Massey University put Coastal Spirit to the sword in emphatic fashion at Memorial Park on August 23, carving up the Cantabrians 7-2 to book themselves a spot in next month's ASB National Women's Knockout Cup Final. The students produced a scintillating display to which Spirit simply couldn't hold a candle, the visitors' hopes of reaching a third final in five years crushed in record-breaking fashion as they slumped to their heaviest-ever defeat. Since the club emerged in time for the 2008 season following the merger of the New Brighton and Christchurch Rangers clubs, defeats inflicted upon Coastal Spirit have been rare birds indeed, and more often than not close-run affairs of the odd-goal variety. This was utter humiliation on a grand scale, and it speaks volumes that the scoreline flattered the Mainland Premier Women's League champions. Massey could have easily amassed a double-figure victory over the South Island's foremost women's football club, had fortune favoured them at certain moments. The outgoing three-time Central Region Premier Women's League champions have been among the usual suspects regularly appearing in the quarter-finals draw since 2004, but until now, have only reached the final on one occasion, three years ago. Their second such appearance was achieved in some style, and was spearheaded by the "Killer Bs", Jane Barnett and Rhonda Bridges, whose pace and prolific finishing proved far too hot for Spirit to handle on a day the 2013 Cup winners produced a far from spirited display. Right from the outset, the home team was in the ascendancy, although it was evident in the pre-match warm-ups that Spirit weren't going to start well. There was a lack of accuracy and intensity in the way they went about their preparations - the age-old saying "You train as you play" still rings as true today as it did when first coined. Just four minutes in, Barnett's pace was called upon for the first time, Maia Green sending her haring through the Spirit rearguard. While her touch let her down on this occasion, she led a raid down the left flank four minutes later which proved far more effective. It forced a corner, which Barnett delivered into the danger zone. Bridges was the recipient of her team-mate's delivery, and fired a shot towards the target which appeared to be flicked home by Amber Phillips. The midfielder let her team-mate take the glory, however - Massey, 1-0. It was the wake-up call Spirit needed, and three minutes later, they engineered their first attack. Ashleigh Ward lobbed the ball forward to Chloe Webster, whose angled header brought Annalie Longo into play. The Football Ferns' searching low cross sought out Mel Cameron's run towards the near post, but former Young Fern Jess Oulaghan stepped in to avert the danger. Two minutes later, Spirit levelled the scores. Olivia Smith's corner was met on the volley by Chloe Webster, but Nic Adamson dived to her right to parry the goal-bound shot. Cameron, following in, could only direct the rebound onto the post, but from an acute angle, Emma Proctor pounced to put the visitors back in the contest, and back on course to record an unprecedented treble - league, cup and Reta Fitzpatrick Cup, the knockout trophy contested by teams in the Mainland region. Within minutes, Adamson had twice more been called upon to keep Massey on level terms. On the first occasion, she allowed a steepling cross-shot from Whitney Hepburn to bounce between her legs before she recovered the situation with Cameron closing in for the kill, before saving low to her right to deny Longo as she streaked through the students' defences to leave herself with just the 'keeper to beat. Adamson's clearance put Massey on the counter-attack immediately, but while Barnett sent her shot flying across the face of goal on this occasion, when presented with a thirty yard free-kick in the nineteenth minute, the set-piece specialist made no mistake, battering the ball beyond the bemused figure of Foyle to restore Massey's lead. Spirit were stunned, and Foyle in particular looked all at sea as a result of the goal, her lack of positional awareness re where she was in relation to her goalposts betrayed two minutes later by her needless dive for a Barnett shot which was well wide of the mark. In the 27th minute, that lack of judgement proved costly for Coastal Spirit, as Massey extended their advantage. Barnett's corner was cleared to the far post, where Green was lurking. She unleashed a cross-shot which arced over the flailing fingertips of Foyle and found the net by the opposite upright - 3-1. Spirit were in trouble, and, apart from the in-roads made by Longo - who consistently lacked support from her team-mates throughout the match - they had no answers to the questions posed by the students, who slowly but surely took a stranglehold on proceedings, ensuring there would be no way back for their southern rivals. A super move in the 37th minute deserved better fate than to see Barnett slice her shot past the post, particularly given the contributions made by Oulaghan, Charlotte Gordon, Bridges and Imogen Bos in the build-up. Two minutes later, Siobhan Patterson picked out Bos in a goalscoring position, but she opted to pass to Barnett, whose effort was superbly saved by Foyle. Spirit were swiftly on the counter, Longo leading the charge past one, two, three, four, before slipping a ball into the stride of Webster, who mis-timed her run and was adjudged offside when

