Under-21s

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Under-21s

AUCKLAND U-21s, 2005

Back: Dene Gilmore (co-coach), Abby Erceg, Rebecca Tegg, Stacey Fraser, Kath Doubleday, Hannah Valentine, Jasmine Wagner, Jill Gilmore

(co-coach) Front: Grace Vincent, Sam Selwyn, Melissa Ray (captain), Ashleigh Cox, Poppy Binning, Sandee Hui, Merissa Smith, Betsy Hassett

Year	Opponents	Score	Scorers
1984	Taranaki	4-1	D. Chambers (2), A. Meikle, M. Van de Elzen
	Waikato	2-0	T. Burrows, M. Van de Elzen
	Bay of Plenty	7-0	A. Meikle (2), M. Van de Elzen (2), M. Allan, M. Cox, L. Pakieto
2005	Gladesville Ravens	9-0	R. Tegg (3), G. Vincent (3), S. Selwyn (2), "oggie"
	Gladesville Ravens	4-0	K. Doubleday, A. Erceg, S. Selwyn, M. Smith

Gladesville Given Runaround By Up-&-Coming Aucks

by Jeremy Ruane

Visiting New South Wales Premier Women's League team Gladesville Ravens were again chasing shadows at Bill McKinlay Park on September 30, this time cast by a lively Auckland U-21 squad, which humbled the tourists 9-0 and produced some lovely football in the process, particularly in the first forty-five minutes.

It is, ironically, twenty-one years since an Auckland women's team took to the field at this age level, and among the scorers in their three matches against Taranaki, Waikato and Bay of Plenty were then teenage terrors Michele Cox and Monique Van de Elzen.

One generation on, and one can but wonder who, of the up-and-coming Auckland prospects on show in this match, will come to be held in the legendary status which the aforementioned duo share with a fair few other stars, following their on-field exploits during the course of New Zealand women's soccer's thirty-three-year history to date.

Like Cox and Van de Elzen all those years ago, the bulk of this Auckland side is aged well under twenty-one, with some of the squad eligible to play in this age-grade for another five years at least!

God alone knows how good some of these youngsters will be when they reach their peak in about a decade or so, their burgeoning talents having by then been supplemented by a wealth of experience. When you stop to consider the prospect, it's decidedly exciting!

Such was the manner in which Auckland tore into their opponents in the first half of this encounter, you could have been forgiven for thinking they were looking to score a goal for every year since the Under-21s had last played! And while Gladesville weren't without opportunities to score themselves, their own half of the field was again familiar territory to the travelling party for much of this match.

The young Aucklanders got the scoring under way in the seventh minute, with a penalty. The pace of Betsy Hassett rather startled former Matilda Sharon Dewar, who was caught in possession by the frisky teenager on the edge of her penalty area. Hassett bulleted to the by-line before whipping in a cross intended for Rebecca Tegg or Merissa Smith.

The former never got to it, having been sent tumbling by Gianna Abbonizio's despairing lunge. Unperturbed, Tegg picked herself up, dusted herself down, and despatched the penalty, which had been awarded, rather dangerously down the middle of the goal - Claire Cherrington wasn't quite able to get enough of her hand on the ball to stave off the inevitable.

The visitors were swift to respond, Margaret Corderoy leading the charge out of defence within a minute before picking out Fatma Agar with a peach of a pass. Her first-time shot from twenty-five yards swerved wide of the mark, but offered Gladesville early hope that they would be a factor in this contest.

Such hopes swiftly diminished, however, as Auckland started getting their combinations working, with Sam Selwyn and Grace Vincent taking it in turns to direct operations from the heart of midfield, ably supported on either flank by the energetic Hassett and the full-of-running Poppy Binning.

This quartet was central to everything that Auckland did which was good, and there was plenty of that from this prototype “A Team” of the not-too-distant future, one which was unable to field any of its eight New Zealand Under-19 squad members, due to their involvement in a training camp this weekend.

Nor, for obvious reasons, could they field offshore-based Auckland U-21-eligible quintet - and full NZ internationals all - Hayley Moorwood, Pip Meo, Amber Hearn, Rachel Doody and Anne Ormrod … as mentioned before, when you stop to consider the future prospects for the women's game overall in this country, given the talent which is available, it's decidedly exciting!!

But I digress. Some enchanting moves stemmed from the central twosome in particular, and neither Vincent nor Selwyn were afraid to chance their arm from distance when the opportunity arose either, as Cherrington can testify, having had to save efforts from the pair in the 18th and 19th minutes respectively.

Stacey Fraser - a solid performance in an unfamiliar right-back role - then sent Hassett scooting forward, and as she had been doing on the ski fields earlier this week, she slalomed through the challenges of Abbonizio and Dewar before cheekily attempting to beat Cherrington all ends up at her near post.

