Northland FC's Georgia Witt-Green tries to get some space from a Central United defender to take a shot in Sunday's game. Photo / Karen Maisey
Northland FC's Georgia Witt-Green tries to get some space from a Central United defender to take a shot in Sunday's game. Photo / Karen Maisey
Northland FC's women's team had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Tikipunga Sports Park on Sunday against Central United after a dominant second half.
Northland's premier women's team, who now sit one place below Central United on the table in fifth, endured a tough first half against their Auckland-based visitors without much possession, to come out a new side in the second half.
A goal from Northland's Georgia Witt-Green put the home side ahead 15 minutes after halftime, before the opposition levelled the score soon after in outstanding fashion.
Despite a number of chances before the final whistle, the score stayed locked and the teams went away with a share of the points.
"In the first half, we struggled keeping the ball and it's fair to say they had the majority of possession, but they didn't have many opportunities," Northland coach Alan Witt said.
"The second half started really positively, we made some really good attacks and we were unlucky with a few of our chances."
Witt said his side was dominant for the first 35 minutes of the second half but when the opposition equalised with a 30-yard shot into the top-corner, he said the game started to devolve.
"From then on, it became a bit frantic, there wasn't a real flow to the game and both teams were trying to push for the win so became a bit more fragmented."
Sitting in the middle of an eight-team field, Witt was confident his young side could produce a quality performance against second-placed Ellerslie on Sunday at Michaels Ave Reserve at 1pm.
"We do have a very young squad who are quite naive in the tactical stuff but they are growing and learning, and [Central United] are probably one of the top three sides," he said.
"Everything from the training field came out [on Sunday], they listened and we are tracking nicely, in saying that, it all depends on how they feel on the day."
In Northland's premier women's competition, Kamo snapped a three-game losing streak in style with a 6-0 win at home over Tikipunga on Sunday.
Kamo's Keisha Parker (left) battles the rain and wet grass to beat Tikipunga's Amy Campbell to the ball on Sunday. Photo / Karen Maisey
Kamo coach Russell Baddeley said he was pleased to get back to winning ways but that didn't take away from the threat posed by the opposition.
"Tikipunga never stopped trying and they could have had one or two [goals] of their own," he said.
"It wasn't over at halftime with the score at 3-0 because they came out pretty strong, but we got the fourth [goal] and that was it."
Baddeley said losing three games in a row might be Kamo's worst run of form in about 14 years. While they had performed admirably through those defeats, Baddeley knew his side needed to be better against Kerikeri at Baysport Waipapa on Sunday.
"We are defending nice and tight so it's about trying to win the midfield battle and retain the ball.
"[Kerikeri] will be hard to beat at their place, we should be getting a few players back after injury so we are hoping to give them a real nudge."
In the round's other games, Kerikeri beat Kaitaia United, 8-0, Madhatters beat Central Brown, 3-0, Bream Bay United beat Bay Cosmos, 3-1 and Onerahi had the bye.
