Three goals in the last twelve minutes of their Lotto Northern Premier Women's League encounter on July 15 saw Three Kings United prevail 5-1 over Pukekohe at Keith Hay Park, although the scoreline doesn't reflect the closeness of the encounter. United certainly had the better of the opening exchanges, with Nikki Kelly forced to gather a Morany Chek cross to the far post in the fifth minute as Martine Puketapu homed in on it, Kirsty Hayr having sparked the move by releasing the French striker down the left. Five minutes later, Tina Kolose spread the ball wide to Hannah Robert, whose cross deflected off Liz Takarei to the near post area. As Pukekohe defenders hesitated, Chloe Knott stole in to seize on the loose ball, but couldn't direct her first-time effort on target. Kelly was grateful to Courteney Van Leishout soon after, the defender calmly tidying up the danger posed by the goalkeeper having spilled a cross from Robert which had the fast-closing figure of Knott as its intended target. Kolose, Hayr and Puketapu then combined to present Chek with a chance which deflected to safety off the hard-working Kelsey MacDonald, as United continued to make all the play in the opening fifteen minutes. As soon as they eased off, however, the visitors were sniffing around in search of the opening goal, and nearly scored it in the nineteenth minute. Van Leishout's corner wasn't cleared, allowing Nicky Birch, who got through a truckload of work in attack, often with little reward, to get in a header which Robert hooked off the line. Back came United, Hayr again the architect of the attack - hers was an eye-catching first half display. In the 23rd minute, she set off on a driving run which culminated in a pass to Knott, with Hayr continuing her run in support of her team-mate. It proved prudent, for a deft one-two between the pair in Pukekohe's penalty area allowed Knott a sight of goal, only for the talented teenager to rattle the side-netting next to Kelly's near post. The deadlock was broken in the 26th minute. Michelle Windsor won the ball in midfield and fed Knott, who threaded a pass in between defenders for Chek to latch onto. She did so, and instantly fired an early shot, deftly flicking the ball beyond the bemused figure of Kelly and into the far corner of the net - a quality strike from a talented player. Seven minutes later, United doubled their advantage, and again it was the Knott - Chek dream ticket which unhinged Pukekohe. The former's corner was cleared to the latter, lurking near the edge of the penalty area, from where she thrashed a volley through the gathered throngs and into the net via Kelly's left-hand post - 2-0. The visitors were stunned by this seven-minute double-strike, but rather than capitulate, they rallied well, and fought their way back into the contest, squandering a great chance to halve the deficit in the 41st minute. Van Leishout, arguably Pukekohe's most pivotal performer, pinged in a free-kick from distance and picked out Birch, whose pass to Lisa Wooles allowed her to bring the unmarked Hayley Smith into the game. Striding onto the ball, she sent the sphere soaring over the bar - a bad miss, given no-one in a teal shirt had picked up her run. Unperturbed, Pukekohe pressed again, Birch whipping in a cross-shot which prompted Jo Kennedy into a flying one-handed save which also succeeded in diverting the ball away from Wooles. Tessa Berger cleared the danger on this occasion, but in the 44th minute, the ball was back with Kennedy. What happened next, only she will know, but the rain-soaked conditions clearly influenced proceedings, much to the delight of Wooles, who gleefully fired the ball into the empty net as United's 'keeper started looking for the nearest wormhole into which she could crawl. The half-time whistle couldn't have come at a better time for United, as it gave them time to regroup and re-focus on the task at hand. Cue a quite remarkable opening twenty minutes of the second half, during which there were chances galore but, incredibly, no alterations to the scoreboard. United started the siege, Chek and Knott combining with Robert on the left flank in the 48th minute. The overlapping fullback picked out Knott with her cross, her header through to Chek inviting the hat-trick-chasing striker to let fly. Kelly parried then smothered the effort well at her near post. Seconds later, Georgia Brown's persistence on the

