Waetford, who went from the dugout in Whangarei on Saturday straight to Auckland and onto Palmerston North to be with the Junior Black Sticks, said for her side midfielder Ashley Malcolm played an intelligent game and fed her strikers to create opportunities throughout.
Waetford added that it was good to see Hikurangi producing strong performances week-in-week-out after having been through a rebuilding phase over the last couple of years, commenting that Hikurangi plays with a "nice structure".
Hikurangi coach Meredith McInnes credited Springfield for coming out firing in the second half, continually pressing and creating attacking opportunities.
"We created quite a few opportunities in the first half," McInnes said.
"But we didn't capitalise on them and were made to pay.
"We came off the bye last week, so the last time we played was almost three weeks ago so were a little bit rusty."
McInnes commented that if it was not for the standout defensive efforts of goalkeeper Nicky Mathews and fullbacks Karlene Smith and Courntey Phillips the score could have been more.
Going forward for Hikurangi, McInnes said for them to have a successful run into the semi-finals they need to focus on and fix little things.
"We're doing it [playing well] for probably 50 minutes, but it's just we're slipping for that last 20 or 25 minutes."
In the other women's premier match, Maungakaramea were held to a 2-all draw by Whangarei Girls' High School.
