in coming, but sparked celebrations among the natives, as they took the lead. Saskia Vosper, Kate Loye, Arabella Maynard and Sammi Tawharu combined on the right, with Loye receiving the ball from the last-mentioned some forty yards from goal. As she did so, she turned past Gregorius and, in the same movement, spotted Cushla Lichtwark's location, virtually on the edge of her penalty area. Without hesitation, Loye let rip, a delightful lobbed shot which had Lichtwark in trouble from the moment it left her boot, the ball arcing into the empty net to give Northern a 1-0 lead. Straight from the kick-off, Libby Boobyer sought to level the scores, but Emily Couchman smothered her shot and instantly sparked a counter-attack which had Loye at its sharp end. Asha Strom stepped in to avert the danger. Very swiftly, the match took on helter-skelter proportions, with both teams struggling to hang onto the ball, which was often played long during this period. But in the sixteenth minute, things came to a shuddering halt. Loye, the one player during this spell who appeared to have time on the ball, played a gem of a pass through for Maynard, who skipped to the by-line before whipping in a low cross which attracted the attentions of Dayna Stevens, Tawharu and Lichtwark. The latter pair collided, with both needing treatment for cuts as a consequence, that to Lichtwark's chin an extremely difficult one to address. The physio did a superb job tidying things up in the circumstances, leaving the 'keeper with a rather eye-catching collar-like bandage as a souvenir to wear throughout the remainder of the contest. This five-minute spell, and the severity of Lichtwark's facial wound, sobered up the atmosphere, play eventually resuming with a corner, as Rosie Wild had cleared the loose ball off the line before play was brought to a halt. Jane Barnett's delivery picked out the head of Claudia Bunge, whose header flashed over the bar and sparked a spell of concerted Northern pressure. More Barnett corners followed, with Maynard prominent in this period, but the closest to a goal was a Bernadette Goulding drive which rattled the fencing. Capital countered through Gregorius, whose deep-lying striker role allowed her to thread balls through for her fellow front-runners, one of whom was Michaela Robertson. Vosper's vital interception foiled this opening, with Bunge completing the clearance and sparking a Barnett-led counter-attack. Northern's captain duly threaded a pass through for Maynard, darting through the inside right channel. Lichtwark dashed off her line, but the Young Fern cheekily nutmegged the approaching 'keeper before scampering round her and steering home Northern's second goal of the game, in the 28th minute. Capital were reeling from this blow, and Loye, Milly McWhirter and Barnett combined to present them with something else to worry about two minutes later. The last-mentioned's twenty-yarder sizzled past the post. The visitors needed a response before the break, and Jefferies, via a free-kick, and Kennedy Bryant, with a thirty yard piledriver, attempted to provide it. Couchman was equal to their attempts, however, launching the ball downfield after the latter shot to spark a counter-attack in which Strom's under-hit back-pass gave Lichtwark another problem to worry about as she hurriedly cleared with Barnett closing fast. Capital kept on coming, however. In the 38th minute, Hahn and Katie Barrott linked with Robertson on the left. The pint-sized speedster got in behind Vosper and Hannah Mackay-Wright, only to be denied a goal by the approaching Couchman's save with her legs. Five minutes later, Gregorius won possession on half-way and raced down the right before targeting Robertson with a cross. Vosper intercepted, with the ball breaking kindly for Boobyer, who instantly let fly, but straight at Couchman. Another Capital raid earned a corner right on half-time, and it was from Gregorius' delivery that the next major incident in this match occurred, a sickening clash of heads which left Wild motionless on the ground and Vosper in all sorts of bother, and very audibly distressed.

