Three Kings United advanced to the quarter-finals of the National Women’s Knockout Cup for the first time in five years on June 27, and in the process dashed the hopes arch-rivals and cup holders Lynn-Avon United held of winning the trophy for a record tenth time. Keith Hay Park hosted an incredibly cleanly contested clash - just four free-kicks were awarded for foul play incidents - which Three Kings won 2-1, their first goal coming via their first attack, in the fourth minute of play. The cup holders had held the upper hand from the kick-off, but a swift interchange between the midfield trio of Hannah Rishworth, Jessica Rollings and Jessy Mathews saw the last-mentioned unleash a slide-rule pass through the inside-right channel. Leah Tagaloa is unquestionably one of the nicest players you could wish to meet in the women’s game, but she has had more than her fair share of disappointments during her career to date. These have contributed significantly to a goals to games return which doesn’t do justice to her undoubted talent. Indeed, it was exactly eleven months since the 22-year-old last graced the scoresheet, but this most honest of toilers has been about due to break her duck for a couple of weeks now, and when Mathews’ pass headed in "LT"’s direction, Lynn-Avon defender Natalie Wimbrow stood not a prayer. Tagaloa powered past her unsuspecting opponent - something she was to do on numerous occasions throughout the match as she produced her best display of the season to date - and strode onto the ball before finding herself inside the penalty area with the advancing Ashleigh Cox to beat. An unerring finish arrowed into the far corner of the net, and a delighted scorer was swiftly engulfed by her colleagues. Lynn-Avon were stunned by this early blow, and a long-range effort from Caitlin Campbell apart - Aroon Clansey fielded this ninth minute effort comfortably, they were very much on the back foot for the next fifteen minutes as their arch-rivals looked to build on their advantage. Three Kings had been deprived of the vast majority of their first-choice line-up by the requirements of the national body - perfectly understandable, as the Junior Ferns’ task at the forthcoming FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Finals in Germany will be far from easy. But they had a new ace in the pack for this match, one who needed no introduction to Lynn-Avon, given she’d scored 42 goals for them during the past four seasons. Sarah Gregorius’ close-season transfer to Three Kings had gone ahead despite her being the latest victim of an ACL injury in the NZ women’s game, and she received the all-clear to resume playing just a week ago. That game for Three Kings’ reserves last Sunday was followed by a twenty-minute run-out for the club’s AFF Championship men’s team less than twenty-four hours before the cup-tie, thus ensuring she appeared for the club on two separate match-days, so was eligible to play in the national knockout competition … an unusual way of realising the objective, it must be said, but one which is perfectly acceptable per the rulebook. After such a lengthy absence, "Gregors" was champing at the bit to get back into the swing of things, and Steph Skilton invited her new team-mate to scoot clear in the thirteenth minute. Cox comfortably dealt with her shot, then grabbed a looping header from Skilton after Rishworth and Tagaloa, with a delightfully angled ball in behind the defence, had sent Gregorius careering through to the by-line, from where she clipped a cross to the near post for the fast-arriving Young Ferns prospect to exploit on the quarter hour. The alarm bells were ringing loud and long in Lynn-Avon’s rearguard, but they were struggling to plug the gaps, and in the seventeenth minute, they found themselves further behind on the scoreboard. Rollings - for this writer a surprise omission from the Junior Ferns squad, given her form this season - was in an understandably subdued mood given this news, but her defence-splitting pass saw a burst of acceleration from Gregorius allow her to win the race for the ball as Cox charged out of goal in an effort to gather it. The striker deftly round the prone goalkeeper, and from the most acute of angles near the edge of the penalty area fired into the untended net beside the far post - 2-0, and a fine strike to boot. Lynn-Avon were well and truly reeling now, but sought a swift response via Vicki Phipps’ pass down the left straight from the kick-off. Tessa McPherson raced after it and let fly at the target, only for Clansey to smother the danger. Three Kings retorted in kind, Jamie Osborne sending Skilton skating through the inside-right channel, from where she fired a shot towards the target which Cox

