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31/08/08
Cup Stalwarts Score Deserved Triumph Over Holders
by Jeremy Ruane
Seven-time National Women's Knockout Cup winners Lynn-Avon United scored a thoroughly deserved 1-0 triumph over holders Western Springs at Seddon Fields on August 31 to set up a showdown for the silverware with Canterbury's Western club at North Harbour Stadium in a fortnight's time.
The outgoing Mainland Premier Women's League champions will have their hands full endeavouring to contain their opponents on September 13, because Lynn-Avon's passion and desire to win this semi-final was insatiable.
Springs ultimately had no answers to their rivals, who were on the holders' case right from the first whistle, as evidenced by Kirsty Yallop's quickly taken free-kick after just 85 seconds.
This attempt, while landing on the roof of the net, served another purpose - a warning shot across Springs' bows which effectively said, “We want our trophy back - badly!” It showed, all the way through to the final whistle.
Not that Springs had any intentions of meekly surrendering to their opponents a la that prime example of New Zealand footballing mediocrity, the Wellington Phoenix.
But they were up against a Lynn-Avon side with a season-long desire to send club stalwart Terry McCahill into well-earned retirement on a winning note, and on the eve of her 38th birthday this was one match they simply weren't going to lose.
It quickly became evident that Lynn-Avon's hunger to win was going to keep Springs on their toes, and any laxness would be punished. Proof of this came in the sixth minute, as a stray Jesse Verdon pass was swooped on by Sarah Gregorius, who raced through three challenges before firing in a cross-shot which Pam Yates grabbed at her near post.
Springs sought a swift retort through Grace Vincent, who played Annabelle Bramwell in on her right. She whipped in a cross which had Renee Leota as its target, but Melissa Ray's flying header clear denied the striker a sniff of the chance.
United were already starting to string together some delightful five- and six-pass interchanges, but all too often these foundered on a poorly executed final ball. Every so often Springs would aid their opponents' case with a stray pass, such as in the eighteenth minute.
Again, Gregorius pounced on the loose ball, and promptly set sail for goal before letting fly. Yates parried the shot, but Liz Milne had to react quickly to clear the danger as Amber Hearn moved in for the kill, prior to lashing a twenty-five yard grasscutter narrowly past Yates' left-hand post following a quickly taken free-kick by Katie Hoyle to Yallop.
Twenty-five minutes into the match, Dana Humby's angled ball forward lured Yates out of goal, in an attempt to thwart the full-of-running Emma Kete. The striker won the race, only to be pulled up by the sound of referee Harold Duimstra's whistle, the official deeming - somewhat harshly - that Kete had impeded the goalkeeper in their contest for possession.
Three minutes later, the pair clashed again, this time in the goalmouth. Yallop's inswinging corner hit the near post and ricocheted out to Hearn. But as she buried the ball in the back of the net and began celebrating, that tell-tale high-pitched peep pierced the atmosphere once more, much to Kete's chagrin.
Springs' attacks had been few and far between to this point, but you know what happens when waiting for a bus! Straight from the resumption, Bramwell turned Hoyle superbly on the right and threaded the ball inside for her captain, Rebecca O'Neill.
Her first-time slide-rule pass split Lynn-Avon's defence and sent Leota racing through, but the striker came across a wily adversary in United goalkeeper Yvonne Vale, who spread herself superbly to foil at the front-runner's feet, before recovering to be perfectly placed to grab a Leota header seconds later, following a Verdon cross.
Ten minutes before half-time, Yallop's hesitance saw Lynn-Avon squander another chance to open the scoring. A Gregorius shot was blocked, with Hearn onto the rebound in an instant.
Her cross found Yallop lurking on the penalty spot, with Kete immediately to her left, but the midfielder's indecision proved costly, as it allowed Abby Erceg the chance to strip her Football Ferns' team-mate of possession and keep Springs on an even keel once more - the classy defender had a busy afternoon in that regard.
That this was so was due to Lynn-Avon's midfield supremacy. With Yallop and Hoyle working like Trojans, and mobile marauder Hayley Moorwood popping up here, there and everywhere in support of Hearn, Kete, Gregorius and her midfield accomplices, O'Neill, Vincent and Priscilla Duncan found themselves in what, this season, has been a very uncommon situation for them.