through on goal with just Adamson to beat. Had that fortieth minute effort gone to plan for the 2013 Cup winners, it would have made the score 3-2 and left the match very much in the balance. Instead, from the resulting free-kick, Massey earned a corner, and Barnett's delivery invited Bridges to head home from close range - 4-1, and Spirit in need of a miracle. To their talismanic figure they turned once more, but not even the mesmerising skills of "Flea" could save Mainland's champions this time. Adamson turned her 44th minute twenty yard free-kick round the near post, Longo having expertly whipped the ball round the defensive wall. From Ward's resulting corner, Massey mounted a counter-attack which saw Rosie Morton - she had a magnificent game, breaking up Spirit attacks and instigating a fair few by Massey - team up with Bridges to send Barnett through once more. Only the outstretched leg of Foyle prevented "Jinksy" from netting a fifth Massey goal before the interval. Spirit had to score first in the second spell if they harboured any hopes of savouring a third Cup Final appearance in five years. To that end, Longo was out the blocks straight from the kick-off, charging downfield before bringing the overlapping figure of Ward into play. The flying fullback, who boasts fifteen appearances for her country at Junior and Young Ferns level to her name, delivered a cross to the far post where Cameron was arriving on cue. She headed the ball inside, only for Webster to head wide of the target. Massey weathered Spirit's storm, then went about imposing their own intentions upon proceedings once more. Bos and Young Ferns starlet Sarah Morton worked a one-two on the right which culminated in the former playing in Barnett in the 56th minute. One-on-one with Foyle, the striker poked her shot past the post, but more than made amends for this blemish two minutes later. Phillips and Rosie Morton combined, with the latter lobbing the ball over Spirit's flat-footed defence for Barnett to race onto. This time, she made no mistake - 5-1. Over the course of the next twelve minutes, Foyle foiled Massey's attempts to bolster their advantage on three separate occasions. After tipping Gordon's cross-shot over the bar, she denied Bridges after Rosie Morton's interception and Barnett's pass had presented the striker with a chance to complete her hat-trick in the 68th minute. Sixty seconds later, Green, Bridges and Patterson paved the way for Bos to burst through on goal. This time, Foyle was aided by Rebecca Lake in thwarting the midfielder, the goalkeeper grabbing the rebound greedily as Bridges homed in on the loose ball. Spirit came again. Having earlier saved a curling effort from Cameron, Adamson tipped a cross-shot from Ward over the bar in the 71st minute, seconds after another of Longo's trademark jinking runs had been thwarted by Phillips' timely tackle. Seconds later, New Zealand's most-capped Junior Fern - Longo has made twenty-five appearances at U-20 level - delivered an inviting pass into the stride of Hepburn, which the Young Fern took on before firing in a cross which parted Longo's hair as she raced forward to meet the anticipated delivery with a header. Proctor was unable to capitalise on the chance either, unlike Barnett at the other end of the park in the 76th minute. She was on hand to tuck home Gordon's cross to make it 6-1, much to the delight of the gathered throngs on the terraces. Many a Spirit head dropped at this point, and Massey wasted little time in looking to hammer home their superiority. Phillips' surging run culminated in Foyle tipping her twenty-yarder over the bar three minutes later, while the offside flag denied Bridges her hat-trick nine minutes from time. Green and Barnett then combined to present Bridges with another shot at her personal treble, but this time she prodded the ball past the post, moments before combining with Bos to present Barnett with yet another chance to increase Massey's advantage. Foyle turned this effort round the post, then looked on with relief as Barnett sent another shot sizzling past the far post in the 88th minute, substitute Gorgi Van Lienen having played her through a Spirit defence which had long since given up the ghost. As the game entered the ninetieth minute, Green - another in blue to shine throughout - and Bridges presented Barnett with a further chance to strike. Despite Foyle's best efforts, the jet-heeled striker was soon accepting the congratulations from her team-mates for her fourth goal of the game, Massey's seventh. There was time for a parting shot from Spirit, and fittingly it was delivered by Longo, one of very few players in a white shirt who can say she did justice to it on the occasion of Coastal Spirit's fifth successive ASB National Women's Knockout Cup semi-final appearance. Cameron and Hepburn combined from the kick-off, and the Football Fern did the rest to bring about a final scoreline which not even the most loyal of local fans had anticipated - a 7-2 victory for Massey University, now two-time ASB National Women's Knockout Cup finalists. Massey:     Adamson; S. Morton, Phillips (Gates, 75), Oulaghan, Gordon (M. Wilson, 84); Green, R. Morton, Bos (Van Lienen, 87), Patterson; Barnett, Bridges Spirit:          Foyle; Clarke, Lake, Jones, Ward; Hepburn, Proctor, Smith (Nicholson, 60); Cameron, Longo, Webster (R. Wilson, 76) Referee:     Nadia Browning