Auckland United is poised to become just the fourth club in the 53-year history of the Lotto Northern Premier Women's League to win three successive titles after a topsy-turvy week of action saw the league lead twice change hands, a couple of goalkeeping howlers, missed penalties, woodwork rattled, and, sadly for Hibiscus Coast, the imminent end of their latest adventure in the best league in the country. "The Coasters" made the journey to Tauranga Moana's Links Avenue home on Saturday knowing that nothing less than victory would give them a chance of retaining their Premier Women's League status in 2026. And they got off to the ideal start in the third minute, Miya Stott tucking the ball home after Paige Satchell did all the donkey work via a lung-busting run from halfway. Alas for the visitors, Grace Duncan levelled matters for "TM" halfway through the half, before Miah Smith scored a worldie from wide out seven minutes before half-time to give the home team a lead which they never relinquished. And when Duncan potted a penalty halfway through the second spell, the game was up for Hibiscus Coast, who are now six points adrift of Tauranga with one game to play after this 3-1 win for the Bay of Plenty outfit. Tauranga's win, and Melville United's promotion as Championship champions, is great news for women's football in the Waikato-BOP region, which has been somewhat in the doldrums in recent seasons, in stark contrast to the days when Waikato was a perennial contender at the business end of National Tournaments and National Women's Leagues in the days when they were solely the domain of provincial representation. At the same time, Coast's relegation is another blow to women's football north of the Harbour Bridge, following in the footsteps of Northern Rovers last season. It leaves West Coast Rangers as the lone flag-flyers for an area of the country which, prior to the merger of the federations which split Auckland in two, was a hotbed of the women's game at both club and representative levels. Talking of Rangers, they are in grave danger of finishing third in what, for quite some time, has been a two-horse title race! Such has been their form slump in recent times, which continued unabated on Friday evening, when they bottled a two-goal lead at Fred Taylor Park, Fencibles United fighting back to secure a 2-2 draw and a fifth-placed finish. The point Andrew Clay's charges got from this game took them temporarily to the top of the table, but just as they did a week ago at Western Springs, it was another case of two points dropped, rather than a point gained. Because for the second week running, Shannon Henson, the league's leading scorer and 2024 Golden Boot winner, spurned the chance to score from the penalty spot. Rangers were all over "Fencies" like a rash in the first spell, Henson opening the scoring after eight minutes. The 2-0 half-time score - Alisa Tuatagaloa put through her own net ten minutes before the break - flattered United, such had been West Coast's superiority. But Hayley Miller turned things round for the visitors in the second spell, her double-strike - one from the twelve yard mark - ultimately enough to earn Fencibles their first result of any kind in eight matches against Rangers, who had won the previous seven league and cup encounters between the clubs. How they are missing the injured Emily Lyon! As noted earlier, that result gave West Coast the overnight league lead, because during the week

reigning champions Auckland United had their colours lowered for the third time this season, Eastern Suburbs prevailing 3-1 in a match transferred to Centre Park, owing to the state of United's Keith Hay Park playing surface after the pair's Kate Sheppard Cup semi-final encounter four days earlier. Ava Collins missed a great chance to open the scoring when Anna Leat spilled a low cross into her path in the third minute, but it was from a Hannah Mitchell goalkeeping howler that "The Lilywhites" opened the scoring in the fourteenth minute, Ella Findlay saying "Vielen Danke" after United's custodian bowled the ball across her penalty area towards Alaina Granger, despite not being in a position where she was covering the target … goalkeeping 101 stuff! Things got worse for United soon afterwards, Saskia Vosper going down screaming after a clash with Ruby Nathan, with the three letters every female footballer dreads likely to sideline the talented fullback until at least the middle of 2026. Vosper's departure appeared to have a "There but for the grace of God go I" sort of impact on proceedings initially, but it wasn't long before these two grand adversaries were back at it hammer and tongs. Cue another goalkeeping howler, this time from Leat, whose stray pass across her penalty area saw Tui Dugan pounce and gleefully roll the ball home into an empty net ten minutes into the second half - 1-1. Three minutes later, United should have taken the lead, but Leat redeemed herself somewhat by saving Collins' penalty. Seven minutes later, Zoe McMeeken lost possession in central midfield, which is quite a worry given she's a fullback, whose first duty