Northland FC under-13s faced tough opposition in Western Springs AFC in a game that resulted in a 3-0 victory to the visiting Auckland team on Sunday.
Western Springs played a fast, tight game, scoring early in the first half to take the lead. Northland composed themselves and came back on the attack with a strong shot from Ziz Bentley hitting the crossbar and then bouncing down on the line. Northland's celebrations were short lived when a no-goal was called with the ball being judged not to have crossed the line.
This seemed to rattle the young side who didn't manage to connect and play as a team to their usual standard. This, combined with difficult weather conditions and a slow and muddy pitch, saw the boys never really settle back into the game.
In the second half Western Springs cemented their win with two further goals.
Northland came close to scoring on several occasions.
