Western Springs maintained their strong start to the National Women's League on September 29, comfortably accounting for Ellerslie by a 3-0 scoreline at Seddon Fields, with the home team having three further goals ruled out by the offside flag. It took "The Hoops" - sporting a rarely seen 4-2-4 formation at the start of the contest - just 170 seconds to open their account for the evening, Sammi Tawharu feeding Liz Savage, who evaded a challenge before sending an unerring twenty-yarder flying past Petra Wedlake and into the bottom far corner of the net. "The Ponies" were stunned by this early setback, and never really recovered. Jess Innes spread play wide to Sofia Garcia in the eighth minute, with the league's leading markswoman side-stepping a challenge before delivering a delicious angled ball into the goalmouth which lit up the eyes of both Tawharu and Savage. In between them, however, was Anita Trudgen - her timely clearance was vital from Ellerslie's perspective. The resulting corner was taken by Megan Lee, and was missed by Wedlake, much to the amazement of Lily Taitimu, who somehow contrived to head the ball over the bar from four yards with an open goal in front of her. Still Springs pressed, Garcia galloping past two opponents before Tawharu took over. Her shot was parried skywards by Wedlake, the dropping ball only just going past the far post. But from the resulting corner, "The Hoops" doubled their lead, Lily Jervis volleying home Innes' pinpoint delivery to the far post - 2-0 with just twelve minutes on the clock. Springs' early pressure continued soon after, Jaedici Uluvili bringing the ball out of defence and igniting a move in which Tawharu and Savage combined with Garcia, who evaded a challenge before lashing a fifteen-yarder a yard over the bar. Ellerslie finally threatened as an attacking force in the seventeenth minute when Tayla Hawes sent "The Trudgen Express" down the left flank. The overlapping fullback got the better of Jervis  before driving into the penalty area and unleashing a shot which Mickey Mitchell turned round her near post, the goalkeeper then doing well to paw out Cilla Fa'afua's resulting corner. Back came Springs, Tiana Hill - she had a fine game - sending Savage through the offside trap on the right. Her whipped cross was blocked by Courtney Beale, but no one sporting a hooped shirt could capitalise on the opening. Seconds later, Kimberley Oosterbeek's vital tackle denied Savage as she charged once more towards goal. In the 28th minute, Innes' lobbed pass found Savage haring through once more. Wedlake raced off her line to challenge the striker, who went down in the challenge. Referee Sarah Jones saw no offence, so Springs pressed again. Savage played in Tawharu, who, with a lob on, opted to return the ball to the former Football Fern, who promptly brought Garcia into play. She worked a one-two with Innes before drawing a save from Wedlake, who looked on with relief in the 33rd minute as Lee's volleyed finish from Tawharu's lofted pass was ruled out by the offside flag. Ellerslie responded through Trudgen, her left flank raid culminating in a Fa'afua drive which Mitchell saved, diving to her left. The 'keeper sparked an instant counter-attack which saw Tawharu thwarted by Wedlake's smothering save. Six minutes before half-time, Savage was on manoeuvres again, with Lee and Garcia making diagonal runs ahead of her. The latter was the option chosen, but her touch failed her at the vital moment, allowing Wedlake to clear her lines. Ellerslie's 'keeper then denied Savage's twenty yarder before sparking a "Ponies" counter-attack which saw Britney Cunningham-Lee's cross-field ball find Beale racing up in support. Her cross was spilled by Mitchell, who swiftly regathered the sphere before Fa'afua could pounce on the opening.

Springs' custodian thwarted Trudgen soon afterwards, the attack-minded fullback having got past two opponents on the left before letting fly, while Mitchell was little troubled by a disappointing Cat Pretty free-kick struck from the edge of the 'D' in first half stoppage time, an effort Ellerslie really needed to see hit the back of the net to give them a boost for the second spell. The visitors had to score first after half-time if they harboured hopes of retrieving anything from this contest, and for much of the half they enjoyed the benefits of a brisk sou'wester at their backs, plus accompanying rain at times - spring has arrived, folks, make no mistake! And Springs were relishing the fact. Three minutes after play resumed, Celia Mayo and Innes combined with Garcia on the left. Her delivery into the goalmouth wasn't dealt with, but as Savage stole in to capitalise, Oosterbeek came to the rescue for "The Ponies", while Wedlake dealt with two attempts from Lee to increase "The Hoops"' advantage before the hour mark had passed. In the 63rd minute, the home team went 3-0 up, Garcia ghosting in on the far post to tuck the ball home after fine work by Tawharu on the right had culminated in a delicious cross through the corridor of uncertainty which found Ellerslie's defence wanting. Maia Lythe had entered the fray seconds earlier, and she wasted little time in getting up to speed. In the 68th minute, she invited Savage to evade a challenge en route into the penalty area, where she went down under another challenge - as in the first half, referee Jones saw no reason to point to the spot, and she was far better placed to make the call on this occasion. Ellerslie's counter-attack forced a corner, which saw Fa'afua's delivery cleared off the line by the far post by Innes. This sparked a Springs counter-attack in which Tawharu and Garcia worked a one-two around the penalty area before the former age-grade international's low drive was smothered to her left by Wedlake. Pretty and Innes exchanged twenty-five yard attempts soon afterwards - Mitchell saved the former's effort - before Springs went desperately close to netting a fourth goal fourteen minutes from time. Tawharu and Lythe teamed up with the overlapping Hill, whose sumptuous cross found Mayo flying in beyond the last defender, the fullback's downward header being saved well at the foot of her right-hand post by Wedlake. Back came Ellerslie, Pretty leading the charge in a four-on-two raid before inviting Fa'afua to let fly. Mitchell's parried save once again frustrated the visitors, as did her stoppage time denial of Kat Gow's shot on the turn, seconds after Pretty had thundered a twenty-five yarder narrowly over the crossbar. Inside the final five minutes, Hill featured at both ends of the park, a stunning tackle stopping Cunningham-Lee in her tracks on the edge of Springs' penalty area before the former age-grade international saw her cross-shot grabbed by Wedlake, who was saved by offside calls on two occasions in the dying minutes of the contest, with both Garcia and Lythe denied goals as Springs looked to increase their winning margin. 3-0 was their lot, however, a result which sees "The Hoops" maintaining their perfect start to the campaign, in stark contrast to "The Ponies", whose two defeats to date were not how they had hoped to mark the start of their maiden National Women's League season. Springs:     Mitchell; Hill, Jervis, Uluvili (Carmichael, 89), Mayo; Taitimu, Innes (Jacob, 74); Lee (Lythe, 62), Savage (Morrison, 74), Tawharu, Garcia Ellerslie:     Wedlake; Beale (Barclay, 86), Oosterbeek, Hawes, Trudgen; Davison (Braga, 71), Pretty, Leona (Pastiroff, 86); Godha (Gow, 62), Cunningham-Lee, Fa'afua (Mosca, 86) Referee:     Sarah Jones