On The Up: Youth v experience – four daughters take on mums in football match with scores to settle

Mother and daughters Jorga and Dee Tahau, inset, Charlotte and Anouk Lumb (left), Nita and Naomi Barley, and Bonnie and Pauline Buckman from Havelock North Wanderers AFC.

The family battles of the dining room table spilled out on to the football field in Havelock North.

And absolutely no mercy was shown.

On one side were four Havelock North Wanderers club mothers, Anouk Lumb, Naomi Barley, Pauline Buckman and Dee Tahau.

On the other were their daughters Charlotte Lumb, Nita Barley, Bonnie Buckman and Georgia Tahau, playing for the development side.

What followed was some of the hardest-fought women’s club football Hawke’s Bay has seen in years, judging by the reaction of those on the sidelines.

Before the match-up of daughters and mums – there were of course 14 others on the pitch as well – the two women’s Division 2 teams were almost neck-and-neck on the table, with the daughters sitting one point ahead.

It was all left out on the pitch on Sunday, June 8, when the sides met at the club’s home ground at Guthrie Park.

Scores were settled in a bid to find out which is better in football - youthful exuberance or methodical experience.

Havelock North Wanderers AFC Loading Ramp (the mothers) in yellow take on Development (the daughters) in white at Guthrie Park. Photo / Jack Riddell

The match started with the teams evenly matched, going into the halftime break 0-0.

A goal in the 65th minute from Adidas Kepa put the daughters ahead.

What followed was an arm-wrestle complete with some dubious tackles.

One team member from the mothers’ team was seen apologising to a mum after a particularly hard challenge against her daughter.

“Sorry if your daughter hates me now,” the woman laughed.

A goal from the captain of the daughters’ team Charlotte Lumb in the 75th minute sealed the mothers’ fates, as the daughters went on to win 2-0.

Charlotte said the goal against her mother Anouk’s team felt “fantastic”.

“I’ve always wanted to play with or against my mum, so here we are,” she said.

Despite beating her mum, Charlotte was still confident there would be dinner on the table that evening.

“She’s cooking, so that helps,” said Anouk.

Pauline Buckman played in the mothers’ team against her daughter Bonnie.

Although the most mothers and daughters playing together in an official football match is not a recognised Guinness World Record, Pauline said it should be.

“This is the first time this many mothers and daughters have taken on one another at the Wanderers,” she said.

“As for the result, we think the best way to justify the young girls beating us, is that we taught them so well and genetics are amazing.

“Whether the mothers should retire or not now is something to think about.”

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and spent the last 15 years working in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier.