A superbly taken goal six minutes from time by Eastern Suburbs teenage “supersub”, Rebecca Brown, fired her team to a 3-2 victory over Western Springs in a vibrant Northern Premier Women's League encounter at Seddon Fields on June 11. In a nowadays rare morning encounter - the idea of split kick-off times, allowing patrons the chance to see two games, is one this scribe wholeheartedly (and unsurprisingly!) endorses - Suburbs got off to the proverbial flyer, Penny Chapman being forced to paw away a Natalie Davies drive just one hundred seconds into the clash. Four minutes later, Suburbs were in front. Amy MacLeod played the ball wide to Marlies Oostdam on the left, and the New Zealand international powered past Lucy Thompson before firing an inviting cross into the goalmouth. Chapman, who had been assured in dealing with a few crosses prior to this one, inexplicably fumbled this delivery, and Rebecca Tegg swooped to turn home her ninth goal of the season. Springs were shell-shocked by this early setback, and took an age to recover from it. While they did, they stoically held out opponents who enjoyed plenty of possession and territorial advantage, but weren't able to make it count as their young opponents - particularly Hannah Valentine and Sarah Nelson - refused to yield in the face of adversity. Gradually, the home team began to recover their composure, and the first sign that they were going to be something other than a runner's chance in this match came in the nineteenth minute, when Annabell Bramwell - super game! - intercepted a pass and released the lively Holly Jones down the left. The striker skipped past Janet Groves before shooting at Ginny Tan. After grabbing a Tegg header on the half-hour, Chapman launched the ball downfield quickly, looking to catch Suburbs short in defence. The ploy worked, with Jones finding herself in yards of space with just Tan between her and the equaliser. The goalkeeper was quickly taken out of the equation as Jones slipped a shot past her, and the effort was in for all money until Lily Somerfield came seemingly from a hole in the ground to produce a stunning goal-line clearance - it capped a brilliant recovering run by the fullback, who is gracing the Premier League once more after a spell abroad. After Melanie Gooch had been denied a headed goal by the offside flag, seconds after executing a poor shot at goal which did scant justice to the quality of Sandee Hui's sublime through ball, the striker got goal-side of Nelson when released by Tegg in the 37th minute. Chapman smothered her effort. Jones then enjoyed two opportunities to level the scores in the next two minutes, dispossessing Groves in the penalty area before firing wide, then evading Vicki Chong with a turning circle of “Queen Mary II” proportions before lashing a twenty-yarder at Tan. Springs' breakthrough was at hand, however, and came via the goal-hungry Leah Tagaloa. The young striker had enjoyed little change from the street-smart Chong in the first half, but when Bramwell and Jones combined on the right, and the latter's cross created confusion between Groves and Tan, Tagaloa's goal-poaching instincts were instantly to the fore, the eighteen-year-old sliding in to squeeze home the equaliser. It was just reward for Springs' efforts to get back into the match, but it would have been very hard on Suburbs had the home team gone to the break leading by the odd goal in three. That threat was averted in stoppage time, when the same trio who combined for the equaliser looked to link again. On receipt of Bramwell's pass, Jones evaded Groves and whipped in a cross for Tagaloa, off whose head Tan plucked the ball to ensure parity. Suburbs began the second half in similar fashion to their initial first half showing - in top form, Oostdam particularly. Ever-dangerous from set-pieces, the “Dutch Destroyer” took full advantage of Springs' failure to clear her 51st minute corner by unleashing a blistering drive through a throng of players from the edge of the penalty area. Chapman knew precious little about it, and it was sheer instinct which prompted her to flick the goalbound ball onto the crossbar - a brilliant stop. Springs scrambled clear, and were soon hot on attack

Rebecca Brown Leah Tagaloa Marlies Oostdam Annabell Bramwell Vicki Chong

themselves. Nelson robbed half-time substitute Stacey Fraser and unleashed the Jones-Bramwell combination once more. This time, it was the midfielder who took centre stage, cunningly deceiving an opponent with a clever feint before curling a twenty-yarder goalwards. Tan, initially unsighted, recovered well to save low to her right. In the 57th minute, Suburbs took the lead through a most unlikely source. Oostdam goals aren't exactly rarities, but the reason for her unbridled ecstasy on this occasion was a real collector's item - the first she has ever scored with her head, a result of climbing high at the near post to nod home Tegg's flick, following a throw-in. There was no wiping the smile off her face afterwards, understandably so. From Springs' perspective, it was another setback, and meant they had to do what they'd done before all over again. Before they had the chance to do so, however, Suburbs introduced another reason for concern among the unsuspecting home faithful. Fourteen-year-old Rebecca Brown is one of the exciting young starlets who featured in the Auckland age-grade championship-winning teams of 2004 (U-14s) and 2005 (U-16s). As well, her introduction to senior level soccer has been well nurtured by Eastern Suburbs' coach, Sue Taylor, who well knew that a game such as this one, against similarly youthful opponents, was tailor-made for the talents of “Little Bex”, so nicknamed to avoid confusion with Rebecca Tegg, Suburbs' skipper. She wasn't wrong, Brown signalling her intentions within four minutes of entering the fray with a rasping shot on the turn which had Chapman scrambling. Back came Springs seconds later, Jesse Verdon and Katherine Robinson breaking down the left before the latter crossed for Tagaloa. Oostdam, who began on the left wing, switched to the right flank, then briefly appeared in a goalscoring front-running role before reverting to central midfield, came hurtling back to thwart the danger. Fraser then rattled the side-netting before Tegg smashed a twenty-yarder wide of the mark on receipt of Fraser's pass, as Suburbs sought a third goal. But Springs wanted a second equaliser just as much, and in the 73rd minute, came close to realising it. Tagaloa was brought down by Groves, but referee Nigel Frost played a great advantage to allow substitute Rosie White the run of the right flank. The Springs' replacement slipped the ball inside to Bramwell, who lashed her shot over the bar. Five minutes later, she made amends for this blemish on her sound display with a peach of a through ball. There was a hint of offside as Tagaloa thundered through Suburbs' square back-line to latch onto the ball, and the striker coolly rounded the stranded figure of Tan before despatching her second goal of the game into an empty net - 2-2, and a grandstand finish to a highly entertaining game between two teams, neither of whom deserved to lose, just around the corner. Six minutes to play, and said finish duly materialised. Hesitant Springs defensive work was mercilessly punished by the prowling figure of Brown, who burst between the startled figures of Nelson and Valentine before surging clear to deftly curl her effort beyond the flailing arms of Chapman and into the top far corner of the net. 3-2 Suburbs, and this time there was no way back for the hat-trick-hunting Tagaloa and her team-mates, Brown's body-blow having knocked the spring out of Springs' step, so much so that the visitors came close to adding a fourth goal in stoppage time. And again, it was the “supersub” who was looking to apply the coup de grace, “Little Bex” this time working a one-two with her senior namesake, Tegg, before forcing Chapman to make the last save of this thrilling mid-table encounter at the foot of her near post. Springs:     Chapman; Thompson (White, 70), Nelson, Valentine, Verdon; Binning (Edgerton-Bachmann, 64), Wood, Bramwell, Robinson (Drumm, 87); Tagaloa, Jones Suburbs:     Tan; Hui, Groves, Chong (Glenton, 84), Somerfield; McLeod, MacLeod (Brown, 62), Davies, Oostdam; Gooch (Fraser, 46), Tegg Referee:     Nigel Frost