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South Australia
Gooch And Jackman Lead Seniors’ Scoring Spree
by Jeremy Ruane
Melanie Gooch struck five goals and Maia Jackman four as the New Zealand Senior Regional Selection handed South Australia a 14-0 hiding at Bill McKinlay Park on September 19, in the opening match of the second day of the International Women’s Soccer Tournament.
The South Australians, who appear to be somewhat out of their depth in this quadrangular tournament, were forced to field their manager, Julie Anderson, in goal, in light of their injury crisis, and while she did her best, the Senior Selection were simply too hot to handle - and this without both Nicky Smith and Amanda Crawford, who sat the game out.
Once Wendi Henderson had fired New Zealand in front, via the upright from thirty yards, in the fifth minute, there was only ever going to be one outcome. And when Stephanie White confirmed the fact forty seconds later, tapping in after Anderson had parried a shot from Gooch following a Rachel Oliver cross, there was little doubt it would be a case of 'By how many'.
That the scoreline remained unchanged for the next twenty minutes wasn’t so much a reflection of South’s defending as the lack of intensity of their opponents, for whom this match was something of a procession.
In this time, the closest the locals came to increasing their tally was when Oliver played the ball forward to Michele Keinzley, whose darting run saw her beat two players before firing a shot which Anderson could only parry. Gooch attempted to guide the rebound home while off-balance, and struck the crossbar.
Cue Jackman, whose seven minute hat-trick commenced in the 25th minute. The first was the best of the three, an exquisite finish across Anderson into the far corner while running on an angle which took the speedster well away from the target, in pursuit of a Henderson pass.
A darting run from Jackman on the half-hour was spotted by Dana Humby, who slipped the ball into her team-mate’s path. After sweeping past a couple of challengers, Jackman rounded the ‘keeper before rolling home her second, New Zealand’s fourth.
The hat-trick was completed by way of a tap-in, after Gooch had burst
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into the penalty area in the 32nd minute and drawn Anderson out of goal, before slipping the ball into the path of her onrushing team-mate.
Keinzley was desperately unlucky not to open her account before the interval, Anderson thwarting her in the 36th minute after more good work by Gooch, while five minutes prior to the break, both Oliver, with a cross, and Keinzley from the rebound, hit the crossbar, before South Australia could scramble clear.
The second spell began in rather odd fashion. There was nothing odd about the one-two between Oliver and Kelly Jarden down the left, nor the former’s raking cross to the far post. That a corner was given when it was clear none of the defending team had touched the ball defied the usual logic of things.
“Oh Sh**!!” came the exclamation from South’s defender, Rosy Gulino, just two minutes into the second half, as the defender looked on in horror upon Oliver’s corner cannoning off her head towards the target. Had Anderson not spared her team-mate’s blushes, it would have been the second own goal Gulino had directly contributed to in as many matches.
But the Senior Selection didn’t have long to wait before adding to their 5-0 half-time advantage, as Gooch piled on the agony for Souths with a four minute hat-trick from the 51st minute.
Jarden and Oliver again linked to good effect on the left, the latter crossing for Keinzley, who held play up well before pulling the ball back to Gooch, who found the target via the underside of the crossbar.
A fine burst of acceleration from the striker saw her take full advantage of a defensive mix-up to rifle home into an empty net in the 54th minute, while within a minute, Jarden - an impressive second half - had provided the ammunition which Gooch gleefully put away, the bottom left-hand corner of Anderson’s net duly bulging.
The striker repaid the compliment to Jarden four minutes later, the newly-converted midfielder racing on before picking her spot above and wide of Anderson, finishing the opportunity in accomplished fashion.
After both Keinzley and Gooch had failed to make the most of some
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hard running and a good cross by Sara Clapham, the first-mentioned got her name on the scoresheet with a cracking finish into the top right-hand corner of Anderson’s net, upon receipt of a Henderson pass.
The most recent goalscorer then hit the crossbar, with Jackman unable to get to the rebound, as the Seniors continued to press for goals. Gooch duly obliged in the 65th minute, her fourth goal one which she swept home emphatically following Keinzley’s burst into the penalty area.
That brought up an 11-0 scoreline, which, after Anderson had denied Clapham, and Susan Volpi had denied Jackman, was quickly added to, with another three goals in six minutes from the seventieth.
Jackman nipped in to poke the ball home from the tightest of spots with the first of these, beating both the post and the recovering figure of Anderson, after the goalkeeper had parried another Gooch effort.
Three minutes later, a Henderson free-kick cannoned off Gooch to Humby, who headed the ball into Keinzley’s path. Her shot was going wide, but Jackman, upon racing in in an attempt to steer the ball goalwards, got a helping nudge from Sarah Marquis for her troubles. Referee Linda Ritchie had little option but to point to the penalty spot, and Melissa Ruscoe duly obliged.
As did Gooch three minutes later, the striker completing her nap hand with a thumping finish to punish a defensive blunder, after Jane Simpson and Clapham, two of the Senior Selection’s substitutes, had linked to good effect on the right.
Anderson twice did well to prevent any further scoring in the remaining minutes, Clapham and Oliver those most offended by having their chance to join the growing list of goalscorers denied them. But 14-0 was how it remained, the New Zealand Senior Selection all but confirming their place in Friday’s tournament final with this sizable victory.
New Zealand: Puckrin; Humby, Ruscoe, Morrison; Jackman (Simpson, 74), White (Clapham, 58), Henderson, Jarden (Carlisle, 66), Oliver; Keinzley, Gooch
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