Labour Weekend sees the National Women's League reach its halfway mark with a double-header round of action. And as has been the case in the previous five rounds, there's no stopping Eastern Suburbs and Western Springs, who have now won all six matches they've played, on this occasion in quite convincing fashion. "The Lilywhites" trounced Auckland United 5-0 at William Green Domain, getting off to the perfect start when Nicole Cooper fired them in front just four minutes into the contest, her shot deflecting off a defender past Jesse Barnard. Nine minutes later, Cooper struck again, this time after Tayla O'Brien took on the United defence before setting up her team-mate, who injured herself in the process of finding the net, a feat O'Brien achieved halfway through the half after working an opening with Ella Findlay. Despite the best efforts of United captain Jess Philpot, who was immense in their rearguard despite what the scoreline suggests, Erinna Wong made it four ten minutes into the second spell, while O'Brien iced the cake with her tenth goal of the season five minutes from time. Auckland, who are already struggling with injuries, had their support crew attending to Maya Vince early in the second half - another injury setback for them to cope with! The return of their Young Ferns can't come quickly enough, as United were down to thirteen players for this match. Northern Rovers were similarly affected for their clash with Western Springs at Seddon Fields, but this time, it was a significant transfer which left them with just fourteen players on the team card, Michaela Foster having signed a scholarship arrangement with Wellington Phoenix during the week. They certainly missed her, as after a scoreless first half, throughout which "The Hoops" had been banging on the door to no avail, the home team prevailed 4-1 to maintain their perfect six from six start to the National Women's League season. The deadlock was deservedly broken by Emma Pijnenburg nine minutes after half-time, but the unmarked Kelli Brown equalised two minutes later, and was only denied a second by Lily Jervis' stunning last-gasp tackle halfway through the second spell. Ellen Blount pulled off a stunning save to keep out Arisa Takeda's twenty-five yard missile soon afterwards, but when the pair came face to face again eighteen minutes from time, this time with just twelve yards separating them, the goalkeeper was given no chance by the penalty taker.

"The Hoops" finished the game strongly, Georgia Brown - "The Comeback Kid", home again after travelling the globe fulfilling tennis-related activities - and Jess Innes, direct from a free-kick, wrapping up the scoring in what was a hard-fought affair. Referee Anna-Marie Keighley had the yellow card out four times in this contest, although it's arguably the one she didn't issue which had the biggest impact, Talisha Green's wild challenge on Maggie Pedersen in the thirteenth minute leaving the Springs player with a likely long-term knee injury. Those wins for the top two have seen them surge eight points clear of the chasing pack with eight games to play, and harsh reality alone suggests it's going to take something quite remarkable to prevent an "Easts meets Wests" Grand Final from taking place in mid-December. Saturday's fare saw reigning NWL champions Canterbury United Pride battle out a scoreless draw with last year's South Central champions Southern United at English Park, in stark contrast to the game at Massey University, where three goals were scored in the opening nine minutes as Capital Football eventually prevailed 4-2 over Central Football. Rebecca Otte gave the visitors the perfect start, scoring after just forty seconds, but Ashley Arquette had Central back on level terms by the third minute mark. She scored again on the stroke of half-time via a cross-shot in off the far post, but Capital had scored twice more in between times. Pip Coakley put through her own net while trying to clear a ninth minute cross to restore the visitors' lead, which was extended just shy of the half-hour mark by Renee Bacon, who was set up by Pepi Olliver-Bell, the scorer of the only second half goal, nine minutes after the interval. The teams do it all again on Labour Day, but this time at the home of their weekend rivals. Auckland welcome "The Lilywhites" to Keith Hay Park, while "The Hoops" cross the Harbour Bridge to visit Northern's McFetridge Park home. South Island pride is on the line at Logan Park as Southern entertains Canterbury, while Capital and Central lock horns at Petone Memorial Park. Details: Canterbury United Pride 0, Southern United 0 Central Football 2 (A. Arquette (3, 45)), Capital Football 4 (R. Otte (1), "oggie" (9), R. Bacon (28), P. Olliver-Bell (54))  HT 2-3 Eastern Suburbs 5 (N. Cooper (4, 13), T. O'Brien (22, 82), E. Wong (54)), Auckland United 0  HT 3-0 Western Springs 4 (E. Pijnenburg (54), A. Takeda (72 pen), G. Brown (86), J. Innes (90)), Northern Rovers 1 (K. Brown (56))  HT 0-0