The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website | home
29/09/96 | 25/04/97 | 06/07/97 | 20/07/97 | 02/10/97 | 03/05/98 | 30/08/98 | 27/09/98 | 25/04/99 | 15/08/99 | 01/09/99 | 14/05/00 | 23/07/00 | 20/08/00 | 06/09/00 | 10/08/03 | 23/05/04 | 01/08/04 | SWANZ Cup 2004 | 14/08/05 | 07/05/06 | 16/07/06 | 10/09/06 | 06/05/07 | 15/07/07 | 25/05/08 | 10/05/09 | 08/07/09 | 19/07/09 | 16/08/09 | 09/09/09 | 16/05/10 | 27/06/10 | 11/4/11 | 24/6/12 | 05/05/13 | 15/05/16 | 26/06/16
19/07/09
Yet Another Battle Royal At The 49th Time Of Asking
by Jeremy Ruane
The country's foremost women's football clubs clashed for the 49th time on July 19, and produced yet another battle royal to add to their already swollen catalogue of captivating duels as they fought out an enthralling 1-1 draw in their Lotto Northern Premier Women's League encounter.
The latest chapter in the rich history of Lynn-Avon United and Three Kings United encounters attracted folk along in their hundreds to Ken Maunder Park, where they were treated to a glimpse of Lynn-Avon's future, as the home team placed the emphasis on youth in a much-changed line-up to take on their arch-rivals.
It was a move which threatened to back-fire on the league leaders, however, as their opponents, fair bulging at the seams with New Zealand senior and age-grade internationals, tore into their inexperienced opposition from the outset and created a cornucopia of openings throughout a one-sided first half.
Make no mistake, Three Kings should have had this game wrapped up well before half-time, such was their dominance. Their first opening came in the seventh minute, when Ashleigh Cox - her best display yet twixt the sticks for Lynn-Avon - grabbed a fifteen yarder which was created for Merissa Smith by Rosie White.
Seconds later, White was in the thick of things again. On receipt of a pass from Annalie Longo, she skipped past a challenge before slipping Lauren Murray through the heart of Lynn-Avon's defence. From the edge of the penalty area, she lashed a low drive beyond the despairing dive of Cox, but inches past the left-hand upright.
The home team were presented with the chance to respond when a rare error from Nadia Pearl - she's had a most impressive season - gifted possession to Kath Doubleday in the ninth minute. She sent one of the newcomers, Tayla Jeane Hetherington, dashing through the middle, but her twenty yard effort was grabbed greedily by Aroon Clansey.
The visitors quickly got back into their stride, and turned defence into attack in decisive fashion in the fourteenth minute. Anna Green's headed clearance unleashed Longo on one of her trademark jinking runs from inside her own half.
She raced over half-way before sliding a measured pass into the stride of White, whose diagonal right-to-left run across the Lynn-Avon defence caught them on the hop. The striker got to the by-line and pulled the ball back for Smith, who strode onto the sphere and swept it home wide of Cox.
Three Kings were well worth their one-goal advantage at this point, and set about the task of doubling their lead. Pearl and White combined to exploit Maia Jackman's pace on the right two minutes after the goal, and one of New Zealand women's football's finest servants unleashed a first-time dipping piledriver which the back-pedalling Cox, at full stretch, tipped over the crossbar - if she hadn't, it was 2-0.
Incredibly, referee Andrew Caie signalled a goal-kick. The official made one or two eyebrow-raising decisions of this nature throughout proceedings, but clearly enjoyed the step-up in standard which the women's game afforded him in comparison with his usual diet of Northern League men's fare, particularly in terms of technical quality and player behaviour.
Jackman was in a goal-hungry mood today, and swooped on a Rachel Head error in the eighteenth minute to unleash another rasping drive which caught Cox on the hop. She managed to smother the ball at her near post, but got up rather gingerly, having tweaked a calf muscle in the process.
Rare indeed, in the history of this fixture, has this writer had reason to describe Lynn-Avon's performance as passionless, but it's the most accurate description of their first half display in comparison with their Three Kings counterparts, who exploited their rivals' comparative inexperience at every turn and piled on the pressure as they scented blood.
