Western Springs maintained their bid for successive National Women's League Grand Finals on November 5, downing Canterbury United Pride 4-2 at Seddon Fields as the competition heads towards a thrilling climax, with four teams in contention for the Grand Final berths. Charlotte Mortlock and Jess Innes exchanged shots on goal inside the first five minutes of this encounter before the visitors' prime attacking threat was unleashed at pace down the left. Lara Wall broke out of defence before sending Aimee Phillips off on a storming run down the flank. Past two she powered before penetrating the penalty area with a cross for Nicola Dominikovich, whose progress was halted by a superbly timed Arisa Takeda tackle - a split-second either way and this would have been a stonewall penalty. Phillips was in full flight again in the eleventh minute, the outcome of her enterprise a thirty yarder from Whitney Hepburn which Mickey Mitchell grabbed gratefully, a feat she would repeat six minutes later to keep out a Chloe Bellamy piledriver. In between these attempts, however, "The Hoops" had opened the scoring with a quite superb move. Lara Colpi, who had a whale of a game, ignited a rat-a-tat interchange of passes which also featured Jaedici Uluvili, Takeda, Innes and Sammi Tawharu, who spread play wide to the overlapping Tiana Hill. Her terrific angled low cross found Sofia Garcia stealing in on the blindside of the defence to tuck the ball home from close range on the quarter hour - marvellous play, duly rewarded, and not the first time "The Hoops" have dismantled opponents in this manner in recent weeks, as Eastern Suburbs can well testify. Buoyed by the goal, Springs pressed again in the eighteenth minute, Garcia leading the charge this time with a delightful first touch before switching play to Tawharu. Her cross found Colpi flying in, but Una Foyle did enough to avert the initial danger before grabbing the ball at the second attempt. Seconds later, she was fishing the ball out of her net for a second time, as the home team doubled their advantage. Lainey Altieri-Need directed a pass straight to Takeda. Tawharu was swiftly brought into play before Colpi was sent hurtling through the heart of the Canterbury rearguard. The exposed figure of Foyle hadn't a prayer of preventing the scoreline from doubling. Within three minutes, it had been halved, ponderous play by Lily Jervis being punished by Canterbury's attack. Dominikovich closed her down, Phillips pounced on the loose ball and presented Bellamy with a buffet ball - "Help yourself!" She feasted in style - 2-1. A bit of an arm wrestle for supremacy ensued after this, Wall looking to lead from the front for Canterbury via a powerful run from deep which culminated in her thundering a fiercely struck angled drive across the face of goal in the 28th minute. Garcia led Springs' response eight minutes later, racing clear down the left before cutting in and letting fly, only to be "Foyled" (sorry!) at the near post by the goalkeeper's fine save. From Colpi's resulting corner, Hill picked out Lily Taitimu with a cross which she laid off into Garcia's stride. The league's leading markswoman lashed her shot over the top from twelve yards. Five minutes before half-time, Bellamy stripped Hill of possession in the centre circle and promptly delivered a sumptuous chipped pass into the stride of Anna McPhie, steaming through the middle from deep. With just Mitchell to beat, she was odds-on to score and bring United level, but the 'keeper produced a fine blocking save - 2-1 to Springs it remained. Back came the home team two minutes later, Takeda evading a couple of challenges before threading a pass through for Ela Jerez to exploit. Foyle raced out to clear the danger, but only succeeded in finding Hill, who let fly with a

steepling lob which the retreating goalkeeper grabbed greedily in the shadows of her crossbar. Before the interval, Foyle was right behind a shot from Colpi, while Garcia was left to ruminate on what might have been with the final chance of the half, one in which she scooted through the middle into the penalty area, outpacing Altieri-Need en route, only to present the approaching figure of Foyle with a low shot to smother when a deft chip of the advancing custodian would almost certainly have brought greater reward. The battle for supremacy resumed in the second spell, McPhie releasing Wall down the left in the 47th minute. Her low cross careered through the corridor of uncertainty, with Mitchell more than a little nervous as she looked on, anticipating the worst. Alas for United, their captain's cross went unrewarded. Springs' response saw Uluvili intercept a pass and send Colpi careering through the inside right channel into the penalty area, where Foyle dashed out to save at her feet. Canterbury's 'keeper then produced a fine save to tip a twenty-yarder from Jerez over the bar after more good work by Taitimu at the conclusion of a spell in which the visitors had held the upper hand. Any hopes Canterbury harboured of getting something from the game were dashed in a six-minute spell halfway through the second half. Innes played the ball wide to Takeda in the 65th minute, from where she delivered a cross with which Garcia just failed to connect. Tawharu was racing in behind her, however, and retrieved the ball before, from the by-line, pulling it back into the stride of Jerez, who, from six yards, slammed the sphere into the roof of the net - 3-1. United were still reeling from this blow when Colpi pulled the trigger two minutes later, a twenty-yarder which flew inches over the bar with Foyle flying in vain in an effort to avert the threat. The 'keeper was right behind Taitimu's twenty-five yarder soon afterwards, prompting a Canterbury counter-attack which saw substitute Jayda Stewart's cross volleyed over the far post by Dominikovich. Springs stormed straight down the other end and made the game safe, a 71st minute attack which culminated in Colpi careering through the inside left channel before despatching an unerring finish beyond Foyle and into the far corner of the net. Trailing 4-1 with nineteen minutes remaining, there was no way back for the Cantabrians, something Jerez looked to emphasise five minutes later. Receiving a pass from Colpi, she took on all-comers before lashing an eighteen-yarder narrowly past the post. Only a fine covering run by Jasmine Barney prevented fellow substitute Rhee Morrison from racing through to further increase Springs' advantage, to which United responded via Stewart, who sent a shot narrowly over the bar. Back came Springs, Jervis' flying headed attempt just failing to make contact with Colpi's free-kick in the dying minutes. But the visitors weren't done for, and with the last kick of the game, Dominikovich despatched their second goal of the contest past late goalkeeping substitute Keely Taylor after the indefatigable McPhie and Stewart had combined to prise open the home team's rearguard. Springs' win keeps them in a three-way tie for second place with Southern United and their next opponents, Auckland United. All three are two points behind leaders and reigning champions Eastern Suburbs with two rounds to play - it really is as tight as tight could be! Springs:     Mitchell (Taylor, 86); Hill, Jervis, Uluvili (Dunn, 80), Takeda; Colpi, Taitimu (Morrison, 80), Innes; Jerez, Tawharu (Lee, 69), Garcia (Mayo, 69) Canterbury:     Foyle; Altieri-Need (Barney, 46), Firth, Fisher, Wall; McPhie, Hepburn (Stewart, 68), Mortlock (Keogan, 46); Bellamy (Evans, 68), Dominikovich, Phillips (Nicholson, 68) Referee:     Beth Rattray