The Springs' midfield axis has tended to dominate their opposition throughout the campaign, and that has been a key aspect of their having won every match played this season prior to this fixture.
Today, however, they weren't given the chance to dictate terms. This writer can't recall Duncan, normally such a dynamo in the heart of the contest, ever being so ineffective in such a crucial fixture - her display was totally out of character.
Vincent, too, was similarly well contained, while O'Neill's frustrations boiled over to the extent that, as well as an earful from referee Duimstra, her injudicious use of an elbow late in the game earned her something far worse.
Rare indeed are the occasions when arguably the most respected player in NZ women's football finds reason to scold an opponent for their actions in mid-battle in tones loud enough for all and sundry to hear, but this breach of unwritten on-field etiquette was one of them, and O'Neill copped both barrels from a player whose display in this match was of the 38 going on 28 variety - vintage Terry McCahill!
But for the offside flag in the 41st minute, Springs would have found themselves a goal down. Gregorius made something out of nothing on the right, then weaved past an opponent before whipping in a cross to the near post, Kete her intended target.
The striker duly steered the ball home, but had timed her run to meet the sphere a split-second too soon ... Steve Peeters' flag shot up instantly, and for the second time in the half, Lynn-Avon's goal celebrations were cut short.
Before the interval, Yallop and Hearn failed to capitalise on a poor clearance by Yates, who greedily grabbed a teasing cross from Kete which Gregorius had designs on as the ball curled in from the left.
Springs were on the wrong end of a Paul Temple rocket at half-time, and the coach's well-chosen words clearly had an effect, as the home team went on the offensive straight from the resumption. O'Neill and Verdon combined to present Bramwell with a volleyed chance just forty-five seconds after the kick-off, but the promising youngster could not capitalise on what was a difficult opportunity.
Hearn retorted three minutes later with a slick move from the heart of her repertoire. Gathering a Hoyle pass, she neatly laid the ball off to Gregorius and burst
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 Hannah Wall and Katie Hoyle
 Liz Milne heads clear from Emma Kete
 Jenny Carlisle and Annabelle Bramwell
 Rebecca O'Neill and Kirsty Yallop duel in mid-air
 Match-winner Sarah Gregorius
 Abby Erceg
 Hayley Moorwood
 Jesse Verdon heads the ball on
 Amber Hearn
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forward in anticipation of a return which duly arrived in her stride. Three opponents later, and with the ball still at toe, the striker let fly, only to find Yates right behind the shot.
Seconds later, Kete barrelled through from half-way into Springs' penalty area, Erceg matching her stride for stride every step of the way. The defender chose her moment with precision, and another of her Football Ferns' team-mates was left to rue what might have been.
Back came Springs, Chelsey Wood's cross-field ball gathered in by O'Neill, who linked with Verdon to present Leota with the chance to shoot on the turn. This fiftieth minute effort fizzed past the post, while three minutes later, Vale was off her line to foil the striker in uncompromising fashion, flattening the front-runner as she grabbed the ball O'Neill played through the inside-right channel.
The usually effervescent Hannah Wall was another unwilling victim of Lynn-Avon's tactical straitjacket, and rarely featured in proceedings. Indeed, but for her pursuit of a raking Yates clearance in the 57th minute - Vale prevailed under pressure - the youngster wouldn't have earned a mention at all, as she was withdrawn immediately afterwards, this week's National Secondary Schoolgirls Tournament action in Nelson her next assignment.
On the hour, Moorwood and Yallop linked on the left, with Gregorius' pursuit of the resulting ball over the top from half-way foundering on the anticipation of Yates. Her opposite number, Vale, should have had to deal with a similar situation four minutes later, as Vincent and Bramwell combined on the right. But Jamie Hackett, Wall's replacement, squandered the resulting cross - she should have done better.
The resulting goal-kick saw Lynn-Avon on the attack once more, this time inspired by Ray. The overlapping full-back steamed up in support of Gregorius before playing a one-two with Moorwood, whose return pass was of the defence-splitting variety and gave Ray the time and space in which to deliver a precise cross to the far post. Hoyle's finish failed to do the move justice.
The introduction of Young Ferns captain, Briony Fisher, offered Springs some much-needed zip and zest, but it was the tireless toil of Football Ferns captain, Moorwood, which created the next opportunity in the match, one from which Lynn-Avon should have taken the lead.
