Women's football: One horse race in predictable field

Boring, disappointing, predictable.
Yes, it's all of the above when it comes to Hawke's Bay women's first division club football.
Perish any thoughts of beating the Leon Birnie-coached Maycenvale Misfits this season.
Invincible they certainly aren't but it isn't their fault for emphatically showing so early in the season that forecasts of a three-horse race for the bragging rights in the league competition were ill conceived.
Neither should they be held accountable for the inability of other powerhouses, such as Baldwin Jewellers Taradale and Advanced Construction Eskview Blue, to lift their game to Vale's standards just a shade after one round.
Yesterday the Misfits crushed Dale 7-1 on their home turf after surging to an embarrassing 6-1 lead at halftime.
In another display of short, crisp passes to the feet, one-touch control and simple angles out wide Vale shred the hosts' defence to bits.
To be fair, Dale matched their rivals for the first 20 minutes but the hectic pace demanded mental composure, which eluded them in the second stanza of the first half.
Rosie Morgan drew first blood in the eighth minute after some vision from Nicole Baird and Melanie Hinton.
Four minutes later Dale equalised 1-1 when centre-mid Donna Trow put a ball through to striker Anna Morrison, who beat the last defender before curling the ball to the top left corner with goalkeeper Grace Fulford stranded.
In the 20th minute, Paige Smith put the MIsfits back in front with a header on the far post following a Baird cornerkick. The next 20 minutes was forgettable for Dale coach Graeme Jones as Vale's Jamie Curry made it 3-1 in the 24th minute, skipper Aleesha Heywood latched on to a Chloe Katene error to make it 4-1 three minutes later before claiming her second goal in the 32nd from a cross from the left flank that curled over the head of goalkeeper Johnnie Kururangi.
Baird then powered in an untouched banana cornerkick on the stroke of halftime.
Whether Dale lifted their game in the second spell or Vale simply had enough on the scorecard not to break into a sweat, only Baird scored in the 70th minute.
Jones reflected on errors in their defensive third before agreeing the ball moves faster than people can run, as his troops were guilty of taking too many touches.
"Maycenvale are a very good side. If there was talk about a three-horse race before the season kicked off then it's definitely a one-horse one now," Jones said.
Birnie agreed, provided his side play to their potential in the big games.
"If there was supposed to be a big gap so early we certainly didn't expect it," he said although Vale will now have to be tested in the women's Federation League, which kicks off next month.
At Marewa Park, PlusRehab Port Hill United led Eskview 2-0 at halftime before the visitors levelled terms in the second spell.
Sonya Thompson struck first and Alena Jellyman extended the lead for the hosts before Eskview striker Jess Gannaway pulled goals back twice.
Playing in their new sea blue strips, the Viv Moule-coached side will have to do better than that if they are to secure second position from Dale. However, it's Vale first this Sunday.
At Park Island, a young Marist A beat Big Barrell Havelock North 3-0 for their first victory of the season.
"There was an emotional background to the game for us with a player's family issues," Marist coach Grant Sargison said, adding all players backed each other with no negative comments.
"You keep telling players they are doing well but then you look at the score and there are no wins, so this win will go a long way to build their confidence," Sargison said.