Northern v Waikato-BOP 271116

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WOW!

by Jeremy Ruane

Northern Football's reign as National Women's League champions ended in dramatic fashion on QBE Stadium's Tigerturf pitch on November 27, as they bottled a two-goal lead in going down 3-2 to Waikato-Bay of Plenty, in what was a virtual cup final between the teams.

Both had to win. Northern's reward for collecting the three points would be home advantage in the Grand Final on December 11, given Capital Football and Canterbury United Pride, who surprisingly drew 1-1 earlier in the day with Central Football, were both on thirteen points - the win would take the title-holders to fifteen.

WaiBOP, on the other hand, had to win to join Canterbury and Central in a three-way tie at the top of the table, which would leave Northern on twelve points, and out of play-offs contention.

All to play for, then. But on the evidence of the first forty-five minutes, just one team was in contention.

How Northern weren't out of sight on the scoreboard by the interval will forever remain a mystery! They absolutely battered the visitors during the first half, so much so that a scoreline of at least 5-0 wouldn't have flattered the title-holders in the slightest, such was their superiority.

Their first goal materialised just six minutes into the contest, Katie Rood tucking home upon receipt of Liz Milne's ball inside due reward for consistent Northern pressure from the kick-off, despite the fact they were playing into a challenging wind.

Two minutes later, Rood and the overlapping Claudia Bunge linked up on the left, the fullback slipping the ball inside to Sammi Tawharu. She squared the ball into the stride of the completely unmarked figure of Milne, who, with just the advancing figure of Amanda Wilshier to beat, squeezed her shot inches past the post.

WaiBOP were reeling, while Northern were relentless. In the twelfth minute, a sumptuous move from one end of the field deserved better fate. Anna Leat, Milne and Nicole Stratford combined to pick out Rood on the left, near half-way.

The striker had dropped deep to receive, luring Kate Williams with her. But a sudden dummy by Rood left the fullback in no man's land, allowing Kate Loye, dashing through from midfield, the freedom of the left flank. She threaded a pass through to Jane Barnett, who spurned a great chance to double Northern' lead by steering her effort wide of the near post.

Three minutes later, Loye received the ball from Bunge, and promptly worked a one-two with Cat Pretty before weighting a delicious pass into the stride of Barnett. Wilshier raced off her line and blocked the shot well.

Still they pounded away, Catherine Bott this time joining in the fun. She linked up with Barnett on the right, whose cross found Rood lurking with intent in the goalmouth. She beat Wilshier all ends up with her shot, only for the ball to strike the post and rebound straight into the goalkeeper's grateful gloves.

When you see things like that happen, you begin to wonder if it's meant to be your day fortune-wise. Northern didn't let it bother them, because with their next attack, they doubled their lead.

Rood linked with Milne, who found herself one-on-one with Wilshier once more. The 'keeper blocked this effort, but the ball spilled loose behind Wilshier, who opted to try to tackle Milne, as she dashed onto it, rather than dive at the midfielder's feet. Once more the ball spilled loose, this time to Tawharu, who gleefully tucked home Northern's second goal just eighteen minutes into the match.

A rout appeared imminent, with Rood leading the charge. In the 21st minute, she produced some exquisite skill to leave three defenders, then two defenders, spellbound by a thirty-second spell of mesmerising close control at pace.

Had her team-mates been up to the task, a third goal would surely have resulted. As it was, Rood soon sparked another attack, this one resulting in Loye inviting Barnett to batter the ball goalwards.

Serena Murrihy blocked this shot, while Wilshier was right behind Barnett's next effort, a snapshot in the 24th minute, Northern's final shot in a sustained period of all-out attack which left WaiBOP battered, bruised and hanging on for dear life - if this had been a boxing bout, the referee would have stopped the fight by now!

It wasn't, however, and the visitors took full advantage of Northern's deserved breather to offer their first threat of note in the contest. Leanna Ryan raided down the left, evading three challenges before Bott brought an end to her solo charge with a timely tackle.

'Resistance? We can't be having that', appeared to be Northern's reaction to this incident, and sure enough, WaiBOP very swiftly found themselves fighting another rearguard action, as the home team bombarded their rivals throughout the rest of the half.

Rood switched the ball to Barnett, who worked a one-two with Loye before inviting Bott to batter one goalwards. Wilshier was right behind her thirty-yarder, unlike the next shot Northern fired in anger, ten minutes before half-time.

Barnett and Milne combined with Loye, who let fly with a shot which Wilshier felt was heading past the post. Her face, when the ball crashed against the upright and rebounded straight past her, was a picture!

Like all good strikers should, Rood was following in, with Williams covering her every stride. The aforementioned rebound ricocheted past the pair of them as well, and before Rood could retrieve the situation, Wilshier did so, saving at her feet.

After Rood unleashed a rising twenty-yarder which flashed narrowly over the bar, Loye played a short corner to Barnett, whose twenty yard missile was turned round the post by Wilshier.

Loye took another corner, and once more Barnett pulled the trigger. Murrihy once more stood firm - the defender was a rock for her side throughout this contest, and together with Wilshier, ensured WaiBOP were still in the contest come the half-time whistle.

Before it was blown, Rood treated all-comers to a brilliant solo raid at pace, with four defenders left trailing in her wake between the half-way line and the edge of the penalty area, from where she let rip. Wilshier's reflexes didn't fail her, the 'keeper tipping the ball onto the bar and over to bring the half to an enthralling close.

WaiBOP rang the changes at half-time, and had the pleasure of playing into the wind in the second spell. They made a bright beginning, with Chelsea Elliott signalling their intentions less than thirty seconds into the half.