A lovely 24th minute move saw the ball flow freely between Longo, Tessa Berger, Smith and Pearl to Jackman, who took the ball on before picking out White inside her. She mistimed her shot, affording Cox a comfortable save on this occasion.
The goalkeeper cleared the ball downfield to Liz Milne, who sent Sarah Gregorius scampering down the left to the by-line prior to pulling the ball back for Caitlin Campbell.
Abby Erceg stepped in to avert the threat she posed, and instantly launched a Three Kings counter-attack in which Pearl and Longo were highly prominent, before Smith was thwarted by Cox's timely block at her feet.
Just after the half-hour mark, the visitors surged forward once more, the overlapping figure of Green providing the outlet for White to utilise after captain Kristy Hill had ignited another raid. Green's cross was a gem, picking out Longo, whose shot on the turn from the edge of the penalty area stung Cox's gloves.
Pearl then played a short free-kick to the Three Kings midfield maestro, Longo's eighteen yard snapshot fizzing a yard over Cox's crossbar in the 37th minute, seven minutes prior to Murray beating the goalkeeper all ends up with an exemplary finish. It was only as she wheeled away in celebration that referee Caie spotted his assistant's raised offside flag.
The visitors were not best pleased, but channelled their frustration into another attack just prior to the half-time whistle. Early substitute Dana Humby's free-kick was powerfully headed clear by Hill, who raced out of defence in support of Murray, and duly received a return pass as she thundered into Lynn-Avon's half. Three Kings' captain's cross was too far in front of White to take advantage, however.
The half-time whistle couldn't come soon enough for Lynn-Avon's coach, Dene Gilmore, who wasted little time in ripping into his under-performing charges during the interval.
Cox, Melissa Ray - a fine display of leadership throughout - and Milne apart, they weren't at the races against their arch-rivals, but it was soon made clear to all-comers that what had been witnessed in the first half was far below the standards expected of Lynn-Avon United's Premier Women's League squad at any time, never mind when the opposition happens to be their greatest rivals.
The coach's tongue-lashing clearly struck a nerve, because the first team out of the blocks in the second spell was wearing red shirts, as opposed to teal ones. Milne gave both Jackman and Hill the runaround in
|
 Merissa Smith (TKU) watched by Courtney Noble (LAU)
 Sivitha Boyce (LAU) gets her pass away as Nadia Pearl (LAU) closes in
 Liz Milne (LAU) turns away from trouble as Abby Erceg (TKU) sizes up a challenge
 Leah Tagaloa (TKU) powers past Rachel Head (LAU) in pursuit of the ball
 Melissa Ray (LAU) shows Rosie White (TKU) a clean pair of heels
 Annalie Longo (TKU) plans her next trick as Tina Kolose (LAU) looks on
 Maia Jackman (TKU) is determination personified as she thwarts the progress of Liz Milne (LAU)
 Ashleigh Cox (LAU, in yellow) punches clear from Kristy Hill (TKU)
|
the 52nd minute before crossing to the far post, where Sivitha Boyce, who began the game in central defence before switching to attack and then to midfield, volleyed wide of Clansey's goal.
Two minutes later, Three Kings' goalkeeper had a rare save to make, denying Milne after Kath Doubleday had released her with a measured pass. When Milne and Clansey next crossed paths, in the 56th minute, the outcome was decidedly different.
Humby hoisted a free-kick towards the edge of Three Kings' penalty area from half-way, which Hill rose to head down in Clansey's general direction, albeit unconvincingly.
The duo both hesitated for a second or two as they anticipated the other tidying things up, hesitance which the alert figure of Milne punished mercilessly by stealing in between the Three Kings pair to prod the ball past the fast-reacting Clansey and into the net - 1-1.
Game on! And how! What had been shaping as one of the most one-sided showdowns in the history of clashes between these NZ footballing giants was, by virtue of this goal, almost instantly transformed into a riveting no-holds-barred thriller in the best traditions of this great rivalry.
Three Kings were furious with themselves for letting their rivals back into the contest, and promptly threw everything but the kitchen sink at Lynn-Avon in response. At times it was like The Alamo as the home team defended their season-long unbeaten record against opponents who pounded away relentlessly in search of a second goal.
