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18/04/07
Suburbs And Champs Start Season With A Thriller
by Jeremy Ruane
Fasten your seatbelts and hold on tight, folks, because if the standard of football seen at Bill McKinlay Park on April 18 is a foretaste of things to come, this is going to be an outstanding season of Northern Premier Women's League action.
Eastern Suburbs and Three Kings United fought out a rip-roaring 1-1 draw in front of around a hundred spectators on a crisp, floodlit, early autumn evening, with the outcome uncertain until the very last act of the contest.
Right from the off it was a lively affair, with Suburbs' Flora McLeod providing Rebecca Tegg with the chance to warm Jenny Bindon's gloves after two minutes, and Ginny Tan racing off her line to deny United's Zoe Thompson, as she looked to latch onto a Betsy Hassett through ball ninety seconds later.
In the seventh minute, a sloppy pass from Kristy Hill to Jane Simpson was pounced upon by McLeod, who played Tegg in. The striker didn't get a sniff, however, as Hannah Rishworth stepped in to avert the danger.
Back came the reigning champions, with Rebecca Sowden releasing Roseanne Cox down the left. The youngster skipped past Lily Somerfield's challenge before whipping in a cross towards the near post, where Thompson was homing in. Tan, anticipating the danger, saved well at the striker's feet.
Suburbs' response was instigated by Grace Vincent - she had a super first half. After seeing her corner cleared back to her, she proceeded to completely wrong-foot Sarah Gibbs twice before clipping a cross towards the far post.
Rishworth's headed clearance dropped perfectly for Allysha Johnson, who was making her Suburbs debut. She almost crowned it with a stunning goal, a dipping twenty yard volley which thudded against the base of the far post and cannoned back into play.
United scrambled the ball clear, with Annalie Longo and Hassett leading the charge up the other end on the quarter hour. The latter released Merissa Smith - what a swift recovery she's made from shoulder surgery! - down the right, and her first-time cross picked out Cox to perfection. The recipient's shot was nowhere near as accurate.
Back came Suburbs, with Vincent and Rebecca Brown - much to the delight of her NZ U-17 colleagues in the stand - working an opening on the right which allowed the former to release Melanie Gooch at pace. Her volley fizzed over the bar, and gave spectators the chance to quickly draw breath after a pulsating first sixteen minutes.
The hectic pace didn't let up, and nor did the quality of the football, although the younger players occasionally overdid things, Smith's decision to take on and beat one more opponent in the nineteenth minute a classic case in point.
McLeod wasn't easily fooled, and stripped the speedster of possession in the blink of an eye before releasing Tegg with an early through ball. She played the sphere across to Vincent, who unleashed a twenty-five yard screamer which had Bindon beaten all ends up. The goalkeeper was mightily relieved to see the ball cannon back into play off the inside of the far post.
United retorted again, this time with their best spell of the half thus far. Hassett sparked it with a lovely piece of skill to ride the tackle of Johnson on half-way, before playing the ball forward to Thompson. Her first-time lay-off invited Smith to hit a cross-shot on the run, but the ball sailed over the bar.
In the 24th minute, Three Kings' back-line was up to speed with their passing, as Gibbs, Hill and Simpson swiftly interchanged passes, allowing the Canterbury-based full-back - she's flying up to Auckland at her own expense each week to play in the country's top club competition - to play the ball wide to Smith and scamper forward in anticipation of a return.
It duly arrived, and Simpson eased past Eleanor Glenton before whipping in a cross which had Thompson's name written all over it, at least until Janet Groves stooped to head clear.
No strangers to mixing up their approach, United opted for route one in the 28th minute. Bindon launched the ball up-field, and Sowden flicked it on into the path of Thompson, as she darted between defenders. Tan just won the race this time, and instantly sparked a counter-attack which resulted in the first goal of the evening.