While that effort was wayward, a mix-up between Tessa Berger and Bott two minutes later presented Ryan with the chance to surge through on goal. Leat

blocked this effort with her legs, but was beaten all ends up at her near post five minutes later as Ryan fired WaiBOP back into the contest, Elliott having turned Bott to release the speedster with a pass which allowed her to outpace Stratford before thrashing the ball home.

The goal stunned Northern, who, seconds before, had gone desperately close to increasing their lead. Bunge pounced on a Wilshier clearance and swept past two opponents to the by-line, from where she crossed to the far post, just beyond the reach of the incoming figure of Barnett.

After WaiBOP had pulled things back to 2-1, Northern resumed their first half bombardment, this time aided by a wind which allowed them to play the ball long. Berger, whose long-range special in the National Women's Knockout Cup Final on the stadium pitch will forever rank as one of the great cup final strikes, didn't hesitate to chance her arm from distance, but both she and Bott were denied by Wilshier.

This was after Berger had picked out Tawharu with a ball which allowed the striker to link up with Milne, who resumed her personal contest with Wilshier with a shot which the 'keeper tipped round the post in the 56th minute.

Cue the beginning of the raft of substitutions which do so much to break up the momentum of matches in this competition - this must be the planet's only elite (it's definitely not a development) league which allows five substitutions to be made!

Once the first batch of these had got up to speed, Northern attacked again, Tawharu sending Rood surging into the area en route to the by-line twenty minutes from time. From there, she picked out Barnett with a cross which invited the striker to check inside a defender and curl one inches past the far post.

Two minutes later, Rood slalomed through three more chances before going desperately close to scoring the third goal Northern were seeking. Barnett went closer still sixty seconds later, chipping Wilshier wonderfully only to see the ball hit the crossbar, bounce down onto the line, then bounce into the goalmouth.

WaiBOP rode their luck again ten minutes from time, with Saskia Vosper charging down the right before feeding Barnett, who set up Tawharu with just Wilshier to beat. From eight yards out, she poked the ball past the post.

Seconds later, Tawharu sliced her shot wide of the target after Arabella Maynard - her introduction for Rood moments earlier raised eyebrows - had been released by a Milne pass, even though the substitute was so far offside it wasn't funny.

Yet no flag was raised, so the home team played to the whistle. Had Tawharu scored, WaiBOP would have been seething, and with some justification, it must be said.

Northern, however, hadn't scored, despite repeated attempts - there had been a fair few efforts from distance unleashed, to no avail, as well as the more imaginative efforts described, the next one of which came to pass in the 83rd minute. Barnett worked one-twos with both Malia Steinmetz and Dayna Stevens before sending a twenty-yard chip over the bar.

The home team kept pressing, but WaiBOP stood firm, and in the 88th minute launched a counter-attack which turned the entire contest on its head. Katherine Robinson linked with half-time substitutes Sarah Krystman and Hannah Reid to bring the subdued Helen Arjomandi into play.

We are used to seeing Helen Collins, as she was known in her pre-marital days, running riot in attack, but in this match she was employed in a deep-lying midfield role, in part out of necessity, so dominant had Northern been in this area of the park.

On receipt of Reid's pass, Arjomandi looked up to see Ryan on the move, and promptly played the ball over the top for the speedster to dash onto. Through she charged before deftly lobbing the advancing figure of Leat … 2-2. Cat. Pigeons.

As things stood, the draw, while it meant Northern were now level on points with Canterbury and Capital, would still have been enough to see them host the Grand Final, their goal difference advantage the key, given head-to-head clashes between the trio were all square.

(And whoever introduced that daft means of deciding NWL standings - a single match between two teams taking priority over a season's toil against all-comers - has clearly been watching too many UEFA Champions League group matches!)

It wasn't enough for WaiBOP, however - the draw left them two points shy of the play-offs. Only a win was good enough … and they went for it! Within ninety seconds of equalising, Ryan was sent racing through once more, this time via a Krystman pass. But just as she was about to pull the trigger, Berger produced one of her trademark recovering tackles to avert the danger.

The result of her despairing efforts presented WaiBOP with a corner, as the game moved into stoppage time. Ryan took the set-piece, and picked out the head of Reid, who promptly picked out the far corner of the net … joy unconfined for the visitors, stunned disbelief for their hosts, who, having dominated the game, now found themselves trailing 3-2, with roughly three minutes still to play.

Straight from the kick-off, Northern rampaged downfield, Stratford now playing as a makeshift striker in this most dramatic of finales. And she it was who rammed the ball into the net seconds later, WaiBOP's ecstasy having swiftly turned to agony, then, within seconds, relief - the offside flag, earlier absent, now present, was their saving grace.

Northern's delight turned to dismay, but they kept on charging. Berger and Stevens linked up, with Barnett the beneficiary, the striker thrashing a shot through a crowded goalmouth towards the far corner of the net.

But Wilshier, despite seeing it late, dived to deny the home team once more, this time for the final time, for the final whistle, seconds later, confirmed this most unlikely of outcomes.

Waikato-Bay of Plenty, the underdogs who, just seven days ago, copped a 6-1 tanking from Canterbury, now join their conquerors in that match in the play-offs, having somehow survived a fearsome battering from Northern before striking twice at the death to end the season and the reign of the National Women's League champions.

Only one word accurately sums up the entire situation - WOW!

Northern: Leat; Bott (Vosper, 59), Berger, Stratford, Bunge (Steinmetz, 69); Loye, Pretty, Milne; Barnett, Tawharu (Stevens, 83), Rood (Maynard, 79)

WaiBOP: Wilshier; Williams (Reid, 46), Robinson, Murrihy; Golding (Rawnsley, 59), Cawte (Krystman, 46), Talbot (Rhein, 89), Arjomandi, Ryan; Elliott (Courtney-Tennent, 83), Gubb

Referee: Wendy McNeely

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