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19/06/05
As Comprehensive As It Gets!
by Jeremy Ruane
Lynn-Avon United took a giant step towards their sixth consecutive Northern Premier Women's League championship on June 19 when handing out a 4-0 hiding to second-placed Eastern Suburbs at Ken Maunder Park, in a performance which, it's fair to say, was as comprehensive as it gets!
The visitors aren't a bad side, but to be perfectly blunt, they failed to turn up as a competitive force for the first half of this encounter, and they were taught a few lessons in the subjects of desire and self-belief by a Lynn-Avon side which chose this game to make a pertinent statement to all and sundry about their capabilities.
Just about every 50-50 ball was won by a red-clad performer, as the reigning champions played with an across-the-board intensity which all of their rivals in this league would struggle to match. Yes, United were well up for this one, while Suburbs were missing, presumed having a good time, certainly for the first forty-five minutes!
At times it wasn't pretty - both teams were guilty of gifting possession to their opponents by virtue of playing the long, hopeful ball forward, instead of relying on the swift, incisive interchanges of which both are well capable, to open up the opposing defence.
The raking cross-field ball tactic, however, is a key component in Lynn-Avon's attacking armoury, and just as at Madills Farm in the first encounter between these teams, they exploited it on several occasions in this match, in the form of the left-to-right diagonal ball in behind the defence for Ria Percival to latch onto.
How Suburbs failed to heed the lessons from that first encounter defied logic. And their opponents wasted little time in taking advantage of both this deficiency and the distribution frailties of visiting goalkeeper, Ginny Tan.
Time and again in the first ten minutes, Tan's goal-kicks failed to travel anything like a suitable distance, and Lynn-Avon were afforded long-range shooting opportunities, two of which, from Percival and Jen Carlisle, flew narrowly over the bar.
Suburbs survived that scare, but had no answers once Carlisle found her range with the aforementioned diagonal ball inside the retreating Deb Gerrard. Lurking behind her was Percival, and she fair thrashed home the opening goal of the game in the fourteenth minute, Tan having not a prayer of stopping it.
The goal briefly stung Suburbs into life, with Rebecca Tegg - on a very rare occasion, as it turned out - getting the better of Terry McCahill in the sixteenth minute, but the striker was swiftly thwarted by the combined efforts of Stephanie Puckrin and Melanie Hansen.
Margot Bowker, enjoying just her third run of the campaign, was next to feature, releasing Percival down the right. Her cross for Sam Selwyn was tailor-made to be hit on the volley, but an air-shot was the best the midfielder could muster on this occasion.
Five minutes later, Bowker was picked out by a McCahill free-kick in the penalty area. Her drive ricocheted off the arm of Janet Groves to Tan, and howls for a spot-kick bombarded the ears of referee Nick Waldron.
Thankfully, the official didn't mar a top-drawer performance by himself and his assistants with a decision in United's favour on this occasion - there was, after all, no intent on Groves' part to handle the ball, hence no penalty.
Another Suburbs sortie materialised in the 27th minute, sparked by the precocious talent that is Grace Vincent. She wasn't precocious in this game, however, playing as she was with an injury which was clearly troubling her. Nonetheless, a deft flick presented Mel Gooch with a chance to run at United's defence, and she muscled in between Hansen and and the hard-working Anne Tansell to force an opening for Tegg.
The striker was denied the chance to shoot on the turn, however, and had to play the ball on still further for Flora McLeod to set her sights on goal. The last time she played on Ken Maunder Park was in Lynn-Avon's colours, but a fair few moons have passed since that occasion. But the goalposts are still in the same place, and she promptly let fly. Puckrin, however, wasn't in the mood to concede today, and parried the
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 Jen Carlisle (LAU) and Grace Vincent (ESubs)
 Ria Percival (LAU)
 Flora McLeod (ESubs)
 Vicki Rainbow (LAU) & Vicki Chong (ESubs)
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ball to safety.
Back came Lynn-Avon, Carlisle's raking crossfield ball presenting Percival with a 29th minute shooting chance which she unleashed just past the post. But another poor goal-kick from Tan was punished mercilessly seconds later, Percival pouncing on the ball to fire in a cross to the near post.
Rebecca Parkinson was the target, and she somehow squeezed a shot under the diving figure of Tan. Alert to the danger, Sandee Hui slid in to try to clear the ball before it crossed the line, but her momentum took it over the paintwork before she could execute the clearance - 2-0.
Within seconds, Parkinson was denied what would have been a superb individual goal. Latching onto the ball in midfield, she attacked the back-pedalling Suburbs defence and completely wrong-footed them to create space for a shooting opportunity from twenty-five yards. The striker let fly, only for Tan to tip the ball onto the post and to safety, as no-one in a red shirt was following in.
The next time Lynn-Avon threatened, they were celebrating once more, eight minutes before half-time. Parkinson whipped a corner into the near post, where Carlisle arrived on cue to meet the ball with her head. The sphere cannoned onto the chest of the retreating figure of Tegg and ricocheted in - 3-0.
Nothing was going right for Suburbs, with a few heads by now having slumped considerably. Only good fortune denied the home team a fourth goal as they looked to twist the knife still further, with Vicki Rainbow's nasty low cross giving Tan all sorts of grief. The `keeper couldn't hold onto it, but the ball spilled between Bowker and Parkinson, neither of whom was able to capitalise as they had slid in for the kill.
Gooch rattled the side-netting just before the interval, a show of intent from which Suburbs gained heart for the second spell. Before they did so, however, a few choice words were unleashed in some deserving pairs of ears during the half-time break, as the visitors embarked on a damage limitation exercise, rather than a Liverpool-style European Cup Final comeback from three goals down!
No matter what Suburbs did, however, Lynn-Avon had answers, often in the form of their desire to snuff out threats early on by applying pressure on the ball then winning the tackles or intercepting the passes. Aging though they may be, there is still an air of impregnability about Lynn-Avon's experienced rearguard, a fact reflected in their goals against column - set yet again to boast the lowest number of goals conceded in the league this season.
United are also set to boast the most prolific attack, too, and in the 57th minute, Bowker came desperately close to plundering a fourth goal in this encounter, her glancing header of a well-flighted Jill Gilmore cross creeping just past Tan's right-hand post.
Seven minutes later, Tegg latched onto the ball in midfield and charged forward before threading a ball through to Gooch. Her shot, taken in her stride, zoomed past the advancing Puckrin but across the face of goal.
Back came Lynn-Avon, twenty minutes from time, with Bowker, Dana Heiford and Parkinson combining to present Bowker with a chance. Tan smothered a shot which was struck on the stretch.
The next shot of consequence Tan had to face was, quite simply, unstoppable!! Suburbs cleared a Parkinson-led raid on the right to a seemingly safe area some thirty yards out from goal.
Percival was arriving on cue, however, and she hit a snorter of a first-time volley which arced viciously over the diving Tan and into her top left-hand corner - it was a quite stunning strike on which Lynn-Avon sealed their comprehensive victory. In any language, a 4-0 win over the second-placed team is impressive, and the manner of this victory was, unquestionably.
Lynn-Avon: Puckrin; Gilmore (Leaper, 80), McCahill, Tansell, Hansen; Percival, Rainbow, Selwyn (Heiford, 55), Carlisle; Parkinson, Bowker (Doubleday, 80)
Suburbs: Tan; Moore, Groves, Hui; Vincent (A. McLeod, 46), Fraser, Chong, Gerrard (Butterworth, 46), F. McLeod; Tegg, Gooch
Referee: Nick Waldron
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