Football: Change of fortune eludes Northland

Northland FC resumed their northern league campaign on Saturday without the change in fortunes they were looking for.

An understrength side were 0-1 down after six minutes in Auckland when Fencibles tucked away a fortunate goal before conceding again, this time from a great volley, before halftime. Any hope of a second-half revival was scotched by a costly defensive mistake early in the second spell and the game ended 0-3.

The visitors were missing five or six players from their regular first team roster but still proved themselves hard work for one of the top sides in the league to break down for the majority of the game. Northland looked good moving the ball around quickly but are still suffering from a lack of polish in front of goal.

Despite the loss, co-coach Dave Alabaster said there were some positives.

"We certainly had some bright patches during the match and considering we fielded a fairly inexperienced team you'd have to say but we did all right."

The two-week midseason break - resulting from a cup round and a bye - has allowed players carrying injuries to recover. However it also cost the representative side, with other players picking up new injuries while released to play for their clubs.

"Most players went back and played for their clubs and unfortunately Steve Crowley tore ligaments playing for Tikipunga last week and will miss the rest of the season," Alabaster said.

As well as missing the Northland stalwart, the side were without regulars Steve Schimmel, Andrew Dunn and Kyle Lovell, who are overseas.

The reserves won 3-1 " aided in their efforts by five of the first team, who put in some time on the pitch during the curtainraiser to help out a side short on numbers.

Overall a very mixed bag for the squad after two weeks off but enough to maintain some hope for a turnaround in fortunes.

"We're due some luck at some point, it's just a matter of when," Alabaster said.

The side are hoping it might be this Saturday when they take on Te Atatu at Tikipunga at 3pm.