SOCCER - Positive despite defeat

North Force women continue to improve in the Northern League and the players and management are confident their first win is not too far off.
Yesterday they went down 1-5 to Three Kings at Tikipunga - a fair result considering they were hammered 9-0 in the first round.
North Force were even on level terms with the second-placed side in the league for most of the first half after Katie Rood scored a 30-metre "screamer" - their coach Bruce Plunkett said.
The coach is disappointed the side now has three weeks off before they play the second-bottom team Fencibles, who beat North Force 2-1 in the opening round.
"It's not ideal really. We'd prefer to back up this week's performance, which was pretty good, with the one we've been targeting next weekend, but there's no way around it," he said.
The side isn't in any of the regional or national cup competitions so have byes on the immediate horizon, something Plunkett said they'll just have to deal with.
"The girls are continuing to improve and they're working so much harder for each other. They're a much better team now than they were last year when they were winning 6-0 all the time," he said.Peter Thorley