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20/08/00
Lynn-Avon Brings Three Kings’ Reign To An End
by Jeremy Ruane
Lynn-Avon United advanced to the final of the Uncle Toby’s Women’s Knockout Cup on August 20, 2000, bringing to an end the three-year reign of Three Kings United in the competition by eclipsing their rivals 1-0 at Keith Hay Park.
It was a deserved victory for Gary Jenkins’ side, who created more opportunities than the holders, although it was the home team who enjoyed the first chance to find the back of the net in what was a typically hard-fought semi-final.
Erin Martin released Maia Jackman down the left flank, and from her pass inside, Caroline Crittenden curled a shot narrowly past the top right-hand corner of Yvonne Vale’s goal in the fourth minute of play.
Another Crittenden effort from distance hit the sidenetting two minutes later, as the cup holders made the early play, but Lynn-Avon’s first opening was not far away in coming. A defensive error let in Amanda Crawford in the twelfth minute, but Michelle Hodge was quick to prevent Angela Vujnovich from capitalising on her team-mate’s low cross, parrying the ball against the incoming striker.
The rebound spun awkwardly, the bounce completely deceiving both Vujnovich and the retreating Mary-Lou Hendriks. It fell nicely for Jennifer Carlisle, however, only for the defender to balloon her shot over the bar.
Hodge saved comfortably from both Vujnovich and Melissa Reber in the next fifteen minutes - chances were at a premium at this stage, and dealt capably with Dana Heiford’s twenty-yard free-kick on the half-hour.
Martin gave Vale cause for concern with a well-struck twenty-five yard effort soon after, but the best chance of the match fell Reber’s way in the 35th minute. Or, rather, she fell over it!!
An under-struck Tarah Cox back-pass was pounced on by Vujnovich, who had just Hodge to beat as she homed in on goal. Drawing the goalkeeper out of the target area, the striker unselfishly squared the ball to Reber, who, with the goal at her mercy twelve yards away, and Hendriks closing fast, contrived to fall over the ball, allowing Hodge to recover.
Seconds later, good work by Patrice Bourke on the left created an opening for Crawford, but Hodge - easily the busier goalkeeper in this encounter - proved equal to her effort.
At the other end, Vale had been little troubled. But she had to be at her best in the 36th minute to prevent Simone Ferrara from scoring her first goal for Three Kings. Martin had carved Lynn-Avon open down the left, and had flighted an inviting cross towards the far post, where Ferrara was arriving on cue. Vale timed her leap perfectly to pluck the ball off the midfielder’s head, and maintain parity.
An element of farce intervened in the fortieth minute, as referee Phyl Hughes blew for half-time five minutes early. After quickly consulting with officials, she realised the error of her ways, and invited both teams back to the field for the remaining five minutes, this as the sides had already begun their respective half-time briefings.
Thankfully, little occured of note in this time to change the scoreless situation, but when the half-time whistle did eventually sound, the players’ frustration with the incident was best summed up by one voice - “Are you sure about it this time, ref?”
Such was the closeness of this battle that it seemed certain that one goal would decide it. On chances created to date, Lynn-Avon looked the side more likely to be celebrating.
But after Crawford sent a twenty-yarder whizzing wide in the 46th minute, and Heiford had seen Hodge tip her dipping twenty-five yard drive against the crossbar four minutes later, you began to wonder if the Bluebird Northern Premier Women’s League leaders were fated to fall to their arch-rivals at the semi-final stage for yet another season, particularly as Three Kings began to enjoy their best spell of the match in the next fifteen minutes.
The passing game which the home team employs, in contrast to their opponents’ more direct style of play, was something with which Lynn-Avon struggled to cope during this time, but significantly, Three Kings failed to test Vale to any great extent during this period of dominance, primarily due to the Terry McCahill-marshalled defensive quartet, upon which many a promising raid foundered.
To relieve the pressure, Lynn-Avon would send the ball forward towards Crawford and Vujnovich, who would force the home team to beat a hasty retreat with the threat they posed on the counter-attack.
The former led two such charges before the hour mark, of which nothing came, while a Vujnovich-led raid in the 62nd minute culminated in the otherwise well-performed Melissa Wileman sidefooting the ball straight at Hodge, after the ‘keeper had palmed out the striker’s low cross beyond the incoming Crawford.
Two minutes later, Three Kings almost found a way through Lynn-Avon’s defences. Jackman and Crittenden teamed up with Martin to probe an opening on the right, which McCahill was quite content to let run through to Vale. That was until she saw the initial perpetrators of the move racing through with no-one in red in pursuit!
Crittenden cracked the shot goalwards, but McCahill’s hasty retreat paid off, the ball cannoning off the defender for a corner. Martin’s delivery was returned to her by Crittenden, and the US U-20 international’s teasing cross curled over Vale, but just beyond the far post.
Within seconds, the deadlock had been broken at the other end of the park. Crawford led a raid down the right which culminated in a tame Heiford shot falling kindly for Vujnovich. She turned and fired a crisp twenty-yard drive beyond the despairing dive of Hodge into the bottom right-hand corner of the net, which prompted her team-mates to engulf her in delight.
It was a body blow from which Three Kings never really recovered. Vujnovich, with a teasing cross-shot, and McCahill, after a Heiford through ball had found Carlisle all alone on the edge of the home team’s penalty area, both had chances to clinch the match in the next eight minutes, but neither opportunity was taken, the latter’s effort being deflected wide by Hendriks, who, with Hodge, stood out for Three Kings on the day.
The home team’s goalkeeper was busy again soon after, saving at the feet of Carlisle to conclude a goalmouth melee prompted by a Jill Corner free-kick. She then watched as another Vujnovich effort hit the sidenetting ten minutes from time.
With nine minutes left, and their grip on the trophy loosening by the minute, Three Kings mounted a late rally. Ferrara sent Jackman away down the left. Her low cross was touched by Martin into Ferrara’s path, and from twenty yards, she hammered the ball goalwards. Vale flung herself low to her right to turn the ball round the post in fine fashion.
After Crawford had spurned a Vujnovich-created opening, Three Kings continued their charge, and with forty seconds of running time left, Martin fired over a cross which picked out Stacey O’Hara completely unmarked on the edge of the penalty area.
Despite having time to control the ball, she struck it first-time on the volley, but the ball was always rising, and as it cleared the crossbar, the cup holders’ grip on the trophy they had held for three straight seasons was finally relinquished, much to Lynn-Avon’s delight.
Three Kings: Hodge; Scott, Exler, Hendriks, Lothian; Jackman, Crittenden, Cox, Ferrara; Rowney (O’Hara, 75), Martin
Lynn-Avon: Vale; Corner, Wells, McCahill, Bourke; Carlisle (Parkinson, 90), Wileman (Pedruco, 82), Heiford, Reber; Vujnovich, Crawford
Referee: Phyl Hughes
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