SOCCER - A Force to be reckoned with

STRIKER Isaac Jerez earned North Force their first red card of the season on Saturday, but the dismissal didn't stop his team moving into second place on the table, thanks to a 6-1 demolition of former national league champions North Shore United.
The visitors to Kamo were nothing like the former champion side, but they weren't a bad team and the 10-man North Force earned praise for their controlled style of play at the Kamo Rec.
When the goals started to flow late in the second spell, the locals already had the game in the bag and decided to cut loose. For much of the first spell however, it was still anyone's game.
Jerez played the dual roles of hero and villain before heading in for an early shower ten minutes before the break. The Chilean-born striker scored the first goal of the game, midway through the spell, before being carded for a reckless tackle.
His frustration from the booking spilled into another challenge and the referee was further encouraged to show him another card after some ill-advised backchat.
Jerez left the field and it was a credit to his teammates that they reacted by lifting their game.
Both sides had their chances to add to the score, but it was Bruce Plunkett, who put North Force further ahead just before the break with another goal from a set-piece - in this case a long throw - that came through.
Coach Dean Wheatley brought on substitute Sammy Oso 15 minutes into the second spell to try and kick-start the side's attack and the move paid off in spades.
Oso took the score to 3-0 midway through the spell with a goal starting from a fast break, before North Shore edged back into the game with a goal from Englishman Tony Webb.
Oso then scored a goal to put the game beyond the visitors, rounding the keeper in what has become almost a trademark move, making it 4-1 before Mike Crowley scored the goal of the game.
Crowley, who had replaced Kyle Mack in the central midfield just minutes earlier, beat several players in the centre of the park before heading for goal, finally hitting the back of the net with a rasping strike from the edge of the area.
Oso completed his hat-trick before the final whistle with another great finish, the talented striker proving too hard to handle for the North Shore defence.
The win, combined with a 3-0 win for the reserves, continues the promising start to the season for the club. "The signs are good that we're a side that's going somewhere this year, we're building nicely but we've obviously still got a lot of work to do," Wheatley said.
"I was really happy with the good organisation we showed out there today and the way the boys went about their work [after the dismissal], it just got better and better as the game went on."
Oso scored one of the goals for the reserves to end the day with four goals, while the other two were scored by promising striker Murray Wooten.
In Northland Premier matches, Onerahi won an important match against Madhatters 6-3, while Kamo beat Kaikohe 4-2 to also maintain their winning start to the season. Kerikeri sent the rest of the league a warning with an 8-2 thrashing of Tikipunga, while FC Whangarei played out a scoreless draw with Central Brown.