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06/06/04
When Two Worlds Collide
by Jeremy Ruane
Lynn-Avon United edged ever closer to their fifth consecutive Northern Premier Women’s League title on June 6, trouncing bottom-of-the-table Bay Olympic 12-0 to record the biggest win of the season to date, and close to within three victories of retaining the silverware.
En route to winning, Lynn-Avon passed a couple more goalscoring milestones. They have now scored a grand total of 960 goals since commencing life as the Avondale United Premier Women's team in 1993, with 705 of these coming in Northern League action alone.
It was a case of two worlds colliding at Olympic Park, where Bay Olympic, who struggle to field a Premier League combination each week due to boasting too few players who are prepared to commit themselves to the highest level of football available to them, came up against the unbeaten league leaders, whose team ethic is one of the fundamental reasons why they are where they are in the standings, and have been at or near the top of the women’s soccer tree since their formation twelve years ago.
As well, their technical prowess and skill levels would show up the vast majority of men’s teams, truth be told. But that’s another issue.
The outcome of this one was inevitable, with United rattling home four goals inside the first twelve minutes, and spurning a couple of other opportunities in that time. Rachel Doody rampaged down the right and crossed for Amber Hearn to turn the ball home via the post just sixty-five seconds into the contest.
Five minutes later, Jennifer Carlisle picked out Hearn, who struck the fiftieth Premier Women’s League goal of her burgeoning career in fine style - a volley on the turn which crashed into the net past the luckless Brooke Everson, the scorer’s finish not dissimilar in style and execution to that memorable Marco Van Basten strike for Holland against England at Euro ‘88.
A minute later, Dana Heiford smacked home her first goal of the season from twenty-five yards, while after Hayley Moorwood and Hearn had both been denied by Everson, United made it 4-0 with a delightful move, which featured Vicki Rainbow, Carlisle and Hearn. The last-mentioned’s low drive was parried by Everson, but makeshift striker Melissa Ray was on hand to tuck the ball home.
Bay, primarily through the efforts of Helena Thompson, Kelly Fitzjames, Nadia Buxeda and Everson, held the free-scoring front-runners at bay for the next twenty-five minutes, although it wasn’t for the want of trying on Lynn-Avon’s part.
Hearn hit a thunderous drive which Everson tipped onto the crossbar, while the striker and Ray were both thwarted by the overworked custodian soon after. Buxeda denied Moorwood as she homed in on a Hearn cross in the 26th minute, while Carlisle hit the sidenetting after being picked out by Heiford - a solid game - two minutes later.
Rainbow and Hearn combined to reward Moorwood’s blindside run in the 31st minute, but the combination of Everson and Fitzjames frustrated the midfielder this time round. But United were back in celebration mode five minutes later, as Heiford’s corner was flicked on at the near post by Terry McCahill, and the unmarked Hearn hammered home her hat-trick goal.
Everson was able to deny Rainbow twice in the next three minutes, initially after McCahill and Moorwood had linked with their colleague, then after a short corner routine featuring Heiford and Doody had seen the former pick out McCahill with her cross, and United’s captain unleash a shot which Rainbow’s glancing header directed straight into Everson’s hands.
McCahill didn’t have long to wait before registering her first goal of the season - a mere two minutes, to be precise. Heiford fired a corner into the near post, and a text-book near post header sent the ball soaring into the top far corner of the net - 6-0.
The half ended with Hearn hitting the crossbar for a second time - her dipping twenty-five yard drive deserved better fate.
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But after Doody and Rainbow had both been denied by Everson in the early stages of the second half, and the combined efforts of Thompson and Buxeda had prevented Ray from progressing into the penalty area, the Amber Hearn Goalscoring Review resumed!!
Moorwood, Doody and Rainbow linked up to release their team-mate in the 53rd minute, and while Thompson stuck doggedly to the task all the way into the penalty area, Hearn resisted her challenge and got the vital touch to poke the ball past Everson.
After Ray had had a goal disallowed for obstruction by Rainbow on the goalkeeper, Hearn scored a fine individual goal on the hour, evading three challenges before thrashing the ball home from twenty yards through the hands of the diving Everson.
More dogged defending - and one or two marginal offside decisions - kept Lynn-Avon scoreless for the next thirteen minutes, not for the want of trying on the parts of McCahill, Ray, Carlisle and Moorwood, with Everson denying all but the first-mentioned on these occasions.
But the respite was addressed by Hearn in the 73rd minute, her double-hat-trick strike materialising following the combination play by Heiford, Rainbow and Carlisle on the left.
Moorwood, Hearn, Ray and Kirsty Yallop - the victim of a nasty ankle-jarring challenge early on which severely hindered her participation for the remainder of the match - all went close before United hit double figures nine minutes from time with a lovely move.
Moorwood released Ray down the left, and she picked out Hearn with a measured cross. The striker evaded a challenge before playing the ball into Doody’s path, and the midfielder unleashed a rasping drive which flew into the top far corner of the net for her first goal of the campaign.
Four minutes later, Carlisle fed Hearn, who lined up the shot and hit a beauty. Everson parried, but Moorwood was following up and steered home the eleventh goal of the game. And after Ray had found Bay’s ‘keeper foiling her once more, Doody and Hearn combined for Moorwood to wrap up the scoring a minute from time.
Bay, who spent most of the game defending, saved their attacking moments for the final minutes, with Sam Selwyn and Fitzjames both forcing saves from Ashleigh Cox, while Katherine Buchanan and Carly Pannell both failed to turn the ball home in a desperate last-minute scramble, which saw Heiford clear the former’s effort off the line.
Otherwise, it was one-way traffic, as the reigning champions gave their outclassed near-neighbours the runaround en route to their ninth win of the season, while inflicting upon Bay their ninth defeat.
One wonders how the home team’s cause would benefit were more of their club-mates as committed to the cause of their club’s premier women’s team as are Everson, Thompson, Fitzjames, Selwyn, Buxeda, Buchanan and Marisa Cox, who, though riddled with the flu, was still there in a supporting capacity.
You can imagine how they, plus coaches Steven Horst and Doug Teo, would have felt upon finding one of their colleagues on the phone at half-time, clearly more interested in finding out how the reserve team she usually plays for was doing than on aiding the cause she was representing in this match.
How they must envy the support the Lynn-Avon players enjoy from their club - located less than a mile down the road from Bay, but when it comes to looking after their Premier Women’s squad players and coaching staff, past and present, worlds apart.
Bay: Everson; Thompson, Fitzjames, Buchanan, Gordon; Selwyn, Buxeda, Capper, Shaw (Scott), Gulliver; Pannell
LAU: Cox; Robertson, McCahill, Carlisle; Doody, Heiford, Moorwood, Rainbow, Yallop (Tansell); Hearn, Ray
Referee: Ross Neilsen
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