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Elite Squad Line-ups | Kristin College, 12/5/05 | NZ Universities, 11/7/05 | NZ Universities, 14/7/05 | NZ Universities 5/7/07
Kristin College, 12/5/05
NZ Women Score Well Deserved First Win
by Jeremy Ruane
New Zealand’s Elite Senior Women’s International Development Squad scored the first victory of their Project China 2007-8 campaign on May 12, overcoming Kristin College’s first eleven boys’ squad 3-1 at North Harbour Stadium.
It was an impressive and well deserved win, too, after a tentative start which saw Kristin enjoying the better of the early exchanges. But the girls swiftly settled into their stride, and with Sarah Gibbs and Marlies Oostdam making regular in-roads down the left, and Rebecca O’Neill quickly dominating the midfield exchanges, they were soon calling the tune.
They were swiftly rewarded for doing so, as they opened the scoring on the quarter-hour. Gibbs’ corner saw Hannah Bromley and Maia Jackman homing in on the ball, and Kristin’s inability to clear was pounced on by O’Neill, who headed home from close range.
It set the tone for a good spell from the Elite Squad, for whom Michele Keinzley toiled tirelessly throughout, ably supported by the off-the-ball runs of, in particular, Hayley Moorwood.
But their young male opponents weren’t intent on becoming the first boys’ team to fall victim to the Elite Squad, and in the 33rd minute, they came desperately close to equalising, Mark Van Roy’s low shot skidding inches past Jenny Bindon’s left-hand post, after Gibbs and Oostdam for once failed to defend in tandem as impressively as they combined in attack.
Ten minutes later, Kristin came close once more, a Melissa Ray error pounced on by Van Roy, who set up Zac Chamberlain. But with Bindon to beat, and Jackman fast closing, he pulled his shot well wide of the mark.
The students should have been punished on the stroke of half-time, as the Elite Squad produced a super move. Ray started it, linking with O’Neill, who quickly switched play to the left flank. There roamed Gibbs, who surged down the wing before firing in a deep cross beyond the far post.
Keinzley gathered it and turned the ball inside in one movement for Moorwood, but with the goal at her mercy, the newly-appointed captain of the New Zealand women’s squad somehow failed to apply the finishing touch from eight yards out, much to goalkeeper Andy McIntyre’s undisguised relief.
The boys started the second half strongly, and how referee Harold Duimstra failed to award Kristin a penalty after Bromley clipped Dave Birrell’s heels in the area only he will know. The women rode their luck on this occasion, and did so again nine minutes later, when Kristin were unable to capitalise on a mix-up between the retreating Jackman and the approaching Bindon, the ball ricocheting wide of an unguarded goal.
While there were some close calls for the Elite Squad, they were matched at the other end of the park by a couple of let-offs for the Kristin contingent. Only a fine covering challenge by Ryan Madenkoji thwarted Moorwood as she surged through following a Gibbs pass, while Oostdam’s hanging cross gave McIntyre any number of problems as it arced goalwards out of the candlesticks illuminating the playing arena.
Not surprisingly, the ‘keeper dropped it, but no-one in a blue shirt was following in to punish his error. The ball was scrambled clear, but only to Kirsty Yallop - a much better second half showing - who scampered down the right before delivering a lovely cross beyond all bar Oostdam. Her drive was parried by McIntyre, but Yallop, following in, blazed over with the goal gaping in the 61st minute.
The women continued to press, Bromley heading narrowly over after Jackman had flicked on a Rebecca Sowden corner. Then it was Moorwood’s turn to go close, thrashing a twenty-yard drive over the bar twenty minutes from time, after Bromley, O’Neill and Sowden had combined to good effect.
Two minutes later, the Elite Squad doubled their advantage. Yallop and Keinzley combined on the
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right, with the former curling in an inviting cross. Moorwood, ghosting forward once more, accepted it with aplomb, and guided her header wide of McIntyre to give New Zealand a 2-0 lead, and put them within sight of victory with eighteen minutes to play.
Kristin weren’t going to take this lying down, of that you could be assured, and sure enough, they were soon pounding away at a defence in which Jackman, Gibbs and substitute Dana Humby performed stoutly.
Twelve minutes from time, however, the last-mentioned was put in a difficult spot by a Bindon pass, and Jun Baek swiftly pounced on the chance to dispossess the stranded Humby. The striker promptly let fly, his shot arcing over Bindon and bouncing down off the underside of the crossbar back into play.
New Zealand’s goalkeeper then denied Chamberlain and Hamy Abdulahad before racing out of goal to cut out a through ball which Baek was pursuing, the out-of-position Bromley having strayed once too often. The striker won the race, rounding Bindon before clipping a shot between the covering figure of Jackman and the near post - 2-1, with nine minutes remaining.
A couple of heads dropped in the Elite Squad’s ranks - surely, after having produced their most impressive display yet against a boys’ team, they weren’t going to undo all their good work in the time which remained and let their opponents back into the contest?
The answer was a resounding ‘No’! They still had the advantage on the scoreboard, and in the time which remained … well, there was no way Kristin were going to get an equaliser. That resolve was clear for all to see, as the women quickly cast aside the setback and set about re-establishing their dominance.
Moorwood led by example. Three minutes from time, she caught Madenkoji in possession and instantly exploited the gap the defender had vacated by releasing Yallop with a through ball. The midfielder, with McIntyre to beat, thundered her shot narrowly past the far post.
But better was to come from the Elite Squad, for within ninety seconds, they scored a goal which would have graced any ground.
Think Terry McDermott’s goal for Liverpool in that ageless 7-0 demolition of Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield in September 1978, and you’ll have an idea of what took place - the build-up was very similar. Sowden led the charge as New Zealand broke out of defence, and she instantly sized up the situation before releasing a gem of an angled through ball towards the left flank.
Steaming down said wing at a great rate of knots was Oostdam, while in the middle, Keinzley, too, was in full flight, anticipating a cross from her team-mate, who, for the bulk of the past five years, has been cruising round the Caribbean as a ship’s purser on passenger liners.
You wouldn’t have known it, as Oostdam showed her opponents a clean pair of heels before sliding a low pass inside for the striker. Keinzley met it at pace and promptly unleashed a screamer, which, from twenty-five yards, crashed into the net high off McIntyre’s left-hand post - 3-1, and a stunning goal with which to clinch a well-deserved victory, one with which coach Mick Leonard was well pleased, and justifiably so.
“Absolutely fantastic!” he exclaimed. “I’m quite chuffed with that. Every credit should go to the players - they’ve done all the hard work, and it’s now paying off. This will give them great belief and confidence, and when you consider we’ve got five quality overseas-based players to come into the squad …”
“The effort, the determination, the will to win the ball … they were all there. And with a bit more finesse in front of goal, we could have had more goals still. The girls outplayed the boys tonight, and they deserved that win. Rebecca O’Neill was outstanding, while Marlies Oostdam had a superb game. And that last goal - that was something else!”
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