Having forced Erceg to play the ball back to Yates, Moorwood kept the hammer down and chased after the goalkeeper, in the hope her pressure would force an error. It did, with Yates looking on in horror as her clearance landed straight at the feet of Hearn, twenty-five yards out on the angle from a gaping goal and poised to pull the trigger.
Cramp can strike when you least expect it, and Hearn, who had been stretching the calf muscle she tweaked on the recent Olympics campaign just a few minutes prior, fell victim to the paralysing pain at precisely the wrong moment, her stubbed shot the least of her concerns as the stricken striker slumped to the turf in undisguised distress.
Play was held up for three minutes while Hearn received on-field treatment, the absence of a stretcher prompting Erceg and Yates to assist Lynn-Avon substitutes Vicki Rainbow and Becky Burrows in carrying their colleague to the sideline - even in the heat of a semi-final battle between two well-matched rivals, this display of sportsmanship was appreciated by all.
In Hearn's absence, Bramwell looked to capitalise on Liz Milne's angled ball through, but Vale wasn't having a bar of it. It soon became apparent that Sam Selwyn would need to enter the fray to even up the on-field numbers, and mere seconds after she did so, the deadlock was broken in the 74th minute.
Perhaps it was the change of position made necessary by the substitution, but it was enough to enable Gregorius to give Springs the slip, and how she made them pay! Controlling the ball some twenty-five yards out from goal, she spotted Yates off her line and instantly unleashed a cheeky lob.
The `keeper knew she was in trouble from the second the ball left Gregorius' boot, and the sight of her flailing in vain at the bouncing ball as it soared into the top left-hand corner of her net was one which delighted the scorer, who was instantly engulfed by her overjoyed colleagues. 1-0 Lynn-Avon, a lead for which they were good value.
It's a lead they swiftly looked to double, as well. Erceg blocked a shot from Kete, then closed down Selwyn, who was forced to play the ball wide for Ray. She slipped Hoyle through the channel, but Yates smothered the resulting low cross, then saved at the feet of a frustrated Kete seconds later, after more good work by Hoyle.
Time was running out for Springs to save the game, their unbeaten season and, most tellingly, their grip in the cup. The advent of the final ten minutes of play saw Verdon unleash a shot which deflected for a corner. Milne's delivery picked out O'Neill's head, off which the ball flew past the far post.
Soon after, Vale was confident in dealing with an Erceg free-kick, but less so with an awkward long-range effort from O'Neill which bounced in front of the `keeper and required her to grab the ball under her crossbar as it reared up in ungainly fashion.
In between times, Springs had very strong claims for a penalty, as substitute Leanne Tiffen went to ground under pressure in the area. Referee Duimstra had a long look, but much to the frustration of the home team and their fans, waved play-on.
Cue five minutes of stoppage time, made necessary by the substitutions as much as by Hearn's misfortune twenty minutes prior. In the additional period, Moorwood engineered the only chance, Kete the beneficiary.
Yates had her shot covered until Gregorius appeared on the scene and rounded the stranded `keeper, who recovered well to smother the resulting cross from the game's lone goalscorer, whose quarter-final and semi-final strikes have done enough to bring Lynn-Avon to the brink of a record eighth National Women's Knockout Cup triumph, while ending Western Springs' hopes of successfully retaining the symbol of NZ women's soccer supremacy at club level.
Western, 2-1 victors over Seatoun a week ago to become the first Canterbury representatives in the final since Nomads United won the inaugural competition in 1994, will be hoping they don't suffer the same fate as the last non-Auckland finalists in 2000.
Wairarapa United came to North Harbour Stadium with high hopes that year, only to return home with tail twixt legs after suffering the record Cup Final defeat - 6-0 - at the hands of a team whose captain is looking forward to a record ninth Cup Final appearance, one which her Lynn-Avon team-mates are determined to mark in the manner to which Terry McCahill has become accustomed over the years.
Springs: Yates; Wood, Erceg, Milne; Bramwell (Tiffen, 79), O'Neill, Duncan (Fisher, 66), Vincent, Verdon; Leota, Wall (Hackett, 58)
Lynn-Avon: Vale; Ray, Humby, McCahill, Carlisle (Burrows, 90); Gregorius, Hoyle, Yallop (booked, 85), Moorwood; Hearn (Selwyn, 73), Kete
Referee: Harold Duimstra
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