The resulting corner was taken by Rebecca Tegg, who picked out the Under-21's captain, four-times-capped New Zealand international Melissa Ray, with her delivery. The squad's most experienced campaigner, with twenty “A Team” appearances to her name as well, saw her header cleared off the line by Abbonizio.

Within seconds, the ball was heading for Gladesville's goal once more, courtesy the combination play of Hannah Valentine, Sandee Hui, Binning and Vincent, whose dipping twenty-five yarder brought a fine fingertip save from Cherrington.

Tegg whipped in another corner, with Vincent's resulting header being blocked. But as Gladesville sought to clear their lines in this 21st minute raid, the only player in the squad to hit the net on this tour, Natasha Bohm, balanced the ledger somewhat with a thunderous close-range effort - into her own goal! 2-0, much to the undisguised chagrin of an understandably crestfallen goalscorer.

Three goals in the next fourteen minutes killed off any hopes Gladesville held of a recovery. In the 28th minute, Vincent and Selwyn worked a one-two, before the former swerved past her marker then potted a peach of a goal from twenty-five yards which had Cherrington clutching at air.

The `keeper and four defenders were beaten all ends up two minutes later, as Fraser and Vincent showed good composure on the right, before the latter picked out Tegg near the edge of the penalty area. She had plenty to do, but did it with aplomb, muscling past a quartet of opponents before blasting the ball beyond Cherrington - 4-0.

Five minutes later, referee Karl Watkins again had reason to point to the penalty spot, this time following a quite bizarre miss. Binning cut inside from the left into the area before laying the ball back for Vincent. An inviting cross to the far post for Hassett only needed a touch to turn it home, but the youngster gave it that and then some - back across goal the ball zoomed!

Tegg picked up the pieces, and was duly clattered once more, leaving the referee no option. Up stepped Vincent, and another unconvincing penalty found its mark, much to the annoyance of Cherrington, who got her hand to the effort, but couldn't divert it.

In the 38th minute, Gladesville were unlucky not to register the second goal of their four-match tour, when Emily Clarke picked out Agar with a fine ball forward. The striker, spotting Ashleigh Cox way off her line, swiftly swept the sphere goalwards beyond the hastily retreating goalkeeper, who was somewhat relieved to see the ball drifting past her right-hand post.

Auckland's response was to launch another raid on Gladesville's goal, Tegg leading the charge this time. Past two opponents she steamed before laying the ball inside for Binning. She drifted inside before unleashing a twenty-yard drive which dipped late, forcing Cherrington into another spectacular save.

Three minutes before the interval, Auckland's young guns became six-shooters, as the night's sixth goal was registered. Ray's neat control and lay-off sparked another surge forward from Vincent, who zig-zagged past two opponents before seeing her shot blocked by a third.

The rebound fell perfectly for Hassett, who promptly let fly, only for Cherrington to parry her effort. Unfortunately for the `keeper, she discovered the hard way that when Tegg is following in, and the ball spills loose, there's only one outcome - 6-0.

That completed the striker's hat-trick, and she was only denied a fourth goal in stoppage time by a challenge from Cherrington which had referee Watkins contemplating another visit to the penalty spot before deciding agin.

Ray intercepted a Sarah Reay-Young pass, and sparked off an attack featuring Fraser, Hassett and Vincent, whose through ball invited Tegg to run at Dewar. The veteran duly rounded, the striker set her sights on goal, only to be cut off at the knees by a committed `keeper. Lyssa Eades raced back to clear the loose ball to safety.

Gladesville coach Jeff Saul was understandably frustrated with his charges' efforts, but coaxed a much better second half performance out of the Ravens, albeit only after Auckland had added further to their first half tally.

Following a composed move out of defence featuring Cox, Valentine and Hui, Vincent picked up the ball on half-way and split the defence with a raking forty-yard pass, releasing Hassett at pace down the right. Belinda Small, who took over the gloves for the second spell, was off her line in an instant to save at the youngster's feet, but within seconds, Hassett was in possession again.

This time, she linked with another half-time substitute, Jasmine Wagner, who zipped into the penalty area, luring Small off her line once more. The replacement then checked her run and crossed the ball to the edge of the penalty area, leaving the goalkeeper stranded, and Selwyn licking her lips at the prospect of a goal. An unerring finish made it 7-0.

While not troubling Auckland's goal at any stage in the second spell - Fraser, Ray and, in particular, Valentine and Hui snuffed out virtually every Ravens' raid which got within thirty yards of goal - the visitors' vastly improved defensive display restricted the Aucklanders to just four goalscoring opportunities in the next twenty minutes.

