Northern United 4
Dalefield 1
Farriers Dalefield fell to their second loss of the Wellington Premier Women’s Championship going down 4-1 to a well-drilled Northern United at Fraser Park on Sunday.
Backing up from Saturday’s energy-sapping 3-2 defeat of Hutt United, Dalefield struggled to contain the unbeaten championship leaders, who went into the game fresh, having had a bye on Saturday.
The Wairarapa-based team were well in the contest in the second quarter after Felicity Reidy equalised, but Northern scored their second goal almost immediately and added two goals from runaways in the third quarter, putting the game out of reach.
Co-coach Michael O’Connor said that Dalefield had their chances to close the gap.
“I thought we did really well, especially in the last quarter, and if it wasn’t for their goalie having an outstanding game, I think we would have scored two or three more. We were in it right till the end, which was a really good sign for us,” O’Connor said.
“They [Northern] are definitely a really good side. They are pretty slick and well-drilled and very, very fast, and I think the score might have flattered them a little bit.
“We’re still ironing out a few things, and I think they’re at the top of their game at the moment, but they deserved to win, and they’re going to be a hard team to knock over in the future.”
Dalefield have the bye this weekend before the start of the Intercity competition featuring teams from Wellington, Wairarapa, Manawatu, and Hawke’s Bay.
