Northland FC went down 1-0 to a spirited Metro side on Saturday in the Lotto NRFL Division Two at Tikipunga.
A sunny winter afternoon set the scene for the clash, with the pitch holding up in spite of all the adverse weather over the last week.
The visitors set themselves up in a 3-4-3 formation, which the boys in blue struggled to get to grips with throughout, and the first half saw little in the way of goalmouth action at either end as both teams struggled to find the requisite quality in the final third.
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Northland found their usual rhythm disrupted by the different shape of the opposition, but did not help themselves by giving the ball away cheaply and found themselves exposed from a quick counter in the 55th minute.