Leah Tagaloa (TKU) races past Natalie Wimbrow (LAU) Caitlin Campbell (LAU) gets the better of Libby Williams (TKU) Steph Skilton (TKU) shields from Melissa Ray (LAU) Jessy Mathews (TKU) tries to tackle Casey Ridsdale (LAU) Therese Saito (LAU) clears from Sarah Gregorius (TKU) Hannah Rishworth (TKU) flies in to foil Vicki Phipps (LAU)

tipped round her near post by the base of the upright. The home team appeared to have answers to everything the cup holders asked of them, save for the promising forays McPherson was indulging in down the left. Another such raid, on the half-hour, saw the Young Ferns hopeful unleash another long-range effort which Clansey dealt with comfortably. It was through the initiative of McPherson that Lynn-Avon fought their way back into the contest, nine minutes before half-time. Another left-flank raid saw her check her progress and switch the angle of attack, Phipps picking up her pass and sending a sweeping cross-field ball to the right, where Caitlin Campbell was enjoying the upper hand at Libby Williams’ expense, often for little reward. This time, she outfoxed the fullback again, but instead of crossing the ball, opted instead to execute a cunning acute-angled chip which completely deceived Clansey as it arced over her head, the goalkeeper turning in horror to see the sphere crash into the net off the inside of the far post. 2-1, game on, the holders with a new lease of life and suddenly fancying their chances for the first time in the game. Four minutes after the goal, Casey Ridsdale and Rebecca Gage combined to spread play wide to Campbell, who again got the better of Williams before delivering a cross which Gage steered past Clansey’s left-hand post. That was the last act of note in the first half. The early stages of the second spell saw a good old-fashioned midfield arm wrestle take place, with quarter neither asked for nor given - it was real cut and thrust cup-tie football, a genuine battle royal between NZ women’s football’s greatest rivals, neither of whom takes kindly to finishing on the wrong end of the scoreline when these clashes conclude. Lynn-Avon were the team who had to make something happen, given they were trailing on the scoreboard, and slowly but surely they gained the upper hand, producing some of their best football of the season into the bargain. A long-range effort from Campbell, which cleared the crossbar in the 55th minute, was the first sign that the visitors were gaining an edge. Nine minutes later, they were on the back foot, Clansey’s wind-assisted wallop downfield allowing Gregorius to stretch her legs once more. Melissa Ray always had her former team-mate at arm’s length, however, although her pass-back to Cox put the goalkeeper under a degree of pressure from the fast-closing figure of Gregorius she could well have done without. Campbell’s jinking run inside in the 68th minute culminated in McPherson warming Clansey’s gloves with a shot, before a clash of heads between Rishworth and Osborne - the fullback’s sub-par communication throughout the match didn’t contribute favourably to the home team’s cause - left Three Kings with just nine players on the park for a couple of minutes. Lynn-Avon couldn’t capitalise while this was the case, but eleven minutes from time produced a super move which nearly fashioned the equaliser it deserved. Campbell’s raking cross-field ball picked out Ridsdale, whose lay-off to the charging figure of Ray invited the visitors’ captain to clip a cross to the far post, where Campbell was fast arriving. So, too, was Osborne’s replacement. Roseanne Cox, once a first-team regular in Three Kings’ colours, hurtled in to clear the danger, albeit temporarily, for Ridsdale retrieved the ball and set up Ray to unleash a piledriver towards the bottom far corner of the net … Clansey flung herself to her left to turn the shot to safety, her denial matched by some brilliant defensive work by Kristy Hill in the next couple of minutes, Three Kings’ captain twice thwarting efforts from McPherson at point-blank range as she led her side by example throughout the testing final stages of this captivating cup-tie. One which almost had a late twist, after a Therese Saito back-pass fell short of Cox, its intended recipient. Substitute Stephanie Eaton swooped on the ball, only to be denied at close quarters by the goalkeeper - a vital save and, as it turned out, the game’s last. And it’s last attack of note, too, much to the delight of the Three Kings squad when the final whistle sounded, their early goals and late rearguard action suffice to stave off the efforts of their arch-rivals and end Lynn-Avon’s quest to win back-to-back National Women’s Knockout Cups. Three Kings:     Clansey; Osborne (R. Cox, 76), Berger, Hill, Williams; Rollings, Mathews, Rishworth; Tagaloa, Skilton (Eaton, 84), Gregorius Lynn-Avon:     A. Cox; Saito, Humby (booked, 90), Ray, Wimbrow; Campbell, Ridsdale, Seatter, Phipps, McPherson; Gage (Drummond, 65) Referee:     Liam Lawrence