Football: Slow start leaves North Force wanting

Aaron Taylor and his North Force teammates will look to bounce back against Claudelands.

It was a quiet bus trip home for North Force on Saturday evening, after losing 2-1 to Fencibles United in Auckland.

Coming off a heated 3-2 win over Manukau City in the previous round, North Force had plenty to play for as they travelled to Fencibles' Riverhills Park.

Despite this, North Force coach Russell Baddeley said his side failed to fire up after being dealt a few blows early in the match.

"[It was] a funny old game," Baddeley said. "We started really slowly and they were all over us in the first 20-25 minutes and they got a two-goal lead. That just caught us cold and we were struggling to get in the game."

With their heads down early on, a goal from Jason Teal lifted the morale of North Force's attack shortly before halftime.

Unfortunately the halftime break came when North Force were gaining momentum.

"We were starting to get at them like we did to Manukau," Baddeley said.

"In the second half we really threw it at them and completely dominated. If we had played the first half the way we played the second, we'd be coming home with a win."

The Fencibles line-up was similar to the last time the two teams played - when North Force came away with a 1-0 win.

North Force travel to Hamilton this weekend to play Claudelands Rovers.