Morany Chek in mid-dragback, watched by Kelsey MacDonald Courtney van Lieshout Jessie Mathews leaps to head the ball Georgia Brown Tessa Berger Sarah Holmes

right was rewarded when the ball spilled loose for Knott to latch onto. Chek was swiftly involved, and her lay-off to Jessie Mathews invited United's captain to let fly, only for Sarah Smith to block the shot. In the 52nd minute, United should have had a penalty. Chek careered down the left to the byline, from where she pulled the ball back into the stride of Knott, as she dashed into the penalty area. As she was shaping to shoot, her legs were whipped out from under her, but much to the bemusement of the masses, referee Steve Peeters waved play on. Two minutes later, Brown and Hayr combined to feed Chek, whose goal-bound shot was thwarted by Smith's despairing lunge. The respite was brief for Pukekohe, for Brown and Knott combined once more in the 55th minute, Chek again the beneficiary. But MacDonald did superbly to force the striker to the by-line, then deflect Chek's shot to safety across the face of goal. The visitors were finally afforded the chance to respond, and they didn't waste it. Wooles latched onto a stray pass from Robert and forced a parried save out of Kennedy, with the striker's efforts to regain possession from the rebound thwarted by a physical challenge from Windsor which saw the striker pushed off the ball in the penalty area. Now it was Pukekohe's turn to holler for a penalty, and they certainly had a strong case. The one person who makes such decisions thought otherwise, however - again, referee Peeters played on. United promptly stormed downfield and earned a corner, which saw Knott pick out Chek with her delivery. The striker touched the ball back into the stride of Mathews, who unleashed a vicious twenty-yarder which crashed down off the underside of the bar and back into play. The just-introduced Nadia Pearl latched onto the rebound in an instant, only to direct her volley straight at Kelly. The 'keeper's save forced a corner, and another Knott delivery was cleared only as far as Kolose, whose shot cannoned to safety off Kelly's legs. Back came the visitors, Hayley Smith feeding Takarei, who got goal-side of Robert, only to see her rasping twenty yard drive fly inches over the crossbar - a let-off for United, who now found themselves in a right royal arm wrestle over the course of the next fifteen minutes, with both sides knowing that the next goal could prove crucial, and neither willing to concede it. Pukekohe were well in the contest until the 75th minute, when a triple substitution was made which left them with three players endeavouring to get up to speed at a crucial time of the game. Very crucial, as it proved, for three minutes later, United scored the decisive third goal. Mathews drifted in off the right past a couple of challenges before working a one-two with Knott and rifling a fierce drive beyond Kelly and into the left-hand corner of the net - 3-1. It was a body blow from which Pukekohe never recovered, for, five minutes later, they found themselves 4-1 down courtesy a quite exquisite finish from Pearl. Looking up as she latched onto the ball in midfield, the former NZ Secondary Schoolgirls captain spotted Kelly off her line, and unleashed an inch-perfect thirty yard chip which arced over the 'keeper and into the corner of the net - a brilliant strike! It broke the resolve of the plucky Pukekohe team, who soon found their goal under siege again. A superb save by Kelly denied Knott, after Pearl and Mathews had linked up with the flank player. Kelly's save came at the expense of a corner, which Brown sent to the far post, fully anticipating Berger to meet it. She did, only for the defender to see her header cleared off the line by Laura Johnstone for another corner. Knott delivered this one, and again, it was the head of Berger which was targeted. And again, the United defender rose to meet it, this time with due reward, her six-yard header bulleting into the net to wrap up a 5-1 win for Three Kings over a Pukekohe side who gave as good as they got, but whose resistance could not withstand the home team's finishing flourish in the final minutes of a well-contested encounter. Three Kings:     Kennedy; Brown, Berger, Windsor, Robert (Molloy, 65); Mathews, Kolose, Hayr (Pearl, 58); Puketapu, Chek (Hoeksema, 84), Knott Pukekohe:     Kelly; Leishout, MacDonald, S. Smith, Van Leishout; Takarei (Johnstone, 75), Holmes, H. Smith, N. Kraakman (Gill, 75); Wooles (R. Kraakman), Birch Referee:     Steve Peeters