Smith warmed Cox's gloves from twenty yards just prior to the hour mark, then, after linking with White, brought the very best out of the `keeper in the 64th minute with a twenty-five yard screamer. Cox flung herself to her left to tip Smith's shot round the post at full stretch.
By this time, Ray was struggling with an ankle injury, having been caught when making a vital clearance on the edge of her penalty area. But with Gregorius and Campbell having already departed the fray to nurse injuries, and Doubleday also showing signs of distress, Lynn-Avon's captain had to soldier painfully on while guiding her young team along in the face of a torrent of Three Kings attacks..
She did so superbly - her mentor, Terry McCahill, couldn't have done better. Ray led by example, too, rising every time to head clear whenever a dangerous cross threatened Cox's goal, such as in the 68th minute, as Green and Leah Tagaloa linked with the overlapping Longo on the left, White the intended target of her delivery.
Three minutes later, Longo was seen at her impish best again, cleverly turning Humby on receipt of a Hill pass before threading the ball through the heart of Lynn-Avon's rearguard for Smith. With Ray trailing in her wake, and Cox advancing towards her, the striker let fly, and instantly put her hands to her head as her shot sizzled over the bar.
Jackman and Longo then combined for Tagaloa's benefit, as the substitute got in behind Head down Lynn-Avon's left. She fizzed in a cross to the near post for the fast-arriving figure of Murray to exploit, but Cox grabbed the ball greedily.
Four minutes later, Lynn-Avon survived another scare as they clung on courageously in the face of Three Kings' near-incessant attacks. If you were a supporter of either team, it was nerve-wracking stuff, no question, but there's something very special about this rivalry which makes for compelling viewing whenever they lock horns, and this match was no exception.
Green over-hit a free-kick from the right, with Murray forced to pick up the pieces way beyond the far post. She picked out Jackman, whose shot was blocked, as was that of White. The ball fell to Hill, on the edge of the goal area, from where she lashed a shot through a crowded goalmouth. Cox saw it late, but smothered it on the line.
There was little respite for Lynn-Avon, with any clearances downfield inevitably being returned with interest by Clansey, who had almost taken up permanent station outside her penalty area with play concentrated almost entirely in the home team's half.
Erceg sent Green surging through nine minutes from time, only for Cox to bravely save at her feet, seconds prior to the `keeper watching a Tagaloa effort creep past her right-hand post.
Cox's best was yet to come, however. She didn't quite save it till last, but what she produced in the 86th minute was right out of the top drawer - a stunning full-length dive high to her left to tip around the far post a ferocious volley from White which had `Top far corner' written all over it. Stupendous stuff!
Smith played the resulting corner short to Pearl, who was invariably involved in instigating Three Kings' attacks from her deep-lying midfield role. This time, she was at the sharp end, and produced a wicked chipped cross which had Cox and company rattled as it arced onto the crossbar.
The ball was cleared to Green, who instantly fed White down the left. Inside two challenges she swept before driving a cross into the penalty area. Longo's deft flick wrong-footed all-comers, and caught Cox unawares, the `keeper almost fumbling the ball over the line in her urgency to retrieve the situation. The broad smile of relief which followed said it all - she knew she'd dodged a bullet!
Still they pressed, and still Lynn-Avon held firm, Ray and Humby marshalling the troops through the three minutes added on by referee Caie, whose final whistle saw the home team celebrating as if they had won, in stark contrast to Three Kings' response, given they had done everything but win at the home of their greatest rivals.
The consolation is they will have at least one more opportunity to conquer the table-toppers before the season is out, for with this draw guaranteeing Lynn-Avon and Three Kings will finish first and second in the standings, they will draw swords once again in the first round of the play-offs, a clash which will be the fiftieth in the history of this terrific rivalry - one not to be missed!
Lynn-Avon: Cox; Noble, Ray, Boyce, Head; Hetherington, Burrows, Doubleday (Fisher, 67), Milne; Gregorius (Humby, 27), Campbell (Kolose, 48)
Three Kings: Clansey; Jackman, Hill, Erceg, Green; Longo, Pearl, Berger (Tagaloa, 56); Murray, White, Smith
Referee: Andrew Caie
|