is to defend! Vicky Neuefeind wasted little time in exploiting the freedom of the left flank to set up Ruby Nathan for a tap-in - 2-1 Suburbs. Eight minutes later, Neuefeind was in a similar situation, but this time came up with a sure-fire contender for "Goal of the Season", a thirty-five yard missile which screamed over Mitchell's head en route to the top far corner of the net - one heck of a way for Suburbs to end United's eight-match unbeaten run against their long-time foes. "The Lilywhites" carried that form into Sunday's East Auckland derby at Michaels Avenue, where Ellerslie were handed an 8-2 hiding by a team which has now won ten league matches on the trot since mid-June, averaging four goals a game in the process - that's title-winning form in any other campaign. For the second game running, Findlay broke the deadlock, while the first goal of Nathan's hat-trick soon after had a hint of offside about it, although in fairness to the visitors, they had already forced Petra Wedlake to produce three fine saves, with the game not yet twenty minutes old. The crossbar denied Findlay soon after, before Maddi Ollington dragged "The Ponies" back into it just after the half-hour mark. Cema Nasau and Nathan - her second - re-established Suburbs' superiority before the interval, but after it, Ellerslie enjoyed the better of the exchanges until halfway through the second spell, when Football Fern Tayla O'Brien cast aside a lot of pain and injury-enforced frustration by scoring for the first time in over two years. A quick-fire Neuefeind double - the first of these came from the penalty spot - swiftly saw the scoreline blow out to 7-1 before Nathan wrapped up her hat-trick nine minutes from time. Ellerslie substitute Keisha Small had the last say soon after, but there was no hiding from the fact that this is the home team's heaviest defeat since their return to

the Lotto Northern Premier Women's League in 2020. And so we once again turn to the reigning champions, who are now poised for a "three-peat" after regaining the lead by coming from behind to down Western Springs 4-1 at Ken Maunder Park, where many a memorable NPWL encounter has taken place over the years. Eastern Suburbs (1975-80), Mt. Wellington (1981-86) and Lynn-Avon United (2000-05) are the only clubs in the history of the competition to win it at least three years running, and Auckland is poised to join them after this entertaining encounter, during which the woodwork was struck four times. Arisa Takeda was responsible for the first of those, a crossbar-rattling fourth minute free-kick, the rebound of which was tucked home by Liz Savage - the first time "The Hoops" have scored against Auckland in nine fixtures. With Wellington Phoenix coach Bev Priestman watching on with an eye towards the upcoming Kate Sheppard Cup Final, United swiftly set about re-establishing their title credentials, Danielle Canham rattling the bar before Springs were uncoiled by a super four-woman move which fully merited Zoe Benson's equaliser in the seventeenth minute. Nanami Omasa thundered a shot against the post soon after as Springs fought back, but two goals in as many minutes just after the half-hour mark put Ben Bate's team firmly in charge, Alexis Cook's first touch after coming on as an early substitute supplemented by a belter of a volley from Greer MacIntosh - where in her locker has that been hiding?! Benson made the points safe from the penalty spot ten minutes after half-time, while Talisha Green was next to test the soundness of the uprights with a thumping cross-shot on the hour. 4-1 it remained in United's favour, however, and a third successive title - and record-equalling eleventh overall, if one includes the honours won by parent clubs Eden and Three Kings United - is there for the taking in this Sunday's final round of action. All four games commence at 2pm. Auckland visits Fencibles' Riverhills Park home, knowing that the silverware is theirs if they avoid defeat. Across town at Madills Farm, nothing less than a win will do for Rangers, but they're up against the in-form Suburbs, who, if they win, will finish second, ahead of West Coast on goal difference, having been fourth ten rounds ago. Pride is the prime factor at stake in the other two fixtures. Tauranga make their final trip north for the season, Springs' Seddon Fields home their destination, while "The Coasters"' play their final NPWL game for the foreseeable future when Ellerslie makes the journey north to Stanmore Bay Reserve. Details: Auckland United 1 (T. Dugan (55)), Eastern Suburbs 3 (E. Findlay (14), R. Nathan (65), V. Neuefeind (73))  HT 0-1 Auckland United 4 (Z. Benson (17, 55 pen), A. Cook (32), G. MacIntosh (34)), Western Springs 1 (L. Savage (4))  HT 3-1 Ellerslie 2 (M. Ollington (32), K. Small (86)), Eastern Suburbs 8 (E. Findlay (16), R. Nathan (17, 40, 81), C. Nasau (39), T. O'Brien (68), V. Neuefeind (71 pen, 75))  HT 1-4 Tauranga Moana 3 (G. Duncan (23, 67 pen), M. Smith (38)), Hibiscus Coast 1 (M. Stott (3))  HT 2-1 West Coast Rangers 2 (S. Henson (8), "oggie" (33)), Fencibles United 2 (H. Miller (53, 63 pen))  HT 2-0