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14/05/00
Experience Prevails As Lynn-Avon Crowns Three Kings
by Jeremy Ruane
The greater experience of Lynn-Avon United proved too much for Three Kings United in their Bluebird Northern Premier Women’s League encounter at Ken Maunder Park on May 14, 2000, the home side coming from behind to record a thoroughly deserved 4-1 victory over their arch-rivals.
Sporting a youthful side featuring just four first-team regulars from the 1999 combination in its starting line-up as they embark on a rebuilding programme, Three Kings startled Lynn-Avon by opening the scoring in the tenth minute of play.
One of the newcomers to the side, Kim Rowney, got the better of Jill Corner near the corner flag, and crossed for Maia Jackman. She headed the ball down to Rebecca Sowden, who confidently took the ball round Yvonne Vale and rolled it into an empty net, shrugging off the attentions of Alisse Robertson in the process.
Stung by this early strike, which had come a little against the run of play to this point, Lynn-Avon tore into their opponents with a vengeance straight from the kick-off. Michelle Hodge smothered an Amanda Crawford drive, following a somewhat immature challenge by Mary-Lou Hendriks, while in the thirteenth minute, a poor Helen Exler clearance saw the ball land at the feet of Angela Vujnovich. Her teasing chip of Hodge hit the crossbar and bounced to safety.
Both Vujnovich and Rebecca Parkinson were thwarted by Hodge saving at their feet in the eighteenth minute, but the recalled SWANZ international stood little chance three minutes later, as both Hendriks and Emma Lothian were caught ball-watching, while Melissa Wileman sent the ball through for Crawford.
Lothian, who would have learnt much from man-marking the lively SWANZ striker, made up the ground quickly, but Crawford was always goal-side of the defender, and made the most of the three yards she stole at the outset to drill the ball unerringly past the advancing Hodge from twenty yards.
Hodge saved well to her left from Crawford soon after, but Lynn-Avon had the ball in the net again in the 26th minute, only for Crawford’s header, from a Corner cross, to be ruled out for pushing by referee Hengo Sioneloto.
Lynn-Avon had their tails up, and were dominating most aspects of the game, their superiority in midfield greatly aided by the sight of Sowden hobbling off with a leg injury in the fifteenth minute, not to return.
In the Auckland rep’s absence, Liz O’Meara performed stoically, but the Three Kings’ goalscorer’s departure meant the visitors were denied another experienced player in a key area, a blow from which they weren’t to recover.
Lynn-Avon minded not one whit. In the 37th minute, they finally took the lead their performance thoroughly merited. Inexperienced defending was again Three Kings’ downfall on this occasion, Jennifer Carlisle pouncing on the loose ball to cross for Robertson.
Her header crept past the diving Hodge but hit the post, and rebounded back into play. Time seemed to freeze, until Terry McCahill took matters in hand and steered the rebound across the prone goalkeeper and into the opposite corner of the net.
Both Robertson and McCahill were unable to convert a Crawford corner three minutes later, but three minutes before half-time, Crawford virtually wrapped the game up as a contest with a well-conceived individual goal, evading the challenge of Lothian and engineering the space from which she cracked home a twenty-yard grasscutter through a crowd of players, Hodge again left with little chance.
As was the case four minutes into the second spell, when Carlisle unleashed a left-foot screamer from twenty-five yards out into the top far corner of the net to extend Lynn-Avon’s lead still further. Hodge got her fingertips to the effort, but couldn’t keep it out, this after turning a Parkinson cross-shot to safety seconds earlier.
Three Kings showed a little more pluck in this half, a number of the youngsters responding to the example set by Jackman throughout the match. The workrate of the SWANZ international throughout the ninety minutes had tobe seen to be believed, as she scurried hither and yon in an effort to force her opponents into mistakes. Jackman’s effervescent efforts only occasionally extracted the reward she sought, namely possession for her team.
More often than not, however, Lynn-Avon were to the fore. Just shy of the hour, McCahill outmuscled Anne-Marie Scott in a no-holds-barred tussle for possession, and played the ball through for Crawford. She outpaced Hendriks before laying the ball back for Parkinson, whose twenty yard effort was tipped round the post by Hodge.
After Parkinson had squandered a good opening in the 71st minute, Hodge thwarted Vujnovich seconds later, and quickly launched a counter-attack which sent Jackman scurrying clear. Vale, largely inactive throughout, hurtled off her line and blocked the ball, which ricocheted to Melita Harrison. The substitute’s snatched effort flew well wide of the gaping goal thirty yards in front of her.
Five minutes later, Jackman was through again, this time with Rowney’s assistance. Again, Vale was to the fore, the recalled SWANZ goalkeeper smothering the striker’s swerving twenty yard effort.
Rowney was again involved in another Three Kings raid seven minutes from time, led on this occasion by Stacey O’Hara. The pair combined to play a double one-two to prise open Lynn-Avon’s rearguard, with the young striker steering her shot past Vale but just past the far post as well.
The last action of note came three minutes from time, and saw Carlisle’s shot on the turn splendidly saved once more by Hodge, who was instrumental in restricting Lynn-Avon to a 4-1 victory, a result which the Gary Jenkins-coached combination was well worthy of.
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