Melville Premier Women secured the WaiBOP Federation's W-League title with four games to spare, after a thrilling 5-4 home win over third-placed Lakes FC at Ashurst Park.

It was Melville's first championship under the W-League format, and their 11th win out of 11 this season, which kept them 10 points clear of second-placed Waikato Unicol, and with two games in hand.

Though they were made to work hard for it, after falling 0-3 behind in the opening 30 minutes, when playing into a brisk breeze.

Asked what she was thinking when Melville were 0-3 down, coach Tarena Ranui said: "We've got goals in us" - and she was correct.

Laura Bennett started the fightback by tapping in from close range and was then brought down in the area for Shion Hwang to score a penalty to make it 2-3 at half time.

Hwang drew Melville level 13 minutes into the second spell when she curled a corner directly into the net to claim her 28th goal of the season, before Stevie-Lee tiller chimed in with two fine late goals.

That took Melville to a margin of safety at 5-3, and though they did concede a further goal in the 79th minute, by this stage they looked to have the game under control.

Claiming the title with several weeks to spare was important for Melville, because it means the club can now put more emphasis on qualifying for the girls National Youth League, where a number of premier women players are still eligible.

In post-season play Melville have now qualified to meet the winner of Auckland's NRF Women's Conference, which Birkenhead currently leads by two points, but second-placed Metro has two games in hand.

Article added: Wednesday 26 July 2023