The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website | home
02/08/98
Hat-Trick For Crawford As Lynn-Avon Go Nap
by Jeremy Ruane
A second half hat-trick from SWANZ international Amanda Crawford, her third such scoring feat of the 1998 season, helped fire Lynn-Avon United to a 5-1 victory over Waikato Unicol in their Bluebird Northern Premier Women’s League encounter at Ken Maunder Park on August 2.
But it was the sterling performances throughout this duel of two key members of United’s engine room, Lyn Pedruco and Jennifer Carlisle, which proved the inspiration fot the defending champions’ emphatic victory.
The uncompromising tackling of the rock-like Carlisle, allied to the all-round aerial prowess of Pedruco - still the best header of a ball in New Zealand soccer - provided the foundation on which Lynn-Avon built this success, but there were a couple of other factors which proved significant in confirming it.
The first of these was a half-time rev-up from coach Steve Cain, whose introduction, at that point, of Katrina Sharpe to the left flank for the largely ineffective Melissa Reber added an extra dimension to Lynn-Avon’s game in the second spell, a dimension enhanced further by the later introduction of Jill Corner on the right.
Like any striker, Crawford thrives on receiving a steady stream of quality ball with which to work. When she’s not getting it, the sight of her dropping back to battle for possession is a common one. Doing this, however, plays into the opposition’s hands somewhat, and, at the same time, impacts on United’s attacking edge.
That was certainly the case in the first half of this encounter, but the introductions of Sharpe and, later, Corner, ensured Crawford of the supply line which allowed her to concentrate on doing what she does best - taking on defenders and scoring goals, three on this occasion.
Admittedly, she received a wee bit of help from an unexpected source - Waikato Unicol’s goalkeeper, Lisa Troth. There were times in this match when a cardboard cut-out would have been of greater effect between the sticks for the visitors, so inept was the custodian’s display. Had United’s shot-stopper, Rebecca Rolls, been in Unicol’s goal throughout this match, there’s little doubt that the final scoreline would have been a lot closer than the emphatic 5-1 outcome which Lynn-Avon recorded.
Unicol, however, dominated the early exchanges, with Ruth Cooper forcing a save from Rolls in the seventh minute, having beaten four players en route towards the target.
|
 Crawford and Dana Heiford tested Troth in the next seven minutes, while Rolls had to be sharp to deny Donna Trow in the twentieth minute, following a Maria Anderton free-kick. The ‘keeper’s alertness to danger saw her hurtling off her line to foil the speedy Jo Evans four minutes later, as Unicol’s striker burst through Reber’s challenge to be left one-on-one with the SWANZ international.Lynn-Avon’s response was to open the scoring in the 27th minute. Angela Vujnovich drilled in a cross-shot from the right which, in all honesty, Troth should have held. But the ‘keeper let the ball slip through her fingers, much to Carlisle’s delight, the midfielder following in to snare a goal which her performance fully merited.
Carlisle and Pedruco, who, between them, were now well on top in midfield, were narrowly astray with long-range efforts before the interval, while Reber was adjudged offside in the 41st minute by referee Dave Doherty as she stroked the ball into the net, following a woeful Troth goal-kick which Vujnovich and Crawford gleefully pounced on.
Evans tested Rolls immediately before the interval, but four minutes after it, United extended their lead. Melissa Wileman, whose performance gained momentum as the game went on, whipped in a fine cross from the right towards the far post. Sharpe’s impact was immediate, ghosting in to drill the ball goalwards. Troth blocked the shot on the line, but Crawford was on hand to force the ball over the paintwork, with referee Doherty needing to satisfy himself that the ball had, indeed, crossed the line before awarding the goal.
United’s joy was short-lived, as Unicol were back in the game three minutes later. Tarena O’Neill, easily the visitors’ best player, sent Anderton scampering down the right. The striker reached the byline before pulling the ball back for Tina Stevenson, who nipped in between two Lynn-Avon defenders to steer her shot over the diving Rolls and into the top corner of the net.
Lynn-Avon’s response inevitably involved Pedruco and Carlisle as its instigators. Together with Wileman and Crawford, they engineered an opening for Vujnovich, who pulled her shot across the face of goal with Troth beaten all ends up.
From the resulting goal-kick, Pedruco won possession in midfield and fed Crawford, who unleashed a thirty yard screamer in the 58th minute which the goalkeeper opted
|
to watch, only to realise too late that it was destined to sail over her head and into the back of the net.
3-1 became 4-1 three minutes later. Crawford’s corner was scrambled clear to the edge of the penalty area, from where Wileman struck an obliquely angled chip over the heads of the gathered throngs. Such was the angle of the ball that Troth could do nothing at all to prevent the sphere dropping behind her and landing perfectly in the bottom corner of the net.
With the game now over as a contest, it became a question of how many goals United would win by. Vujnovich saw her 73rd minute effort smothered by Troth, then fired one over the top nine minutes later, on receipt of a pass from Alisse Robertson.
In between times, Unicol had the alarm bells ringing in Lynn-Avon’s defence. Stephanie White breached the offside trap on the right, and raced away before sending in a low cross for Anderton, whose finish was more suited to a rugby ground, such was the height at which the ball cleared the crossbar.
Soon after Crawford had knocked the wind out of Cooper with a thumping drive which brought the defender to her knees in an attempt to recover her constitution, the striker sent a powerful header hurtling past the upright in the 83rd minute, on receipt of a pinpoint cross from Corner.
The same combination paid dividends a minute laterr. Vujnovich released the over-lapping Corner down the right, and the cross delivered at pace to the near post was an invitation to Crawford to complete her hat-trick. This she duly did, making the score 5-1.
A free-kick struck from deep by Melissa Ruscoe in the 86th minute had Rolls scrambling to get a hand to the ball as Unicol sought a late consolation goal, but United finished the game hot on attack in pursuit of a sixth goal.
Wileman, Corner and Crawford combined to set up a chance for Vujnovich three minutes from time, only for Troth to smother at the striker’s feet. It just wasn’t meant to be her day, as Troth denied her again soon after - the only time in the entire match the goalkeeper held onto a shot which was above her head!!
And right on time, a Carlisle-inspired attack saw Vujnovich’s shot flying wide of the target, before Crawford’s attempt to steer it goalwards saw the ball crossing the goal-line less than a foot past the upright. 5-1 it remained, however, ensuring United of home and away wins against both the Waikato clubs in 1998.
|