Lacour hat-trick not enough to subdue Ellerslie

Charlton Lacour wasn't in the celebrating mood after a scoring a hat-trick on Saturday in North Force's 3-5 defeat by Ellersie at Kamo.
The loss means North Force now have little chance of topping the table in the Northern League First Division before the league splits into two separate competitions in two weeks.
Lacour's hat-trick was a bright moment on an otherwise bleak day for the North Force supporters.
"It was good to get a hat-trick but it doesn't feel quite so good when the game ends on a losing note," the striker said.
The home side were off the pace  in defence initially, with Ellerslie knocking four past them in the first spell to lead 4-1 at halftime.
The Auckland side's short, passing game allowed them to expose some indecisiveness in the North Force back four, which wasn't helped by some sloppy midfield work - which saw North Force turn the ball over cheaply - and they were punished on the break.
"They broke pretty well and that's what caused the damage in the first half - they scored from counter-attacks," Lacour said.
A turnover led to a magnificent 35-metre Scott Wallace strike that flew into the top right-hand corner of the goal after four minutes to get the scoring under way.
 The goal seemed to fire North Force up and Lacour's first goal followed 10 minutes later after excellent work on the left flank by Mark Ruddell set up a simple chance for the striker.
Instead of building on their success, the home side floundered, with two goals to Warrick Hart and another to Kerr Houston sending them into the changing sheds at halftime with their tails between their legs.
Coach Bruce Plunkett made a tactical change at the break, bringing on an extra forward - Lacour's brother Cody - looking to make up for lost time.
The move initially seemed to have backfired, with Ellerslie continuing to dominate the game and their highly rated striker Nathan Palmer finding the net to make it 5-1. But as the spell wore on North Force began to pepper the Ellerslie goal and with a little  luck might have got back into the game.
Shortly after the goal, Lacour scored his second from the penalty spot after Ruddell was brought down in the box and as Ellerslie's passing game fell apart, North Force came knocking.
Inspired by Scott Burgess, who made his return from injury, and Chris Peck, the midfield began to produce some telling balls and the Ellerslie defence had to work overtime - and rely on a bit of luck - to keep them out.
The hat-trick goal came when the visitors' luck ran out and they failed to clear the ball in a packed penalty area. Murray Wooten provided the final cross for Lacour to head home his best goal of the game.
North Force skipper Keegan Baddeley said their second half effort proved they could have won the match, but he was unable to come up with a reason for their poor first spell. "There was some obvious mis-communication between midfield and defence at times, but it was hard to figure out why it happened. I think we just needed a bit more fight in the first half," he said.
He said the team didn't lack for quality and  would need it in two week when  they join one of two eight-team grading competitions to decide the make-up of the Northern League next year.
With a place in the premier division for 2011 as the winner's prize there is plenty to play for, but if North Force can't sort out the defensive wobbles they displayed on Saturday, it might not quite be the triumph they were hoping for.