Hibiscus Coast's recent close calls, in which they endured narrow Lotto Northern Premier Women's League defeats to Auckland United and West Coast Rangers, were cast aside on the last Sunday in May as they stunned Kate Sheppard Cup holders Western Springs 4-2 at Stanmore Bay Reserve. Danica Urlich-Beech was the star turn for "The Coasters", netting her second hat-trick of the season to inspire a victory in which Hannah Gray also scored for Asher Trotter's charges just before half-time. Kitty Jacob and Rina Hirano netted for "The Hoops", for whom this was a fifth successive defeat - May has been a month best forgotten from Maia Vink's perspective, their form slump seeing Springs fall well behind in the race for a top-four spot, with the halfway mark in the league campaign soon to be upon us. They lie five points adrift of Fencibles United, who began the day in third spot but were leapfrogged by Eastern Suburbs after Sofia Garcia's eighth minute goal settled a keenly contested East Auckland derby at Madills Farm. That result allowed the top two to further extend their advantage over the rest as both carried on their winning ways in contrasting fashion. Leaders Auckland United swept Hamilton Wanderers aside 6-0 at Porritt Stadium, where Abbey Venmore's early "oggie" set the tone for another day at the office best forgotten for "The Blue Army". Chloe Knott and Charlotte Roche helped themselves to double-strikes for United, for whom Talisha Green potted a penalty on the half-hour as the champions of Oceania continued their unbeaten start to 2024. Former United star Bree Johnson was the heroine for West Coast Rangers at Michaels Avenue, her hat-trick leading the visitors to a 4-3 win over an Ellerslie side which scored twice inside the last ten minutes as they set up a grandstand finish when a convincing defeat had been on the cards.

Johnson's treble was supplemented by Shannon Henson's tenth goal of the campaign as Rangers stayed on United's coat-tails, with Anita Trudgen, Laney Strachan and Leigh Aitken all chiming in for "The Ponies", who've dropped to seventh place following this defeat. Attention turns to the Kate Sheppard Cup on King's Birthday weekend - seems odd typing that after we've known it as Queen's Birthday for so long - with "The Coasters" kicking things off at Bill McKinlay Park on Friday night as they take on Uni-Mount Bohemian Celtic. The all-Premier League clash between Fencibles and Rangers takes pride of place at noon on Saturday at Riverhills Park, while that twixt Hamilton and Suburbs starts an hour later at Porritt Stadium. Ellerslie and Springs face challenging ties at Birkenhead United (Shepherds Park) and Tauranga Moana (Links Avenue) respectively on Saturday, while Auckland wrap things up on Monday afternoon when taking on Cambridge at Keith Hay Park. The other northern region ties see Franklin United and Waikato Unicol locking horns at the Drury Sports Complex on Saturday, while in an all-Championship affair, Northern Rovers and Onehunga Sports square off on Sunday at McFetridge Park. Details: Eastern Suburbs 1 (S. Garcia (8)), Fencibles United 0  HT 1-0 Ellerslie 3 (A. Trudgen (29), L. Strachan (82), L. Aitken (89)), West Coast Rangers 4 (B. Johnson (19, 44, 49), S. Henson (57))  HT 1-2 Hamilton Wanderers 0, Auckland United 6 ("oggie" (6), C. Knott (16, 41), C. Roche (21, 68), T. Green (30 pen))  HT 0-5 Hibiscus Coast 4 (D. Urlich-Beech (18, 29, 88), H. Gray (44)), Western Springs 2 (K. Jacob (24), R. Hirano (82))  HT 3-1