Simple equation - Beat Auckland to make semifinals
The plan is simple for WaiBop women's football team - beat Auckland tomorrow and they are through to a semifinal with Southern Conference winners Mainland Pride next week.
WaiBop has a slight advantage leading into the 1pm match, they hold a slender one point lead on the table and have a psychological edge over their northern neighbours, having defeated Auckland 5-2 in their round three clash at St Peter's College in Epsom.
Northern Football has already secured top spot in the northern conference. They sit comfortably at the head of the table with 13 points, WaiBop are second on six, Auckland third on five and northern-based New Zealand Football under-17 in fourth on four.
Despite their win against Auckland at Epsom, WaiBop head coach Peter Smith was unhappy with the performance, saying his side relied on effective defence and a degree of luck to win.
The two matches since the Auckland encounter have done nothing to improve Smith's mood, with below par performances in a 2-1 loss against New Zealand Football under-17 and a 6-0 thumping at the hands of Northern Football last Sunday in Rotorua.
At the team's training session on Tuesday evening video footage of the Northern game was reviewed.
"For a lot of players it wasn't good viewing, but we used it as a learning tool.
"To become a better player you need to learn from your mistakes and we had good discussion about better options players could have taken, so it was good to get positives out of it," Smith said.
When looking back at the Northern game and also the win against Auckland last time, Smith said what the team really needed to do was hone the basics.
"It's really important we get back to the basics - don't give the ball away and retain possession. This then gives us a foundation to build team play from."
Smith also said although the team was aware of the importance of the match tomorrow, he wanted them to treat it just like another game they needed to win.
"We need to look to perform to the best of our ability, if we do that then the outcome takes care of itself."
The two teams should be guaranteed a quality pitch to play on with Links Ave having been closed for the past six weeks due to renovation work.
"We're looking forward to playing at Links Ave, we have a few local players in the squad and hope to get a good crowd to cheer us on and help us get across the line."
Smith has named an unchanged line-up from that which faced Northern Football last Sunday. However, he has warned there may be changes as a few players carry niggling injuries and are awaiting physio recommendations.
A curtain-raiser between the Waikato under-14 girls and Auckland Football under-14 girls will be played at 10.30am before the ASB Women's League match.
ASB Women's League round 6:
WaiBOP Football v Auckland Football
Links Ave, Mount Maunganui
Kickoff: 1pm
WaiBOP squad: Naomi-Beth Carter, Kate Carlton, Eileish Hayes, Trudi Greig, Libby Williams, Emma Baker, Rachel Porteous, Keri O'Connell, Shania Heath,, Helen Collins, Issy Coombes, Ella Golding, Tayla Forward, Megan Anderson, Jess Clark, Laura Phillips.
