Aside from finding out who is going to lift the trophy, one of the most intriguing aspects of tomorrow’s National Women’s League final between the Northern Lights and the Canterbury United Pride will be seeing who actually takes the field for both sides at the Trusts Arena in west Auckland.

The latter stages of the regular season were greatly disrupted for each team as international call-ups robbed them of many key performers but those players are now nearly all back on deck – giving the respective coaching staffs a tricky but welcome selection headache.

Both are able to include a pair of recently-returned Football Ferns with Northern boasting Malia Steinmetz and Anna Leat as Canterbury relish possessing the top-class services of Annalie Longo and Victoria Esson once more.

But fans will also get the opportunity to see many of the heroines of New Zealand’s bronze-winning run at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup on home soil again as Leat and Hannah Mackay-Wright are both in Northern’s match day squad while Canterbury’s 16-strong travelling party features Marisa Van Der Meer, Gabi Rennie, Jayda Stewart, Macey Fraser and Amelia Abbott.

Lights coach Gemma Lewis, who was also with that ground-breaking New Zealand side in Uruguay as assistant coach, has already made at least one tough call in leaving Aneka Mittendorff – captain for that historic U-17 campaign – out of the squad for this weekend and faces many more difficult decisions before kick-off tomorrow afternoon.

“All the players being back does give us a bit of a headache as to who we’re going to select but I think it’s something that all coaches want,” she says.

“We’ve got players that have stepped up with the international players being away and they’ve put in really good performances throughout the games the other girls have been away for. They have every right to compete for those positions and hold onto them. It’s a good scenario for me as a coach and hopefully we can make the right decisions on the day.”

Canterbury counterpart Alana Gunn likewise faces a restless night as she ponders her selections for tomorrow with so much quality having recently been reinjected into her side.

Of all the returnees, undoubtedly the most valuable is Football Ferns playmaker Annalie Longo, who was named the competition’s MVP earlier this week. Her battle against fellow Fern Steinmetz in the middle of the park is likely to have a big bearing on the outcome of the game as Canterbury chase a fourth title in just six years.

The Lights triumphed 3-0 in the previous meeting between the sides but Longo did not take part in that game and Steinmetz will need to be at her best to stop the Pride skipper taking control of proceedings.

“The midfield match-up between Malia and Annalie is going to be a great one. Malia has proven herself over the last couple of years and got into the Ferns. She’s a fantastic kid and a great player while we all know the calibre of Annalie,” Gunn says.

“I think it’s also going to be great seeing their centre backs against our strikers. We’ve scored a lot of goals this season and it’s been a strength of ours. Those combinations that we’re going to put on the field against their strong defence is going to be another great match-up.”

Lewis is full of admiration for a Canterbury side that has proven itself as the most consistent in the league over several years and defeated the Lights 2-1 in their first encounter this season. But Lewis will take no fear into tomorrow’s final as she already knows what it takes to defeat the Pride in such a situation, doing just that when in charge of Auckland Football last season to win the title.

But she says that will count for little at the Trusts Arena on Sunday afternoon as three-time winners Northern look to claim their first title since 2015.

“Canterbury are one of the top teams in the league and have been in the final for a number of years now in succession. So we know they’re going to be hard, they have good players across the field and have a good coaching staff behind them as well,” she says.

“We know it’s going to be a challenge and a very competitive game.”

Match Details

National Women’s League Grand Final
Northern Lights vs Canterbury United Pride
The Trusts Arena, Auckland
Sunday 16 December, 1pm
Entry free for first hour then $10
Live on SKY Sport

Referee: Morgan Archer
Assistant Referees: Sarah Jones, Hilary Osborne
Fourth Official: Bridget Baker

Northern Lights (from): 1. Anna Leat (GK), 2. Claudia Bunge (c), 3. Kate Loye, 4. Emma Turnbull, 5. Saskia Vosper, 6. Nicole Stratford, 7. Malia Steinmetz, 8. Dayna Stevens, 9. Sam Tawharu, 10. Jane Barnett, 11. Helena Kelderman, 12. Liz Savage, 14. Ava Pritchard, 15. Vegas McCaroll, 16. Hannah Mackay-Wright, 18. Lily Alfeld (GK)
Coach: Gemma Lewis

Canterbury United Pride (from): 1. Victoria Esson (GK), 2. Marisa Van Der Meer, 3. Rebecca Lake, 4. Arna Roberts, 5. Annabel Gilchrist, 6. Chloe Jones, 7. Gabi Rennie, 8. Tahlia Herman-Watt, 9. Jayda Stewart, 10. Annalie Longo (c), 11. Macey Fraser, 12. Amelia Abbott, 13. Whitney Hepburn, 15. Monique Barker, 17. Cody Taylor, 22. Una Foyle (GK)
Coach: Alana Gunn

Article added: Saturday 15 December 2018