FOOTBALL - Right royal lesson from Three Kings

They came, they saw, they conquered, but Three Kings' players had only words of encouragement for their North Force opponents after their first home game at Kamo on Saturday.
Former New Zealand captain Maia Jackman, the Three Kings' right half, said the Northland team were on the right track and just needed a bit more time at the top level. "They just have to continue on with what they're doing. They have a lot of young talented players and they're obviously getting stronger and stronger but it will take time," she said.
The former Kerikeri High School student has remained a close friend of women's soccer in Northland throughout her international career and sees the promotion of the team to the Northern League - the top league in the country - as a sign of strength. "Whangarei's a long way from anybody else [in the league] and that makes it harder but you have to just keep on plugging away and eventually it will come," Jackman said.
The 34-year-old showed no signs of slowing on the field and complemented the international-laden Three Kings side as they completed a 6-0 defeat of North Force.
Three Kings were clearly a step ahead of the home side but the final scoreline seemed somewhat undeserved. Some called the refereeing into question with two dubious goals - particularly to the turnout of around 100 home fans, who saw the goals as unnecessary gifts to the visitors.
North Force worked hard in the first spell to limit the score to 0-1 at the break and while the effort cost them in the final quarter the size of the defeat rankled the players. North Force captain Sandi Burleigh said the side had tried a new defensive structure, which seemed to work well in the opening 45 minutes of the match. "We held them and made them look a bit ordinary. I think the second half effort can be put down to fatigue and them coming out at us hard," she said.
Three Kings showed how to play the ball to space and also cherished possession, allowing them to control the match and limit the North Force chances of scoring to a minimum. The all-Football Ferns central defensive pairing of Kristy Hill and Abbie Erceg, another former Northlander, proved to be too good for the North Force strikers. "It's a learning curve for us. We're here to learn and although we don't want to lose 6-0 we want to be positive and we want our young girls to have a place to go to," Burleigh said.
There were positives for North Force, in particular the way young players such as Hannah Wilkinson, Katie Mullinger and Georgia Green played. Burleigh led a great defensive effort with Rai Te Puni making fine saves in goal.