There’s nothing quite like scoring a record win at your arch-rivals expense, and Three Kings United are savouring that particular milestone after storming to a come-from-behind 5-2 triumph over Lynn-Avon United at Ken Maunder Park on May 16. The victory is Three Kings’ biggest in the entire history of clashes between these giants of the New Zealand women’s game, but of greater importance, given their parlous form in the Lotto Northern Premier Women’s League this season, it has literally kept their season alive. A Lynn-Avon win would have all but ended Three Kings’ play-off hopes - even with their talented Junior Ferns stars in full harness following their return from international duty this weekend, it would be hard to see them overhauling something in the vicinity of a nine-point deficit in the six rounds remaining. Instead, they are right back in contention, just four points off third place, after a thrilling victory carved out in challenging circumstances. There was little hint of what was to come in the first fifteen minutes of the match, which were decidedly placid in comparison to the usual all guns blazing approach for which this fixture is notorious. Just three chances materialised in that time. Hannah Rishworth - a massive performance - pressured Casey Ridsdale into a third minute error which culminated in Emma Kete curling a shot around the diving Ashleigh Cox but beyond the far post from an acute angle. Lynn-Avon responded through Kelly Drummond, whose initial corner required the intervention of Aroon Clansey to tip the ball over the bar. Her second delivery picked out Megan Lee, whose shot ricocheted to the feet of Vicki Phipps, who, from ten yards, sent a fierce drive fizzing inches past the post. The reigning champions took the lead in the sixteenth minute with a goal superbly conceived by Drummond. Her delightfully angled ball in from the right bisected the Three Kings defence, who looked round to find Lee racing onto it. The Young Fern coolly slotted home past the wrong-footed figure of Clansey - 1-0 Lynn-Avon. That ignited the contest, for within two minutes Kete had the ball in Lynn-Avon’s net and was celebrating the equaliser with her team-mates when referee Anna-Marie Keighley spotted the offside flag. Three minutes later, Kete and Steph Skilton combined to set up Rishworth, whose twenty yarder was greedily grabbed by Cox. Three minutes later, Lynn-Avon’s custodian was beaten, but only after pulling off a super save in the process. Jessica Rollings - an impish display - whipped in a free-kick which lured Cox out of goal, and picked out the head of Skilton. Her header looked in for all money until Cox produced a stunning reflex save low to her right, only to look on in despair as Rishworth hurtled in to slide home the rebound before Cox could complete the stop. 1-1, but parity in these fixtures is a rarity - only six of these derbies have ended in stalemates. We had but three minutes to wait for Lynn-Avon to restore their lead, albeit in bizarre circumstances on this occasion. Lee made a terrific run through from half-way, slaloming her way through Three Kings challenges galore before reaching the edge of the penalty area. Clansey raced out to clear her lines, but succeeded only in slamming the ball into, of all people, the referee, who is very much part of the game in such circumstances. As Miss Keighley caught her breath, Rebecca Gage gleefully latched onto the rebound and hooked home her fiftieth Premier Women’s League goal in Lynn-Avon’s colours into the unguarded net, much to the chagrin of Clansey, for whom this was one of those "I wish the ground would open up and swallow me" moments. Three Kings sought a swift riposte. On the half-hour, another Rollings corner wasn’t cleared, the loose ball inviting Kete to crack a low drive through the crowded goalmouth from the edge of the penalty area. Her execution was exemplary, but so was Cox’s positioning. Seconds later, an unfortunate off-the-ball incident took place which ultimately brought a premature end to the involvement of Three Kings midfielder Jesse Mathews. She evaded a couple of challenges then slid the ball past Drummond, who stood her ground and fended off her opponent. Mathews crashed to the ground and stayed down, clearly in a lot of pain. It transpired that she had landed awkwardly on her forearm, and while she somehow played through the pain barrier until half-time, a subsequent trip to the casualty ward saw her returning home in plaster - another addition to Three Kings’ walking wounded. Drummond, for her part, picked up a yellow card for the incident, when a strong case could have been made for a darker hue to be wielded by the referee. The youngster’s saving grace was that the officials didn’t see exactly what occurred, although they were clearly aware that something had taken place between the two. It certainly wasn’t a good look, that’s for sure. The incident briefly took the sting out of the match, although as half-time loomed large on the horizon, Three Kings’ probings were becoming more pronounced, as was Lynn-Avon’s well-organised defensive display. Right on the stroke of half-time, the visitors threatened again, Rollings the catalyst for this latest raid. Receiving a clearance from Michele Hogg, she swept downfield before sending Skilton to the by-line near the corner flag, from where a teasing cross arced over the head of Kete. Arriving on cue to meet it was Leah Tagaloa, who had a lively game up front, and should have marked it with a goal on this occasion. The opportunity was crying out for a first-time left foot half-volley hard and low into the bottom corner of Cox’s net, but Tagaloa instead met the ball with the outside of her right foot, off which the sphere spun violently, swerving across the face of the target and into the goalkeeper’s grateful gloves. Half-time came and went, with Three Kings’ demeanour as they returned to the park very much

