With the top two placings in the Northern Premier Women’s League having been sewn up by Lynn-Avon United and Three Kings United, the race is on for third place in the competition, and the clash of the two contenders on July 18 saw Eastern Suburbs leapfrog Glenfield Rovers into third place after downing the previous incumbents 3-1 at a windswept Madills Farm. The visiting team’s arrival in their traditional yellow-shirted playing kit presented a problem debutant - and consistently performed - NPWL referee Wayne Scott didn’t really need as he battled with his own pre-match nerves, as it directly clashed with Eastern Suburbs’ colours. To overcome the issue, Rovers donned Suburbs’ training bibs for the duration, but this was a minor inconvenience compared to enduring the burden of a good old-fashioned sou’wester in their faces throughout the first half, with their opponents keen to make good the advantage presented by what was effectively a two-goal wind at their backs every step of the way. Suburbs were quick to try and make the elements work in their favour, but it was Rovers who had the first chance of the match, only for Ginny Tan to stand her ground well as Gillian Thurlow bore down on goal with just the ‘keeper to beat. The home team’s response was to pepper Glenfield’s goal with an array of long-range efforts, Tarena O’Neill responsible for most of the early ones. But Rovers’ ‘keeper, Misty Lee, dealt capably with these attempts, as she did with Rebecca Tegg’s first “sighter” on goal, her fourteenth minute effort being the culmination of a bullocking run down the right wing which saw her evade the clutches of three opponents. Two minutes later, Tegg had better luck with an opportunistic effort, although she didn’t know a thing about it!! Kimberley Lewis headed a clearance down to O’Neill, who evaded a challenge before letting fly with a twenty-five yard piledriver. Lee could only look on as the ball arrowed past her, only to cannon back into play off the post. Tegg reacted instantly, darting into the penalty area to meet the ball at full stretch and direct a shot goalwards. The striker wasn’t even looking as Lee got her hands to the ball, only to divert it into the bottom corner of the net for the game’s opening goal. How Melanie Gooch failed to double that advantage twice inside a thirty-second spell four minutes later defies belief. She was provided with a telling pass - O’Neill and Marlies Oostdam the sources of supply on each occasion, but her woeful finishing smacked of a striker well down on confidence - the second opportunity, in particular, appeared far easier to score than to miss. But score she didn’t. Still Suburbs pressed, a delightful piece of control by Lewis resulting in a pass into space for Tegg to take advantage of. Her shot on the turn stung the gloves of Lee, who, following a period of Rovers’ possession which lacked the penetration to match, was called into action in the 34th minute to smother a Melanie Hansen drive, after the overlapping full-back had been played through by the increasingly dominant figure of Oostdam. Despite this being just her second game in the last year, during which she’s been cruising the Caribbean as a ship’s purser on board a passenger liner, the one-time New Zealand international has lost none of the classy touches, silky skills and steely resolve she developed and refined during her years at Eden and Three Kings in the 1990s. One would dread to think what a dangerous proposition she would be if fully match-fit! In a country desperately short of international quality naturally left-footed soccer players, Oostdam would be a near-certainty for a recall to the national side, such was her influence in this match - the Player of the Day award was a no-contest! Indeed, she came desperately close to crowning her display with a goal late in the first half. After Tegg had turned smartly and artfully dribbled through a four-

player maze before running out of room in which to manoeuvre, two curling free-kicks from Oostdam had Glenfield breathing huge sighs of relief, the ball narrowly clearing the far post then hitting the top of the crossbar in the 37th and 38th minutes. The visitors could have finished the half on level terms, after Thurlow had broken through a tackle from Lewis. The seasoned campaigner fired a cross over for Lauren Roberts, who was thwarted by Tan’s save at the substitute’s feet seconds before the half-time whistle. The impressive Mary-Lou Hendriks thrice thwarted Tegg with telling challenges in the opening stages of the second spell, as Suburbs kept the ball low to counter the prevailing gusts, and after Lewis had denied Thurlow with a timely tackle at the other end of the park, the home team doubled their advantage in the 52nd minute. And how! Oostdam’s corner was cleared to the edge of the area, where O’Neill was lurking with intent aplenty. The former Waikato midfielder unleashed a bullet of a volley which soared into the top right-hand corner of Lee’s net, the ‘keeper beaten all ends up by a stunning strike. Rovers now had a mountain to climb, but they didn’t make the most of conditions which were now very much to their advantage. Possession, with the wind behind them, was plentiful, but their use of it was poor, and with Oostdam tackling like a demon in midfield, Lewis and Janet Groves, at the heart of Suburbs’ defence, snuffed out the bulk of the visitors’ threatening raids. The hard-working Thurlow was left to vainly chase far too many lost causes - she deserved far better service than that afforded her, although the supporting runs offered by Kura Richards and, in particular, Stacy O’Hara, were some consolation. On the handful of occasions that Rovers found a way through, luck went against them. A 54th minute corner from Allison Pratt resulted in Suburbs’ goalmouth taking on all the elements of a pinball machine in full working order, as the sphere cannoned hither and yon at helter-skelter pace. The home team survived this scare, and after Tan had capably dealt with efforts from Thurlow and Richards, they survived another, fifteen minutes from time. Thurlow, inevitably, was at the heart of this move, creating something out of nothing by splendidly evading two challenges before firing in a cross. Suburbs, for once, failed to clear their lines, but neither Richards nor Pratt was in close enough proximity to the ball to punish Bobbie Moore’s inefficiency. Thurlow promptly thundered onto the scene, and as her colleagues looked on, applied the striker’s golden rule when confronted with such situations - “put the ball in the net, and we’ll discuss the other options afterwards!!” Unfortunately for Rovers’ leading striker, the post put paid to that plan on this occasion. This let-off sparked an upturn in Suburbs’ fortunes, and after the full-of-running Stacy Fraser and Tegg had both chanced their arm into the wind at the other end of the park, the latter clinched the points for the home team four minutes from time, beating Lee all ends up in a one-on-one situation with an early shot on the run. Rovers’ response was to pull a goal back straight from the kick-off, and guess who led the charge? Thurlow rampaged down the left and fired in a cross which Richards rammed home from eight yards, but it was too little, too late for Glenfield, Suburbs usurping them in third place on the back of this deserved 3-1 triumph. Suburbs: Tan; Moore, Groves, Lewis, Hansen (Hemming); Vincent, O’Neill, Oostdam, Fraser (Gerrard); Tegg, Gooch (McLeod) Glenfield: Lee; Ebbett, M. Hendriks, Hogg (J. Hendriks), Greenall; Perkins, Pratt, Buchanan (Roberts), O’Hara; Thurlow, Richards Referee: Wayne Scott