Taradale made it 2-0 in the 64th minute against the run of play when Heywood pounced on the ball and poked it into the net after Port Hill goalkeeper Grace Minnis fumbled from a cornerkick, a minute after Alex Dickensen had a shot from about 20m out but didn't get lucky when the ball glanced off a defender's foot.
If chances created in the second half, though, were anything to go by then Port Hill should have come out victors or, at least, deserved to share the points.
"We were all over the place but we got the result so we're happy with that," Simons said, saluting Port Hill for their never-say-die attitude.
"We'd like to think we do the same but we did back off that a little unfortunately but we'll train next week and get better."
Carswell is working on a mid-term, five-year goal to help Taradale gain promotion into the elite Capital Women's League in Wellington.
Simons, Maggie Pedersen and Dickensen kept stoking the victors' engine room while Chloe Waugh and Josie Boyd helped marshal the defence with aplomb.
Port Hill had numerous opportunities to bring joy to their small army of fans at Taradale Park but players were guilty of taking too many touches rather than trusting their instinct to unleash when in the stock exchange.
Casey Ralph got through on the left flank in the 48th minute but shot outside.
In the 60th minute, striker Adidas Kepa's shot ricocheted off a defender's leg but Ralph following up would have done rugby kickers proud as the ball sailed over the cross bar from 20m out.
Guini MacDonald joined the list minutes later and Victoria Simmonds' header glanced off her head without much conviction.
Anxiety turned to ecstasy for Port Hill fans when Kepa eventually pulled one back, 2-1, in the 75th minute in what can best be described as perseverance after several failed finishes. She swivelled and turned twice in the box before drilling the ball past Taradale goalkeeper Brooke Bennett, who travels from Gisborne to play for the leaders.
It is fair to say Bennett also was a key reason in denying the Lynda Coldicutt-captained Port Hill goals when she parried substitute midfielder Gemma Baylis' shot in the 81st minute as the ball glanced off the right upright and rolled out of harm's way.
MacDonald and then Kepa, latching on to the deflection, couldn't find the equaliser five minutes later.
Coach McKenzie said Taradale dominated in the first half but his women put up the shutters well.
"For them to get two goals from set pieces is good for us from a shape point of view but it's disappointing they put in those goals," he said, adding in the second spell Port Hill reaped the rewards of moving the ball around a lot more.
McKenzie agreed his players should have pulled the trigger when in scoring zones but said the league was a new frontier for many of them.
Port Hill brought in three players from the HB women's league to give them some exposure.
"It's a really competitive [Fed] league where even [last-placed Football Whanganui] are running everyone close so our luck's got to turn so the ball's going to start going into the back of the net so we've just got to ride it out," he said.