Groves, striding towards half-way, played the ball in behind Three Kings' defence for Tegg, who was surging through the inside right channel. Bindon, seeing the danger, hurtled out of goal, and ball, striker and goalkeeper arrived in pretty much the same spot simultaneously. Tegg got enough contact on the ball to flick it past Bindon and into the far corner of the net.
Three Kings' response was slow in coming, but an intricate interchange on half-way between Longo, Cox and Hassett, designed to launch their first attack since going behind, came to an abrupt halt when the dynamic Marlies Oostdam - she had a whale of a game - stepped in to break things up, then send McLeod steaming through on the left.
Again, Bindon was alert to the threat, and blocked at the flying midfielder's feet, with the classy Rishworth mopping up the remaining danger.
In the 37th minute, a blunder on half-way by Simpson gifted possession to Vincent, who combined with Brown to send Gooch scooting through. Bindon - another to stand out in an outstanding early-season encounter - saved at the striker's feet, before getting her team heading in their desired direction once more.
This time, they had greater joy, Longo's through ball allowing Thompson to outpace Groves before shooting. Tan parried her effort, with the danger being averted by Johnson, who raced back to head clear while herself ending up in the net.
Thus followed ninety seconds of great play from both teams. Hassett, Smith and Sowden began weaving some wizardry on the right with a delightful interchange of passes, until a stray one from Smith saw Vincent step in and spark a Suburbs riposte which also involved Brown, Gooch and Tegg.
The last-mentioned still had plenty to do - she had the undivided attention of both Hill and Simpson to contend with - but Tegg made light of this, unleashing a blistering twenty yard volley which flashed inches past Bindon's right-hand post, the goalkeeper flying to her right in an effort to save it.
From the resulting goal-kick, Longo picked out Cox with a sumptuous pass down the left, allowing the winger to clip a perfectly weighted cross into the near post area. As happened at the opposite end of the park when the goal was scored, ball, goalkeeper and striker arrived as one, but the outcome this time was different - Tan had the wind knocked out of her by Thompson, but managed to snaffle possession in the
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 Jenny Bindon (TKU)
 Grace Vincent (ESubs)
 Annalie Longo (TKU)
 Allysha Johnson (ESubs)
 Rebecca Sowden (TKU)
 Marlies Oostdam (ESubs)
 Zoe Thompson (TKU)
 Ginny Tan (ESubs)
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process.
United were a wee bit frustrated at the way things were going, having gone behind, and went through a brief spell in which Suburbs players found themselves on the receiving end of some feisty challenges - Johnson, in particular, copped some hard knocks, but to her credit, didn't flinch an inch.
Referee Jan-Hendrik Hintz handled this rough-and-tumble spell particularly well, marking the offenders' cards with a quiet word where merited while allowing play to continue and the momentum of the match to be maintained through quickly-taken free-kicks.
Only one of these incidents culminated in a goalscoring opportunity, Oostdam directing her free-kick narrowly wide from twenty-five yards on the stroke of the half-time whistle, which brought a breathless first half to its conclusion.
The second spell was every bit as enthralling, with United's pursuit of an equaliser commencing in the 48th minute, as Cox saw Groves block her piledriver at close quarters, following a cleared Sowden corner.
Then the persistent Gibbs chased down a through ball from Rishworth, and set up a crossing opportunity for Cox. Her delivery was a gem - a hanging cross which dropped out of the floodlights, and was duly spilled by Tan. Glenton scrambled the danger clear, but only as far as Simpson, who set sail for goal.
She got to within twenty-five yards when Oostdam brought her down, but referee Hintz played a good advantage, given Cox had pounced on the ball. Her pass to Longo saw the youngster lash a twenty-yarder over the bar.
Back came Suburbs, Gooch their outlet down the right in the 54th minute, with Hill, Gibbs and Rishworth in hot pursuit. That meant someone was free in the middle, and Gooch duly picked out the unattended figure of Tegg.
When a right-foot drive would have put the game out of Three Kings' reach, she opted to shuffle the ball onto her lethal left peg, but in doing so gave Cox the opportunity to race back and get in a timely challenge.