Referee Wendy McNeely instantly blew the half-time whistle, and the injured duo were swiftly attended to. Wild was soon on her feet, but nursing a bang to the head which meant her day was done. Vosper was very much the worse for wear, however, having to be stretchered from the park after treatment, with calls for an ambulance having been made. The poor lass has only recently returned from concussion, but she's facing another spell on the sidelines after this collision, which left her with a large egg-sized swelling just above her left eyebrow. Much to everyone's amazement and relief, she was able to return to the ground late in the second half, having received treatment at the local Accident & Emergency outlet. But she will have the mother and father of black eyes to remember this one by, make no mistake! Capital hit the ground running in the second half - they had to, given the scoreline. Within seconds, Bunge had gifted possession to Jefferies, whose lofted ball through found Robertson raiding again, only for Couchman to again deny the striker. Loye led Northern's response, being denied by Lichtwark after Goulding made progress down the left, before Loye, Goulding and Stevens combined for Barnett's benefit, only for the speedster to drag her shot past the far post. Capital halved the deficit in the 53rd minute. Gregorius and Hahn worked a one-two before the former Football Fern fed Robertson. She slipped the sphere into the stride of Boobyer, who calmly steered home beyond the approaching figure of Couchman. 2-1 then, and the visitors with their tails up. There is nothing more deflating for a team in such circumstances than to concede a quick goal, and on the hour, that's what happened. Loye split the defence with a pass which allowed Barnett to beat the offside trap, and her lob of Lichtwark from thirty yards saw heads visibly drop in the Capital camp, the visitors now finding themselves 3-1 down with thirty minutes to play. Northern looked to exploit that despondency to the fullest, with McWhirter, Loye and Barnett combining with Tawharu in the 62nd minute. Had her shot beaten the outstretched leg of Lichtwark and found the net at this point in the match, Capital would have been gone for all money, but little did we know that their hopes had just taken a mortal blow, behind play. Following Lichtwark's save, the referee's attention was swiftly drawn to the prone figure of Barrott, who had apparently slumped to the ground with no-one near her some ten yards inside Capital's half. And she hadn't moved since. This episode brought the game to a standstill. With Barrott unconscious, there was no prospect of her being moved from the pitch - she would require St John's Ambulance treatment where she lay before another ball could be kicked in anger on QBE Stadium #3. Fortunately, QBE Stadium #4 was at hand, a multi-purpose pitch with markings to match. So the decision was made to transfer the match to the adjoining field, with some twenty-one minutes of running time having elapsed by the time play recommenced. Before any action of note had taken place on the new field, the encouraging sight of Barrott sitting up in response to treatment was a very welcome one for all present, but the sight of the ball nestling in Capital's net in the 71st minute meant this contest was now over bar the shouting. Sixty seconds prior to the clinching goal, Stevens and Tawharu worked a one-two outside the area which put the former in one-on-one with Lichtwark. The 'keeper somehow blocked the ball, with the fast-retreating figure of Strom thwarting Stevens' hopes of turning home the rebound. Her quest to become the outright leader in the Golden Boot stakes was not over, however. The resulting corner from Barnett wasn't cleared, allowing Tawharu to set up Stevens for a close-range finish. But did she come back from an offside position to apply the coup de grace? Lichtwark's protests were valid in this writer's eyes, but the goal stood - 4-1. Cue a flurry of substitutions, punctuated by a Bryant through ball which Robertson only just failed to latch onto before Couchman could gather it. Northern's 'keeper, ten minutes from time, sparked a move which featured Goulding and substitute Jess Oulaghan, who fired over a gorgeous cross which Maynard steered past the stranded figure of Lichtwark and the far post, much to Capital's relief. There was no respite from Northern, however, and with five minutes remaining, they wrapped up the scoring. McWhirter threaded a delicious pass through for Maynard to latch onto, and her measured cross allowed substitute Cara Lonergan to volley home her team's fifth goal of a dramatic afternoon's action. The newcomer could have had a second before the finish, with Bunge and Goulding combining for Lonergan's benefit. But the striker fluffed her lines, allowing Lichtwark to save easily. Soon after, the final whistle blew on this nigh on two-hour-long contest, leaving Capital to contemplate a premature conclusion to their campaign, as their conquerors kept their own play-off hopes alive thanks to this emphatic 5-1 win. But few who were at this match will forget why it set a new duration record for the National Women's League - after the incidents during the contest, the well-being of Katie Barrott, Saskia Vosper and Rosie Wild was uppermost in everybody's thinking, with the memory of all three lying prone on the turf not one which will easily be forgotten. Northern:     Couchman; Vosper (Klyn, 46), Mackay-Wright, Bunge, Goulding; Barnett (Gross, 78), McWhirter, Loye; Maynard, Tawharu (Lonergan, 78), Stevens (Oulaghan, 72) Capital:     Lichtwark; Grange, Wild (Fibbes, 46), Strom, Barrott (Morrissey, 64); Jefferies, Bryant (De Ronde, 77), Gregorius, Hahn; Boobyer, Robertson Referee:     Wendy McNeely