SOCCER - Force lose battle of the Alamo

After conceding two goals in the first 10 minutes of their match against North Shore at Allen Hill Park on Saturday, North Force put in a spirited comeback - but it wasn't enough to earn them any valuable away points .
Manager Dean Wheatley said the poor start cost them dearly in the 1-2 loss.
"It was a good game but we started too slowly. You could say we were mentally still on the bus for most of the first half," he said.
"We fought our way back into it to totally dominate the second half but, although we had several chances, we only scored one and although a draw would've been a fair result, they won, so we have to move on."
It was a physical encounter Wheatley described as a "battle", with periods of scrappy play interspersed with some good defending by both sides.
Steve Crowley volleyed a ball into the net from a set-piece, with 15 minutes of regulation time remaining, to pull the visitors back within one, but the equaliser proved elusive.
"It was like the Alamo back there at the end ... but I thought we were the better team once we got going. But that shows the nature of the league, it's a battle out there," Wheatley said.
North Force retain third place in the US1 Premier League and will play second-bottom Albany United at home next week but
"They're all tough ... but we're still in there. If we can win all of our home games and pick up a few points on the road then I think we'll be okay," Wheatley said.
North Force midfielder Jeremy Rintoul showed he is close to full fitness after playing 70 minutes for Kerikeri in the Northland Premier League on Saturday, as they outclassed FC Whangarei 5-2 at Morningside Park.
There were plenty of positives for the home side. They put together some great passing moves to find space against a technically better team, but far too often the final pass went astray and Kerikeri capitalised on mistakes ruthlessly.
Rintoul, Nathan Dodds and Zdenek Rosa scored to give the visitors a 3-1 advantage at the break but Selwyn McIlhinney's second in the third quarter got FC back into the match at 2-3.
Tibor Veselka scored again for Kerikeri and, when Mike Crowley was given a red card, the game was over for FC. Defender Greg Nagal scored a great goal with his head.
A goal to Marcus Mulhearn saw competition leaders Kamo go behind to old rivals Tikipunga in their match but Paul Cross soon equalised, before second half goals to Calvin Erick and Keegan Baddeley saw Kamo win 3-1.
Onerahi remain in second place in the Northland competition, with a 4-0 win over Central Brown, while Madhatters solidified third place with a 5-3 win over Kaikohe.