SOCCER - Fine form not enough to secure record for Force

An admirable second-half performance came up agonisingly short of maintaining North Force's unbeaten home record at Tikipunga on Saturday.
With time up on the clock, the home side were still pushing to score the winner after a stunning Sammy Oso goal dragged them back from a halftime 0-1 deficit against Waitakere United.
North Force were on attack and looking to score from another set-piece, but after a breakdown in the Waitakere penalty area the visitors pushed forward on a fast break that caught the home side out and resulted in Damion Fonoti scoring the winner.
It was a bitter blow for the home side after they had looked like the superior team in the second spell.
North Force captain Bruce Plunkett said an old-fashioned lecture by the coaching staff at halftime had pulled them out of their first half slumber and turned them into a different side in the second spell.
"We didn't believe in the first half, we didn't think we were good enough and we got a bit of a bollocking for it at half time and then we came out and went at them in the second half and were the better side for most of the half," he said.
The transformation wasn't enough to claim any points, however, and Waitakere leapfrog North Force into second place on the league table. Plunkett said after the match the team now know what level they need to achieve.
"They're the best side we've played this year and it shows where we've got to get to, I don't think we're quite there yet but we're not far away," he said.
In the first spell, the visitors dominated possession and territory and only good defence kept them to one goal - scored by Blair Konik in the 30th minute - after a great ball by Roy Krishna left Leon Taylor little chance in goal.
North Force's scoring chances were rare in the first spell, but immediately after the break they started to come thick and fast. Not 10 minutes into the second spell, Oso had the crowd cheering for providing the equaliser with a touch of individual brilliance.
The striker was a doubtful starter in the game and, with a heavily strapped knee, looked well off the pace in the first half.
Not long into the second spell, however, he flicked a pass behind a defender and won the contest to get to the ball first. Instead of controlling the bouncing ball and looking for help, Oso let loose with a half volley off the outside of his foot that flew from an acute angle over the surprised keeper's arms to hit the top corner of the net, scoring what must be the team's best goal of the season to date.
Mark Ruddle had another fantastic game in defence, while Scott Burgess kept the side in the game in the first half by getting some vital touches, while Leon Taylor was solid in goal.
Elsewhere there was plenty of commitment but not enough composure on the ball and North Force too often turned possession over cheaply, giving the Waitakere players too much ball too play with.
The Reserves were served a lesson in the curtain raiser with a 1-5 defeat. The side's brightest moment was an Alex Luiten strike from outside the box to score their only goal.
Kamo and Onerahi kept apace with each other in the Northland Premier Division by recording big wins on Saturday.
Kamo beat Madhatters 6-1, while Onerahi beat Kerikeri 3-0 ahead of their first head-to-head clash next weekend. In the other matches, FC Whangarei beat Tikipunga 4-2, while Kaikohe beat Central Brown 5-1.