There were times in this match when United looked a little at sea in terms of their combination play, and one such instance occurred in the 58th minute. A misunderstanding between the midfield trio was pounced on by Oostdam, who instantly unleashed a thirty-yard rocket which crashed against the post - the third time Suburbs had struck the woodwork in the match.
Six minutes later, Glenton's timely intervention prevented Thompson taking advantage of a defensive blunder, and Oostdam immediately hoisted the ball forward, allowing Tegg to run at the United rearguard once more. She got the better of them, but not Bindon, who produced a fine save low to her left to deny the striker's drive.
By this time, Suburbs were beginning to tire - fitness has rarely been a strong suit of a team which has invariably been thereabouts in the pursuit of honours over recent seasons. That gave United the incentive to come on strong, and for the bulk of the final twenty-five minutes, they had the nominated home team gasping on the ropes.
They were buoyed by their equalising goal, netted in the 67th minute. Sowden's corner was delivered to the far post, where Hill powered through the crowd to send the ball careering high into the net off her thigh - 1-1.
The visitors promptly set out their stall to score a second goal, and within two minutes, Smith found herself striding onto a superb Rishworth pass which left the speedster one-on-one with Tan. The `keeper prevailed - she was another to shine in this game.
Both Tegg and Gibbs fired wide of the mark in the next ten minutes as the game swung this way and that without either goal being truly threatened, before United began to gain the upper hand with a vengeance.
Nine minutes from time, Sowden - with her hand? - gathered the ball in midfield and sent Smith through to confront Tan once more. This time, she had Thompson in support, and directed the ball across for her team-mate to steer home. At least, that was the plan - Oostdam had other ideas, and her despairing lunge diverted the danger, albeit briefly.
For Three Kings were coming with the proverbial wet sail, and in the remaining minutes they kept Suburbs largely hemmed inside their own half with a barrage of attacks from every conceivable angle.
Six minutes from time, Gibbs, Hassett and Sowden's silky interchange saw Thompson receive the ball just inside Suburbs half on the left, and off she set on a slaloming run past five opponents and into the penalty area before she stumbled, which allowed Tan and Glenton to avert the danger.
Seconds later, Gibbs hoisted the ball forward, and Groves let it bounce, only to look round in horror as Thompson, who was lurking with intent on her shoulder, appeared in her sights. Tan was on the scene in an instant, and denied the striker the chance to swoop.
But her clearance downfield was pounced on by United, led this time by Hassett, who raced to the edge of the penalty area before picking out the fast-arriving Sowden - she was screaming for the ball some twenty-five yards out from goal. Hassett's pass was a peach, while the technical quality of Sowden's ferociously struck low volley needed a great save to keep it out. Tan launched herself to her left and provided one.
Still United pressed, and still Suburbs repelled. Thompson just failed to get on the end of a Nicole Stratford cross, while Tan did well to hold onto another hanging cross, this time from Rishworth.
Sowden, a minute from time, sent a twenty-five yard free-kick - awarded after Vincent had instinctively stuck out a hand to protect her face from a shot, and earned herself the game's only booking for doing so - crashing into the hoardings, while the same player sent Smith scurrying through in stoppage time.
Tan grabbed her cross-shot, the last act of a barnstorming encounter between two well-matched sides who, you can be sure, will be in the frame come the final reckoning of what, on the evidence of this match, is shaping up to be an exhilarating Northern Premier Women's League campaign.
Suburbs: Tan; Somerfield, Glenton, Groves, Johnson; Brown (M. Cox, 57), Vincent (booked, 89), Oostdam, McLeod (Newman, 65); Gooch (Fraser, 75), Tegg
Three Kings: Bindon; Simpson (Stratford, 82), Hill, Rishworth, Gibbs; Smith, Longo, Sowden, Hassett, Cox; Thompson
Referee: Jan-Hendrik Hintz
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