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15/08/99
Three Kings “Three-Peat” Still On In SWANZ Cup
Determined Lynn-Avon Rue Missed Chances
by Jeremy Ruane
A determined bid by Lynn-Avon United to end Three Kings United’s reign as SWANZ Knockout Cup holders proved fruitless at Keith Hay Park on August 15, the winners in both 1997 and 1998 advancing to their third consecutive national final on the back of a 1-0 win over their arch-rivals.
Lynn-Avon squandered any number of chances throughout this hard-fought encounter against a Three Kings combination which, due to an early injury scare to Jane Simpson, and the enforced substitution, again due to injury, of Melita Harrison, twice had to alter its starting line-up before the first half was half-way through.
The visitors enjoyed the better of the early exchanges, Melissa Wileman forcing a save from Michelle Hodge in the seventh minute. On the quarter-hour, Lyn Pedruco and Jill Corner combined on the right to present Angela Vujnovich with a chance, which the striker proceeded to fire tamely at the goalkeeper. And two minutes later, Terry McCahill headed an Amanda Crawford corner narrowly past the upright.
Harrison’s departure saw Anne-Marie Scott entering the fray in an unfamiliar front-running role, and the substitute was in the thick of the action within two minutes, crossing low for Jennifer Kelley to test Yvonne Vale with a twenty-yard effort.
A misjudgement by Alisse Robertson, as she looked to shepherd the ball out of play in the 26th minute, saw Rebecca Sowden pounce on the loose ball and lay it back for Scott, whose first-time cross was only just missed by the incoming Amy Goaziou, much to Vale’s relief.
Three Kings, with the prevailing wind at their backs, had by now weathered the early Lynn-Avon storm, and were relishing the chance to dictate terms via their preferred passing game. A slick six-player move resulted in Kelley scooting down the right in the 33rd minute, and rounding Dana Heiford before crossing to the near post, Scott her target. McCahill’s clearance was artful - the visitors’ skipper had a super game at the heart of Lynn-Avon’s defence.
Lynn-Avon was reliant, at this stage, on employing swift counter-attacks, primarily utilising the speed of Crawford. Robertson picked her out with a well-weighted 37th minute through ball, which allowed the striker to shrug off the attentions of Sacha Haskell and bear down on goal, only for Hodge to save at her feet.
Three minutes later, Three Kings made their pressure pay where it counts most - on the scoreboard. Michele Cox’s inswinging corner from the left had been cleared for a corner on the opposite side by Lynn-Avon, which saw the home team’s captain, who had a storming game throughout, signal for Goaziou to deliver the set-piece.
She did so, plum into the middle of the crowded goalmouth. Through the massed ranks burst Kelley, who, from close range, made no mistake - 1-0 to the cup holders.
Rattled, the visitors looked decidedly shaky in the next few minutes, as Three Kings sought a second goal. Vale dropped a teasing Goaziou cross in the 42nd minute, but the wrong-footed Tarah Cox was unable to capitalise on the loose ball, and sister Michele saw her shot ricochet off a defender for a corner.
Goaziou delivered another wicked inswinger, which McCahill was able to get her head to on this occasion. The ball dropped for Kelley, who, instead of shooting first-time, took one touch too many to control the sphere, which allowed Corner the opportunity to clear the danger.
The second half saw the wind now at Lynn-Avon’s backs, and the 1996 cup winners certainly looked to make the most of it, primarily through Crawford, who peppered Three Kings’ goal with three efforts from varying ranges early in the spell, all to no avail.
The SWANZ international had a golden chance to level the scores in the 55th minute. A poor Goaziou pass allowed Vujnovich to break down the right and deliver a cross to the near post, where Hodge, Crawford and Haskell converged at pace. The ball spun loose, with Crawford - just - the first to recover. She shot on the turn, only for Haskell to block her effort on the line. The ball cannoned out to the feet of the incoming Petra Visschers, who, from fifteen yards, blazed over the crossbar.
There have been times this season when Hodge has found herself with little to do but watch as her Three Kings team-mates lay siege to opponents’ goalmouths. But in this match, watched by, amongst others, National Coach Doug Moore, she was in unbeatable form, as Vujnovich, Robertson, Pedruco and Crawford could all testify in a two-minute spell soon after this close call.
McCahill spurned a free header on the hour, directing her effort over the crossbar upon being picked out by a Crawford corner. But it was at the back where Lynn-Avon’s captain was proving her worth, often curtailing the counter-attacking thrusts of Maia Jackman and Sowden, as Three Kings looked to utilise this means to quell the visitors’ forward forays.
When McCahill was caught out of position, Jennifer Carlisle was on hand to retrieve the situation for Lynn-Avon. Michele Cox released Jackman with a defence-splitting pass down the right in the 65th minute, leaving the striker with just Carlisle and Vale to beat. Both were unable to completely repel the threat Jackman posed, but they did enough to force the ball to spin loose in the penalty area, from where Carlisle was able to complete the clearance.
Three minutes later, a teasing through ball from Goaziou sought out Sowden. Vale was in two minds initially, but eventually came to clear, only to direct her effort against the retreating Carlisle. The defender had just enough of an edge on Sowden to win the race for the loose ball and avert the danger once more.
A wayward clearance by Simpson found Corner rampaging down the right in the 74th minute, from where she picked out Crawford. The striker held off the challenge of Haskell before cracking a shot goalwards, only for Hodge to turn the ball round the post for a corner, from which Pedruco sent a header bulleting past the upright.
Another Crawford corner ten minutes from time curled agonisingly across the face of Three Kings’ goal, with no member of either side able to get a touch on the ball, much to the amazement of the sizable audience present.
Back came Three Kings, Goaziou sending Jackman scurrying away down the left, her pace taking her clear of the defence. The striker hurried her shot, however, and Vale watched anxiously as the rising ball flew past the far upright to safety four minutes from time.
With seconds remaining on the clock, Crawford tried once more, this time with a long-range free-kick - referee Trevor Bradford, while correct in his judgment on this occasion, certainly had his moments in this battle royal, with a number of his decisions testing the patience of Lynn-Avon’s coach, Dave Wileman.
But, as with a number of Lynn-Avon’s numerous other attempts on goal in this encounter, Crawford’s effort lacked the accuracy to trouble Hodge, and Three Kings held on to record a 1-0 win in a match which would have made a great spectacle had it been the final itself.
Instead, Three Kings will take on final debutants Wairarapa United, 7-0 winners over Christchurch’s Nomads United in the other semi-final, with the prospects of a SWANZ Cup “three-peat” very much alive.
Three Kings: Hodge; Haskell, Harrison (Scott, 21) (O‘Hara, 80), Exler; Simpson, M. Cox, T. Cox, Kelley, Goaziou; Jackman, Sowden
Lynn-Avon: Vale; Robertson, McCahill, Carlisle; Corner, Wileman (Reber, 50), Pedruco, Heiford Visschers; Crawford, Vujnovich
Referee: Trevor Bradford
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