FOOTBALL - A spatial guy between the sticks

Spatial awareness plays a big part in North Force goalie Leon Taylor's life - in sport and at work as a landscaper.
Taylor, 27, has been the ultra-reliable keeper for North Force since it began and, while he has dabbled in on-field play with Tikipunga Club in the past, the goal has become Taylor's zone - where he can use his height, quick reflexes and acute awareness of what's happening around him.
The Whangarei Green Gables landscaper's skills have been severely tested this season. His team are eighth in the US1 Premiership table, with three wins from eight games and 24 goals scored for and only 18 against.
Having played with the club for four seasons, Taylor has seen the team evolve and develop.
"We have a more attacking side this year," he said.
"We lost a few key defensive players last year and it has changed our game somewhat - a few players have had to play in other areas."
One such player lost was Taylor's twin brother Aaron, who played in the midfield for North Force.
"He's in Portugal surfing at the moment - I don't read my emails any more as he's gloating all the time," Taylor said.
While he has his own dreams of travelling - work and finances, and football of course, will keep him here for a some time yet.
Changes within the side were not an excuse for North Force's descent to the bottom half of the table this year - inconsistency was the culprit the goalie reckoned.
"We need to score goals - lots of goals - and we can't afford to play as inconsistently as we have been."
It was not a lack of desire to win, or lack of effort being exerted - North Force's recent form has been determined and cohesive, but the goals have gone amiss.
The team has been putting in the hard yards at training sessions, and recently Taylor and North Force reserve's goalie Alex Stevenson have been working with premier men's skipper Bruce Plunkett on specific goalkeeping skills.
Meanwhile, Stevenson was proving his worth this season for the sixth placed reserve team, and made a superb back-up when he was needed to fill in at goal for the premier men, Taylor said.
Three points from tomorrow's game against Takapuna was essential for North Force to get back in the premiership hunt coach Dean Wheatley said.
A full-strength line-up was likely, despite a number of knocks and bruises to several players, including key performers this season Calvin Erick and Steve Schimmel, experienced during last week's 2-1 loss to Birkenhead United.
North Force kick off at 3.15pm at Tikipunga Sports Park tomorrow against Takapuna, while reserves get under way at 1pm.
The cellar-dwelling Northern women will have to dig deep when they face Three Kings United - second on the table, at Keith Hay Park in Auckland on Sunday.