FOOTBALL - Force eye top flight after third US1 title

A gritty win over Te Atatu yesterday finally gave North Force the points they needed to take an unassailable lead in the US1 Women's premiership.
The 4-0 win at Kensington Park puts the Whangarei composite side seven points clear of their closest rival for the title and, with only two games left in the league, effectively hands them the title for the third year in a row.
The win pleased the side and their coach, Bruce Plunkett, but it was hard to get too excited about a title that has been North Force's to lose from early on in the competition.
"We haven't seriously been challenged all season. If we play well, we win - that's not being arrogant, it's just the truth - we're the best side in this league," Plunkett said.
The team lost just one game all season - a second round loss that Plunkett blamed on himself after some early season experimentation - and are well placed to win the league and knockout cup double.
But what Plunkett and the rest of the team really want is promotion to the Northern League, the top women's league in the country, for next season.
"That's what we are pushing for and that's what the (North Force) board are considering right now," he said.
North Force director of coaching Dean Wheatley has supported the team's application for promotion.
"There are positive signs coming from them already, saying it's going to happen this year," Plunkett said.
"It would be pointless not to, because the girls won't improve any further playing in this league by winning every week."
Sunday's game was transferred to Kensington Park because of the poor condition of the Kamo and Tikipunga Club pitches.
On the small boggy field, North Force was slow to start against a feisty Te Atatu side intent on testing the local team. For half-an-hour, the visitor's goal-mouth seemed to have a protective shield around it that repulsed all North Force shots.
Midfielder Jane Ward drove a hard low shot just wide of the left hand post, while skipper Sandi Burleigh and striker Hannah Wilkinson were unable to find the net with headers. It took a fine finish from Estelle Harrison from Ward's cross to put the local side on the board for a half-time lead of 1-0.
In the second half, North Force picked up their game, with Ward hitting the post within minutes of the restart before Hannah Mortimer found the net with a deflected shot. Ward then secured the points by with a fine free kick from just outside the 18-yard box to make it 3-0.
North Force's final came via a perfectly weighted Ruby Dodds ball that put Wilkinson behind the Te Atatu defence, and she beat the keeper with a clean finish.