The first of these came in the 64th minute. A raking clearance from Cox sent Wagner clear on the right, and her cross-shot was tipped to safety by Small. Binning picked up the pieces, and played the ball via Vincent to Selwyn, whose low drive was smothered by the replacement goalkeeper, one who, despite the spectacular saves of Cherrington, has been the better custodian in terms of her positioning when she has been on the park.

Distribution is a weakness Small needs to address, however, for it was her poor 66th minute clearance which invited Hassett and Wagner to link up once more, before the latter played the ball in to Vincent. Her curling twenty-five yarder crept past the post.

Two minutes later, another Auckland raid saw the lively Wagner deserving of far better fate. A brilliant jinking run by Hassett left four Ravens in her wake, prior to the midfielder touching the ball through for Wagner. From ten yards, she sent a shot crashing against the crossbar.

Gladesville cleared the danger for a corner, and how Auckland failed to convert one of Vincent's three deliveries into the danger zone, only they will know. The last of them saw Selwyn's near post header cleared off the line for a corner on the far side, which Kath Doubleday whipped in to the near post area once more. There again rose Selwyn, but her header shook the hoardings, rather than the net.

Persistence finally paid off for the home team in the 74th minute, as an eighth goal breached Gladesville's defences. Hassett battled well to win the ball in midfield, and linked with Hui, who plied Smith with possession. The striker threaded a delicious pass into Selwyn's path, and she smashed the ball home from ten yards.

Four minutes later, the hard-headed Hui won an aerial duel with Gladesville's hard-working captain, Najla Eid, and as both players reeled from their collision, Selwyn pounced on the loose ball and steered it towards Vincent.

The playmaker checked inside an opponent then cracked a curling left-footed twenty-five yard effort towards the top corner of the net, only for Small to pull off a superb save.

Dewar raced back to clear the danger, but was promptly caught in possession by Smith on the edge of the penalty area. The striker's twenty-yarder rattled the hoardings, while Hassett's shot, following the resulting poor goal-kick, also flashed past the post.

Two minutes later, Valentine brought the ball out of defence and into Gladesville's half before passing the ball to Vincent. She weaved through three challenges before slipping Wagner in on goal, but for the substitute, this was one of those nights when, no matter how hard she tried, the ball just would not obey her commands, her shot fizzing past the post once more.

And again a minute later, as Cox, Doubleday, Hassett and Vincent combined to present Wagner with another scoring opportunity. But with the pressure mounting, a ninth goal was almost inevitable, and five minutes from time, Vincent crowned a fine individual performance with a richly deserved hat-trick.

Hui won possession in midfield, and promptly fed Smith, whose path to goal was blocked. Vincent stepped in and swept home a sweetly struck curling twenty-yarder, hard and low inside Small's near post, the `keeper groping at air as the ball sped past her into the net.

While that was the end of the scoring, it wasn't the end of the entertainment, with a player from each side being waylaid in separate incidents before the final whistle. Dewar must have a big target painted on the back of her shirt, because for the third time in two matches, she ended up being pole-axed by a goalbound piledriver striking her square between the shoulder blades.

Hassett's howitzer felled the former Matilda this time round - perhaps it's a form of payback from New Zealand's next generation for her past sins, as they look to avenge those in green and gold who have denied their predecessors' passage to the finals of every major women's soccer tournament since 1991!

While that incident was legal and above board, that which took place in stoppage time was anything but! A low-flying Raven - identity unknown - crashed into Vincent in a desperate bid to curtail the progress of their principle nemesis some thirty yards from goal.

The hat-trick scorer, who had a hand in three other strikes, crumpled to the ground, and for a few brief moments, didn't move, a situation which left the forty-odd folk in the stand among those fearing the worst.

The slightly-built playmaker is clearly made of stern stuff, however, for ninety seconds later, not only was Vincent back on her feet, but she was contemplating instant revenge from the resulting free-kick, which she fired a foot over the crossbar.

It was the last act of note in an enterprising encounter which will be repeated at Bill McKinlay Park on Sunday afternoon, at 4.30pm NZ Daylight Saving Time - don't be late (particularly the players!!)

Auckland: Cox; Fraser, Ray, Valentine, Hui; Hassett, Vincent, Selwyn, Binning (Smith, 73); Smith (Wagner, 46), Tegg (Doubleday, 61)

Gladesville: Cherrington (Small, 46); Abbonizio, Dewar, Eades; Bohm (Corderoy, 32), Clarke (C. Monforte, 40) (Agar, 79), Eid, Bowers (Turner, 36) (Bowers, 72), Reay-Young (Poynter, 46); Corderoy (Petzold, 25) (Bohm, 46), Agar (E. Monforte, 57) (Clarke, 82)

Referee: Karl Watkins

Other Auckland Teams