The sides that contested last year’s National Women’s League final, Canterbury United Pride and Auckland, are leading the way again after both continued on their winning ways this afternoon.

The Pride recorded their third comprehensive victory in succession after accounting for winless Central 7-0 while Auckland found the going much tougher against Southern United, finally claiming all three points thanks to a spectacular late winner.

Canterbury have been involved in the final of this competition in each of the past five years and are very much on track to repeat that feat after putting on yet another ruthless display. Remarkably, they have now scored 17 goals in their three games so far and are yet to concede at the other end.

With the Pride in such rampant form, the prospects of Central getting off the mark in Palmerston North this afternoon did not look promising and an upset seemed even less likely after just four minutes when a header rattled the bar and Amelia Abbott was on hand to tuck home the rebound for the visitors.

Fielding such an array of talent at Massey University, Canterbury hardly needed a helping hand but they were granted one anyway as the unfortunate Mackenzie Barry – who otherwise put in a superb shift – turned a corner into her own net soon after and the result was seldom in doubt from that point on.

Central did nearly get back into the contest on 25 minutes when Lydia Bamford struck the bar but it was 3-0 at half-time after Canterbury’s lead was extended by a well-placed Gabrielle Rennie header.

Another own goal, this time coming from Kate Watson, left Central four goals down early in the second half and the moment of the match was then produced just past the hour, Canterbury captain Annalie Longo showing her class with a stunning long-range strike to make it five.

A pair of substitutes completed the scoring late on as Cody Taylor and Jayda Stewart both found the net.

Worryingly for their title rivals, Pride coach Alana Gunn wasn’t satisfied with her side’s showing and feels there is more to come.

“If we’re looking at it over the three weeks, it was probably the lesser of those performances,” she said.

“We’re not really looking at scores at the moment but consistency and growth. We’ve got a lot to reflect on after today’s game because, in terms of our standards, we weren’t overly pleased with it. It was our first time on the road and you have to take that into consideration because maybe we’ve had it too sweet with our first two games both being at home.”

Gunn was happy with at least one aspect of the performance though.

“The goals were shared around today and we actually spent a good period of the week putting responsibility and ownership on set pieces. The fact that we scored three from the first three set pieces was really pleasing to see.”

Central team manager Donald Piper had no qualms about the result but, despite the heavy nature of the defeat, was proud of the way his young charges competed against some of the best players in the country.

“It’s clear the Pride are a class act and that was reflected in the result today,” he said.

“I think what we’ll take out of it is another 90 minutes of experience for such a young group, we had another four debutants out there today and, outside of the score, I do believe we acquitted ourselves very well. We’re just going to continue to develop our style and philosophy and try to impose that more on our opposition.”

It was a much different story in Dunedin where Southern were looking to extend their unbeaten run to three matches and Auckland were returning to action after a weekend off with the bye. The visitors did not appear rusty in the opening stages as they began brightly but they found themselves a goal down at the break after a keenly-fought first half.

A sizeable crowd had gathered in the main stand at Tahuna Park and they were on their feet just before the 20-minute mark when a good ball from the energetic Renee Bacon went in off Auckland’s Bianca Stiles for the third own goal of the day.

With the central defensive pairing of Mikaela Hunt and Kelsey Kennard proving hard to breach, Auckland were not able to get back on level terms until the hour as Sam Muirhead rifled a shot into the roof of the net from the edge of the area.

It looked like the points would be shared as the clock ticked deep into injury time but defending champions Auckland managed to take all three back north in dramatic fashion, Lucy Carter finding the top corner with an outstanding strike from a long way out to give her side an enjoyable plane ride home this evening.

“We were delighted to get back into it and get three points – it feels like we’re starting our season again,” coach Tracy Wrigley said.

“The game was very physically competitive and it became a bit of a fight. It felt like we stole the win in the end but, after quite an even first half, I felt we actually did deserve to pop in a goal in the second half – I think it was probably a fair result.”

Several Southern players did not train fully during the week due to illness and coach Ignacio Sande felt that took its toll in the closing stages.

“I think in the last 20 minutes we had a bit of a lack of energy and they managed to score in the last minute,” he said.

“To be honest, I’m very happy with the team and the performance but this happens sometimes. We know Auckland are a good side and they scored two great goals so we can only congratulate them and look at what we can improve on for next time.”

The result means Auckland are now in second place, three points off leaders Canterbury while Southern sit third. Locked on points with Southern are the Northern Lights, who picked up the first victory of their campaign with a 4-1 triumph over Capital in Wellington yesterday.

For the full National Women’s League table and further information please click here

National Women’s League Match Week Three

Capital Football 1 (Emma Main 24’)
Northern Lights 4 (Helena Kelderman 24’, Claudia Bunge 43’, Liz Savage 85’, Samantha Tawharu 88’)
HT: 1-2

Central Football 0
Canterbury United Pride 7 (Amelia Abbott 4’, own goals 11’, 53’, Gabrielle Rennie 35’, Annalie Longo 61’, Cody Taylor 80’, Jayda Stewart 90’ + 4’)
HT: 0-3

Southern United 1 (Own goal 19’)
Auckland Football 2 (Sam Muirhead 63’, Lucy Carter 90’ + 4’)
HT: 1-0

Article added: Sunday 30 September 2018