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14/08/05
Lynn-Avon Prevail In Another Three Kings Thriller
by Jeremy Ruane
Whatever it is about clashes between the Premier Women's teams of Lynn-Avon United and Three Kings United that makes them so special should be bottled and preserved forever and a day!
The 37th showdown between these two titans of the game in New Zealand took place at Ken Maunder Park on August 14, with a place in the Uncle Toby's Women's Knockout Cup Final the reward for the victors. Almost all the stars were on show, and as a result, the three hundred-odd present were treated to a barnstorming encounter.
What the game may have lacked in free-flowing football was more than compensated for by the sheer intensity of a fiercely contested encounter, one marked by a raft of at times ferocious challenges which referee Nick Waldron, by and large, handled exceptionally well - there is no need to resort to cards when a quiet word here and there is suffice.
He presided over a match which saw Three Kings' season concluded by their arch-rivals, who progressed to their sixth successive Uncle Toby's Cup Final - their seventh all told - on the back of a 3-1 victory, one later described by Lynn-Avon's player-coach, Jill Gilmore, as “a triumph built on pride and a tremendous team spirit”.
It was fast and furious from the off in this semi-final, with Michele Keinzley's fourth minute cross-shot which startled Ashleigh Cox matched by Sarah Gibbs' free-kick three minutes later, one which Stephanie Puckrin punched clear off the heads of Terry McCahill and Maia Jackman, who was playing in her old role of striker in this match.
The thrills and spills continued, quarter not even contemplated, never mind given nor taken. There'll be some sore bodies on Monday morning after this clash, make no mistake. Kristy Hill was in her element, while Gibbs and Ria Percival left no holds barred in their respective quests to be “Queen Wide-Girl”!
Three Kings' teenage tyros, Betsy Hassett and Annalie Longo, will be feeling the bumps more than most, so often did they come up against (read bounce off) the human walls which McCahill, Jen Carlisle and Kirsty Yallop - what a massive game she had! - seemed to become in their presence.
Occasionally, Hassett did make some head-way, such as in the sixteenth minute, when she threaded a ball wide for Gibbs to pursue. She took on and bettered Gilmore before crossing beyond the far post to Marisa Smith. The youngster was unable to direct her effort on target, unlike Yallop two minutes later, her long-range free-kick being grabbed by Cox.
Three Kings' goalkeeper picked up a war wound in the 21st minute when saving at the feet of Keinzley, as Lynn-Avon looked to make their territorial advantage count. Soon after, Carlisle headed a Yallop corner over the crossbar.
Back came the visitors, Smith rampaging down the right before firing in a cross which initially looked to have been over-hit. Not so, however, for ghosting in on the far post was Gibbs at a great rate of knots. At full stretch, she managed to make contact with the ball, but was unable to direct it on target.
It was a let-off for Lynn-Avon, and a warning they failed to heed adequately. For after further to-ing and fro-ing, with Melissa Ray, Hannah Rishworth and Abby Erceg instrumental in ensuring there was no change to the scoreless scoreline, Three Kings engineered a 36th minute opening which opened their rivals up.
Hassett was at its heart, switching play to Gibbs, who'd raced into the inside-left channel. In a match laden with New Zealand internationals at full, age-grade or schoolgirl levels, this particular one took her time and, from twenty-five yards, blasted her shot wide of Puckrin. But the `keeper pulled off a brilliant fingertip save at full stretch for a corner.
Gibbs whipped in the set-piece, only for Puckrin to punch the ball out to Margot Bowker. She spread play across to Gilmore, who angled a ball through for Yallop, who had raced up-field as Lynn-Avon mounted a counter-attack.
The former New Zealand Secondary Schoolgirls captain squared the ball to Keinzley, who let fly with a rasping twenty-five yarder. Cox parried the effort superbly, but Yallop had continued her supporting run, and gained due reward for following in by ramming home the opening goal eight minutes before the break.
Straight from the kick-off, Three Kings attacked through Jackman, who outmuscled McCahill before linking with Longo. She sprayed the ball wide to Smith, who lashed a first-time shot under pressure wide of the mark.
Back came Lynn-Avon straight away. Carlisle to Bowker, who played a one-two with Yallop before curling in a cross for Keinzley, who headed wide with the better-placed figure of Percival beyond her waiting to pounce.
Cox sent the resulting goal-kick downfield, Hassett its eventual recipient. She evaded a couple of challenges before her heels were clipped just inside the penalty area by Melanie Hansen. Three Kings bayed for a spot-kick, and referee Waldron, who was initially unable to determine where the incident took place, checked before granting their appeals.