Hannah Rishworth (TKU) heads clear Emma Kete (TKU) and Melissa Ray (LAU) in aerial combat Leapin' Leah Tagaloa (TKU) heads clear Rebecca Gage (LAU) shadowed by Tessa Berger (TKU) Casey Ridsdale (LAU) gets a pass away under pressure from Jessica Rollings (TKU) Emma Kete (TKU) manages to retain her balance under pressure from Therese Saito (LAU) Hannah Rishworth (TKU) challenged by Casey Ridsdale (LAU)

business-like - understandably so, given they had but a half of football remaining in which to keep their campaign alive. How swiftly they translated that mood into goals! Two in the first four minutes of the half turned the game on its head, although the first of them was highly controversial - it wouldn’t be a Lynn-Avon - Three Kings joust without a fair smattering of contentiousness, would it? This one came just eighty seconds into the half. Rishworth let rip with a rasping twenty yard volley which Cox got her hands to, but only succeeded in parrying back towards her own goal. She was still on her feet, however, so was able to race back and scoop the ball out from under the crossbar, only to encounter Skilton following in at a great rate of knots. The ‘keeper did well to twice thwart her from point-blank range, with the youngster unable to direct her third effort on target - goal kick. "Er, hang on, ref, care to ask the linesman why his flag‘s raised?" That was the polite version of what Three Kings were screaming at referee Keighley, who hadn’t noticed her assistant’s signal midst the chaos beforehand. She duly went across and consulted her colleague, and after a brief animated discussion, promptly signalled a goal. Three Kings’ joy at drawing level was matched by Lynn-Avon’s disbelief bordering on ire - to say they weren’t amused is something of an understatement! And they were still seething in the 49th minute when Rollings’ defence-splitting pass sent Kete careering through the heart of Lynn-Avon’s rearguard, and from the edge of the penalty area she fair hammered the ball past Cox with venom aplenty - 3-2 Three Kings. More red rag to a bull material, but Lynn-Avon’s fire was matched by Three Kings’ passion - the visitors’ resolve to win was immense, and they steadfastly refused to buckle as their arch-rivals sought an equaliser of their own. Indeed, it was Three Kings who carved out the next chance, in the 58th minute. Kete and Tagaloa worked a neat one-two which allowed the former to evade the clutches of Melissa Ray, only for Dana Humby to race across and avert the danger posed by the former Lynn-Avon front-runner. Humby’s clearance sparked a Lynn-Avon counter-attack, although it was Ray who was the driving force behind it. Surging out of defence, she played Lee through the inside right channel, and the youngster dashed round the advancing figure of Clansey to leave herself with the goal at her mercy. Hogg had other ideas, however, and her timely tackle kept Three Kings in the lead. Cue another raid by the visitors five minutes later. Rollings and Rishworth linked neatly in the centre-circle for the benefit of Skilton, who was greatly assisted by the off-the-ball running of Tagaloa and Kete as she surged forward. The strikers’ movement had defenders scurrying hither and thither while Skilton took on Ray prior to lashing a twenty-five yarder across the face of goal. Three minutes later, Ray curtailed Rollings’ latest enterprising run with a superbly timed ball-and-all tackle before playing the ball forward to Gage. She sent Lee through with just Clansey to beat, but the youngster shot tamely at the ‘keeper. Clansey looked on with relief five minutes later as the ball cleared her crossbar by a yard at most. Ridsdale spread play wide to Lee on the right, and she instantly brought freshly introduced substitute Kath Doubleday into play. The newcomer held the ball up well before setting up Ridsdale to unleash a dipping twenty-yarder which dipped just too late. Lynn-Avon’s groans soon turned to growls, as Doubleday needlessly got herself involved in a bit of push and shove following a sturdy challenge by Kete. It was silly stuff, and not the sort of thing you do when the referee is five yards away and couldn’t possibly fail to see any retaliation which took place. Out came the red card, and Doubleday’s day was done and dusted, ten minutes earlier than planned. From that moment on, so were Lynn-Avon’s prospects of redressing the balance. The ten women battled, but Three Kings’ display deserved to be rewarded, and they made their numerical advantage count on the scoreboard in the time remaining. Rishworth’s ball forward in the 83rd minute saw Kete piercing the heart of Lynn-Avon’s defence once more, and only a fine save by Cox at close quarters prevented her from flicking in a fourth goal at this point. After Tagaloa had stood up Humby and stormed past the defender down the right, the destiny of the points was confirmed four minutes from time when Skilton unleashed a twenty yard bullet which fair ripped into the bottom right-hand corner of Cox’s net - the ‘keeper barely moved, thinking it was going wide. 4-2 then, but still time for a final and fitting twist of the knife. Throughout her strong front-running display, Kete had been subjected to sledging aplenty by a couple of her former team-mates, but wisely chose to answer them back via her on-field deeds, rather than lowering her standards. In injury time, she administered the most emphatic riposte. Skilton - a willing worker for the cause throughout - picked out Kete once more after racing clear down the left. Three Kings’ attacking spearhead had plenty to do, but Kete did it brilliantly, turning Humby on a sixpence before smashing a fulminating twenty-yarder with ferocity aplenty beyond Cox, after which she briefly turned towards Ray. The sight of the triumphant scorer proudly patting the Three Kings badge over her heart spoke volumes, as did the scoreline - 5-2, a thoroughly deserved record win for the visitors against their arch-rivals, and on the road to boot. Lynn-Avon:     Cox; Wimbrow, Ray, Humby, Saito; Drummond (booked, 31) (Doubleday, 70 (sent off, 80)), Ridsdale (Doran-Read, 82), Phipps, Seatter, Lee; Gage (Noble, 86) Three Kings:     Clansey; Hogg, Osbourne, Berger, Williams; Rollings, Rishworth, Mathews (Kennedy, 46); Tagaloa, Kete, Skilton Referee:     Anna-Marie Keighley