Melville have doubled their margin of comfort at the top of the women's northern league championship to six points after a 4-1 away win over Onehunga Mangere.

Melville's win was no surprise given Onehunga Mangere are bottom of the table and have yet to win a match.

But Melville had the satisfaction of winning away from home without having to call upon the services of top goalscorer, Laura Bennett (13 goals) as she stayed on the bench the whole match - though Melville did use all four other subs.

Melville were also without first-choice keeper Emma Meadows, with 16-year-old Elin Gainsford having her second outing at northern league level.

In Bennett's absence, it was a goalscoring day for the Mia's, the Maia's and the Nyah's.

Midfielder Nyah Nikau, 17, picked up her first two goals of the campaign, scoring the opener in the sixth minute and the final goal in the 90th minute.

Mia Humphrey, 15, scored her third goal of the season and second in successive weeks, while Maia Oxenham, 16, scored her second goal in her last three outings.

Mia Humphrey

And the day's big bonus came when third-placed Birkenhead United beat second-placed Onehunga Sports 1-0 (through a goal in the very first minute) to increase Melville's buffer at the top ahead of another away trip to Central United on Sunday (June 22).

Onehunga Mangere pulled a goal back in the 85th minute.

Article added: Wednesday 18 June 2025