Onehunga Sports came from behind to down Western Springs 3-2 at Seddon Fields in a lively Lotto Northern Premier Women's League encounter on 16 August, a match which included two own goals and no little lack of commitment in attack. We had just five minutes to wait for the opening goal of the game, and it was a real collector's item, one which you would never expect Rebecca Rolls to concede. Kirsty Hayr's back-pass appeared to pose little threat to the former Football Ferns 'keeper, but just as Rolls was shaping to clear it, the ball bounced over her foot and rolled on into the empty net behind her … you had to see it to believe it! Buoyed by that early goal, and knowing that victory would secure their Premier League status for another season, "The Hoops" looked to build on their early advantage, and only a fine parried save by Rolls prevented Maggie Pederson from picking out the top far corner of the net on the quarter hour, after an Arisa Takeda corner hadn't been dealt with by "The Green Machine"'s rearguard. Sports offered their first attacking threat five minutes later, Nina Feliciano spurning a great chance to equalise when shooting straight at Nadia Olla, having been played through by the lion-hearted Sophie Stevenson, who had a storming game in attack for the visitors. Particularly in the 22nd minute, when she pounced on a stray Sophia Dyer pass and sent Feliciano scampering clear on the left. She dummied one defender, but her subsequent shot was going wide until it ricocheted off the retreating figure of Tayla O'Brien and flew past Olla high into the net - 1-1, and another own goal, so quite how referee Sarah Jones saw fit to credit the goal to Feliciano only she can explain. Let's just say the official didn't have a good night at the office - there was far too much of the people-pleasing Mrs Jones on display, and not enough of a FIFA official on top of her game, doing her job properly. About which, more shortly. Springs sought to restore their advantage, Jade Morrissey's deft lob over the defence inviting Rina Hirano to dash through on goal, only for Rolls to dash off her line and flick the ball away from her in the 26th minute. Six minutes later, Olla grabbed a Hayley Bilk free-kick and instantly released Hirano at pace down the left, from where she cut inside and let fly. It takes some shot to beat Rolls from that range, and this wasn't it - the 'keeper was right behind it. Hirano featured in Springs' next raid of note, five minutes before half-time. Again it was down the left where she made in-roads, before over-hitting a cross which Morrissey did exceedingly well to chase down and direct back to Takeda. The fullback's teasing shot curled narrowly past the far post, while two minutes later, Hirano, despite Morrissey being in space to her right, opted for a solo raid at the Sports rearguard, only to run into the uncompromising figure of Hayr, who blocked the striker's shot soundly. Thus came to its conclusion a first half which saw both teams offering promise aplenty, but undoing much of their good work with errors galore, particularly with regard to the quality of passes and option-taking, which at times left a great deal to be desired. "It's not about the long ball or the short ball. It's about the right ball", said the legendary Bob Paisley many moons ago. The sooner our local footballers heed that message and consistently put it into practice, the better they will be, and the better the game will be as a consequence of their improved actions. The second spell saw both goals under threat before the hour mark. O'Brien lobbed an effort onto the roof of Sports' net following a partially cleared Takeda corner, to which the visitors responded via a delicious Katie Duncan pass into the stride of Annabelle Pakieto in the 54th minute, only for the flank player to send her cross fizzing behind the incoming figure of Stevenson at the near post. On the hour came a glorious chance for "The Hoops" to regain the lead, and it all started from a stray pass. Hirano pounced on it, wrong-footed half-time substitute Simone Boonekamp and scooted towards goal, with the defender in hot pursuit.

As Hirano entered the penalty area, Boonekamp came back at her, then tried again. On both occasions, Hirano remained on her feet, letting fly after the second attempt to fell her. Rolls parried the shot to safety, but as she did so, referee Jones blew her whistle and pointed to the penalty spot, Boonekamp's attempts to throw Hirano off-balance deemed sufficient to warrant the spot-kick as punishment for the denial of a goalscoring opportunity.   But where was the yellow card for the offender? Not forthcoming. Yet the same incident happens in another match, the player gets carded, and complaints about the consistency of the match officials abound. All because the efforts of the official doing their job properly in one match are undermined by one of their colleagues endeavouring to keep everyone happy in another … very frustrating. Not half as frustrating, at least to Springs' player-coach, Rebecca O'Neill, as the sight of her penalty beating Rolls all ends up, only to hit the post, ricochet towards the prone goalkeeper then rebound off her to safety. A successful effort would have seen Springs take a 2-1 lead. Instead, that pleasure was afforded Sports six minutes later. Freshly introduced substitute Jess Snell linked with Duncan, who touched the ball inside for Stevenson. She turned O'Brien superbly before picking her spot past Olla - due reward for a fine night's work by the striker, who at times played like a woman possessed. She put everything into this match. Snell spurned a great chance to increase "The Green Machine"'s lead five minutes later, slicing her shot wide of the mark after Hayr and Stevenson had combined to play her in. But the substitute swiftly made amends, outpacing Emma Phelps before slipping the ball inside to Stevenson, on the edge of the area. She somehow found a way past O'Brien and held off the recovering figure of Phelps in the act of shooting, only to see her effort fly past Olla and cannon to safety off a post. Sports were getting a head of steam up by now, and after Duncan got the better of Sophie Culpan, Stevenson was sent scampering through the inside right channel, only for her low cross for Feliciano to be cut out by the covering figure of Phelps. Still Sports pressed, Snell thwarted by covering defenders before seeing her shot blocked by Olla, who dashed off her line and appeared to fell Stevenson in a one-on-one situation in the 83rd minute. Referee Jones played the advantage, however, as the ball broke kindly for substitute Louise Cairns, who looked odds-on to fire home what would have been the clinching goal. O'Brien had other idea, however, and got back to block her goalbound effort to safety. "The Green Machine"'s incessant pressure finally paid dividends in the 89th minute. A Phelps clearance was cut out by Hayr, allowing Stevenson to lead another forward thrust. Substitutes Snell and Cairns swiftly got involved as they looked for an opening, which finally materialised for Sophie Bradley to batter home the game-clinching goal, finding the gap between Olla and her near post to make it 3-1. Springs' response was swift, and saw them reduce the deficit with the last kick of the game. Dyer's efforts throughout the season have deserved a goal, and she finally scored one - a cracker at that! Marauding down the left, she did Bilk a treat before cheekily chipping Rolls at her near post, the ball clipping the underside of the bar before finding the far corner of the net to leave Springs wondering what might have been had O'Neill scored her penalty in this compelling encounter, one Sports won by the odd goal in five. Springs:           Olla; Takeda, O'Brien, Phelps, Dyer; Pederson, Uluvili, O'Neill, Culpan; Hirano, Morrissey (O'Connell, 46) Sports:             Rolls; Bilk, McKay, Hayr, Oldfield; Bradley, Duncan, Rowse (S. Boonekamp, 46); Pakieto (Snell, 64), Stevenson (booked, 64), Feliciano (Cairns, 78) Referee:           Sarah Jones