Northland FC's senior women's team player Abbey Crene (right) looks up the field against Ellerslie at the Otaika Sports Park on Saturday. Photo / John Stone
Northland FC's senior women's team player Abbey Crene (right) looks up the field against Ellerslie at the Otaika Sports Park on Saturday. Photo / John Stone
Northland FC's senior football teams will have plenty to work on over the coming weeks after both sides lost in preseason fixtures against Ellerslie AFC.
The Auckland sides, which travelled to play at Otaika Sports Park on Saturday, first overcame the Northland FC senior women's side 5-nil before completing a 1-nil win over the men's team.
The double fixture was a key part of Northland FC's preseason campaign, building towards both teams' upcoming seasons with the men set to start on March 28 and the women on April 5.
Northland's Olivia Whitehead (right) tussles for possession against a strong Ellerslie side. Photo / John Stone
Both Ellerslie sides will play in higher divisions than their respective Northland teams this year. Saturday's two fixtures were also preceded by a game between Northland's under-17 boys' team and the senior men's reserve team, the latter winning 1-nil.
In what was the first Northland FC game hosted at the formerly-named "Bluegoose" since 2011, the day was a good chance for Northland's top female footballers to stretch their legs after just two trainings.
Northland's Abby Wright (right) worked hard as striker for the home team but was unable to find the back of the net. Photo / John Stone
Northland FC general manager Owen Liiv, who acted as coach for the women's team in place of this year's coach Bee Witt-Green, said Saturday's game was hard but a good chance to introduce about six new players to the team.
"[Ellerslie] have been training since mid-January so they are way further ahead in terms of preseason preparation, but it was a good opportunity to try a few new faces," he said,
"There's the basis of a really good squad there and I think there's a couple [of players] who will probably benefit from going back to club and getting experience at a senior level."
Liiv said his side, which competed in the AFF/NFF women's conference league, struggled to combat Ellerslie's accuracy in front of goal. However, the former Northland senior men's coach said the lessons were valuable ones to learn.
"We wanted to challenge ourselves against good, strong opposition and when you play against teams like [Ellerslie], it shows the level you need to be at to succeed in the competitions we play in."
Northland defender Emilia Ruddell spies a pass upfield. Photo / John Stone
Liiv coached the senior men's team last year, narrowly avoiding relegation from the Lotto NRFL second division. With multiple new faces taking the pitch on Saturday, Liiv felt the result had its positives.
"It was a good young side and they didn't look out of place."
The men's team's primary problem in 2019 was their inability to convert opportunities in front of goal. While he accepted he saw similar chances go begging on Saturday, Liiv said the game gave management a clear path going forward.
"It took us six to seven weeks to recognise those problems last year, so now it's about improving that quality in the final third."