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 Maia Jackman (TKU) and Melissa Ray (LAU)
 Betsy Hassett (TKU) and Ria Percival (LAU)
 Hannah Rishworth (TKU)
 Kirsty Yallop (LAU)
 Sarah Gibbs (TKU)
 Michele Keinzley (LAU)
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Up stepped the well-performed Hannah Rishworth, who coolly lashed home her penalty high above the diving Puckrin - 1-1, and game on in a big way.
As their opponents had minutes earlier, Lynn-Avon rampaged downfield straight from the resumption. Percival picked out Carlisle with a cross which the midfielder fired narrowly over the bar under pressure. A corner was awarded, and Yallop whipped in a beauty, Keinzley's head its target. But Cox grabbed the sphere with her fingertips at full stretch to foil that opening.
Her clearance downfield wasn't capitalised on by Three Kings, and Yallop ended up in possession on the left flank. Looking up, she spotted Bowker lurking near the edge of the `D', completely unmarked.
An inch-perfect cross arrived at the striker's feet, and Bowker, whose appearances since suffering a badly broken ankle in 2004 pre-season training have been few and far between, gleefully fired home her second
goal in as many weeks to restore Lynn-Avon's advantage.
Three Kings came out firing after half-time, and within three minutes, a Gibbs free-kick resulted in an almighty goalmouth scramble. Smith and Hill both saw shots blocked before the calming influence of Vicki Rainbow restored order with a timely clearance.
Soon afterwards, Lynn-Avon were on attack, forcing a rushed clearance from Rishworth. It fell to Keinzley, who threaded the ball through for Carlisle, last week's four-goal heroine lashing her shot wide of the target this time round.
In the 57th minute, the hitherto largely anonymous Rebecca Sowden threaded a pass through for Jackman to chase. On her shoulder every step of the way was Ray - the international team-mates had a great contest throughout, with the more versatile performer ultimately bowing to arguably the best man-marking defender in New Zealand football … big call, granted, but where's the evidence to suggest otherwise?
Jackman was forced to check her run on this occasion, but found Hassett in support. The youngster scythed into Lynn-Avon's penalty area before unleashing a curling effort which had “far corner” written all over it. Puckrin, however, hadn't read the script, and produced another fine save to keep her opponents at bay.
In between a flurry of substitutions, Percival twice went close for Lynn-Avon, on the second occasion being denied by Cox. The goalkeeper cleared the ball downfield, and McCahill's header to Hansen fell short,
allowing Smith to pounce and hold off the full-back before letting fly. But once again, Puckrin prevailed, pulling off a fingertip save to foil Three Kings in the 73rd minute.
After Keinzley had drilled a twenty-yarder wide of the mark, following a move which featured Gilmore and Percival, Lynn-Avon made the game safe seven minutes from time with a cracking goal.
Fittingly, Yallop was at its heart. The midfielder was playing this match with a degree of determination which suggests that when she eventually departs for Central Connecticut University in January, she will do so safe in the knowledge that she has done her level best to ensure the Uncle Toby's Women's Knockout Cup remains in pride of place in Lynn-Avon's trophy cabinet.
Yallop linked with Sam Selwyn and Rainbow, who pierced Three Kings' defence with an angled pass which rewarded Percival's surging run through the inside right channel. The youngster took the ball in her stride before, from twenty-five yards, thrashing the ball high above the diving figure of Cox to all but seal Lynn-Avon's passage into a sixth successive cup final.
There appeared no way back for Three Kings, but they kept pressing in the hope that one late goal might lead to another. But a snapshot from Jackman, and another goalmouth scramble from a Gibbs corner in which Hansen was heroic - she blocked efforts from Jackman, Smith and Hassett before Puckrin finally got her hands on the ball - was all they could muster, and as the final whistle sounded, so did their season.
“I'm hugely disappointed”, said Three Kings' coach, Barrie Barmes, afterwards. “A lack of finishing cost us at the end of the day. But some of the youngsters played really well - their time will come. Next season, they'll be a year wiser, and I'm looking forward to seeing the benefits of that”.
Lynn-Avon's player-coach, Jill Gilmore, was a picture of satisfaction in victory. “It was a huge team effort. We just never say die. One thing you can't coach is team spirit, and that and pride have got us through the league this season, and to where we are today.
“Our New Zealand players, who outplayed their Three Kings counterparts today, are very much part of that team spirit, and they made a difference in this match. Overall, though, it's just a great team effort”.
Lynn-Avon: Puckrin; Gilmore, McCahill, Ray, Hansen; Percival, Rainbow, Yallop, Carlisle (Selwyn, 60); Keinzley, Bowker (Parkinson, 70)
Three Kings: Cox; Rishworth, Erceg, Rennie; Smith, Hassett, Sowden (Blair, 72), Hill, Gibbs; Jackman, Longo
Referee: Nick Waldron
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