SOCCER - Youth teams add to Force

North Force is on a roll this season with the addition of two youth teams to competition under the club's banner, taking the total number of teams to five.
"We have entered an under-17 team and an under-14 team in the Metro League which involves teams from United Soccer One as well as the Auckland and Waikato-Bay of Plenty federations," Dean Wheatley said.
Wheatley, the head coach at the club, was understandably pleased with the club's expansion.
"North Force is really going places, the interest is there and the demand is there and players want to develop themselves by playing at the highest level they can," he said.
The U17 team will play its matches on Sunday, with the U14 team to compete on Saturdays.
Last year the club entered a men's team in the US1 Premier division with some success, as they finished up as semifinalists in the playoffs.
There are signs the team could be even more successful this year with a number of previously unavailable players returning to play for the club. On Saturday they drew 4-4 with one of last year's frontrunners, East Coast Bays, in a pre-season match at Tikipunga Park.
Their reserve or "development" side didn't fare so well last year but already signs are better with a 3-0 win over ECB Reserves on Saturday.
Both teams play their first competition matches this weekend away at Waitakere United.
The sole women's team at the club eventually trumped both of their male counterparts last year all by winning their title and gaining promotion into the top women' competition in the country.
On Saturday they took their revenge against North Shore United - the team that denied the Northland women the US1 knockout title last year - with a 6-2 victory.
With the start of the Northern Federations league only two weeks away, North Force needed to show that they have made progress since last year, and they did.
In the first 10 minutes they created several opportunities but less than clinical finishing failed to convert. Strikers Katie Rood and Hannah Wilkinson, with plenty of pace and technical ability, gave the North Shore backs no end of trouble. They came away with a brace of goals each.
Vicki-Jo Hemara was exceptional in centre of the midfield; her aerial game and delivery of quality ball to her strikers was impressive. Rachel Porter was equally effective in applying early pressure and winning possession.
Estelle Harrison scored from a beautifully struck free kick, and then Katie Mullenger topped that effort with an even better free kick from 35m.
The only negative from the match was a loss of concentration resulting in North Shore scoring twice late in the game. Overall Wheatley was happy with the team's performance and the way the players maintained the intensity and quality of their play for the majority of the match.