The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website | home
06/11/04 | 21/11/04 | 2004 Grand Final | 05/11/05 | 08/10/06 | 22/10/06 | 05/11/06 | 22/11/06 | 26/11/06 | 11/11/07 | 25/11/07 | 08/11/09 | 05/12/09 | 06/12/09
05/11/05
Capital Retain Challenge Cup And Roy Cox Shield
by Jeremy Ruane
Capital Soccer retained the NZ Women's Soccer Challenge Cup and the Roy Cox Trophy at Centennial Park, Miramar, on November 5, downing Auckland 2-1 in a highly entertaining top-of-the-table Lion Foundation National Women's League encounter.
The defending champions set out their stall straight from the kick-off, Angela Goodridge playing the ball over the head of young Auckland fullback Sam Selwyn for Zarnia Cogle to latch onto.
She steered the ball inside for Ashlee Delahunty, who crossed beyond the far post, where Annalies Van Kampen was arriving at pace. The volley she blazed over the bar was struck just eighteen seconds after kick-off - a real case of fasten your seatbelts and hang on for the ride!!
Auckland responded in the third minute, Dana Humby's persistence in midfield engineering an opportunity for Grace Vincent, whose twenty-yard drive was smothered by Aroon Clansey. She cleared the ball up-field, and sparked off the opening goal of the game.
Terry McCahill found herself outnumbered by Delahunty and Goodridge as they contested the bouncing ball, which Delahunty touched back to Rebecca O'Neill, who sprayed a pass in behind the defence. Goodridge was onto it in an instant, scampering clear of the retreating figure of Humby to leave herself one-on-one with Pam Yates.
The incumbent New Zealand goalkeeper was beaten all ends up at her near post as Goodridge blasted the ball past her from ten yards to give the Wellingtonians just the start they wanted, to set up a top-drawer contest between last season's Grand Final protagonists.
Auckland didn't take kindly to conceding their first goal of the campaign, and they came back quickly at the defending champions. A Yates clearance saw Michele Keinzley race through the offside trap and past Toni West into the penalty area, from where she lashed a shot at goal which Clansey did well to turn to safety.
The goalkeeper wasn't so lucky in the tenth minute, however, and nor was Cogle. She went down under Selwyn's challenge, but referee Leigh Perry, who was later to succumb to achilles tendon trouble, waved play on.
Kristy Hill instantly played the ball wide to Maia Jackman, who promptly released Rebecca Tegg through Capital's flat back-line. The “A Team”'s leading scorer needed little prompting, and from thirty yards, lobbed Clansey to level the scores.
Within ninety seconds, Capital were back in front. Humby, one of a number of players in blue-and-white to produce a decidedly unsatisfactory first half performance in what is always a defining fixture in any women's soccer season, was culpable on this occasion, completely misjudging a crossfield ball from Cogle.
Van Kampen said thanks very much, and scooted forward into the open acres before planting a peach of a twenty-yarder high above Yates' flailing dive - 2-1 to the Wellingtonians, and game on in a huge way, particularly given this was just twelve minutes in.
Back came Auckland, Humby releasing Keinzley down the left. She burst past West before whipping in a low cross from the byline beyond Clansey. Tegg was flat-footed as Jackman came racing in looking to convert the chance. The retreating Toni Horne was ahead of her, and cleared the ball back to Keinzley, who snatched at the shot, and fired wide.
Patrice Bourke, who, with O'Neill, bossed the midfield in this match, let fly with a twenty-five yarder which warmed Yates' gloves in the eighteenth minute, then released Cogle down the left two minutes later. The midfielder was a tad greedy, however, lashing her shot into the sidenetting when team-mates were better placed around the edge of the penalty area to capitalise on this opening.
Humby wasn't having her most memorable game in blue-and-white - she wasn't alone in that regard by any stretch of the imagination! - and on this occasion, in the 22nd minute, dived in to challenge Delahunty, who simply skipped round the committed full-back and found five yards of freedom in a second.
Melissa Ray headed her cross away from goal, but only as far as O'Neill, whose shot struck McCahill's hand, prompting cries for a penalty which couldn't be given on the grounds of intent - there was none on the defender's part. Ray then stepped into clear the danger, albeit temporarily.
For Bourke secured possession once more, and sprayed the ball wide to Goodridge. Her cross picked out Delahunty, who had just Yates to beat, but somehow hooked the ball wide of the target when scoring appeared the easier option.
After such a ferociously paced start, it was understandable that the tempo eased off a tad soon after this 23rd minute opening, a tactic which played into the visitors' hands. Auckland enjoyed a decent spell of pressure around the half-hour mark, but too often over-hit their through balls for Keinzley and Tegg - Jackman, in particular, was guilty of this offence.
The “A Team” had the ball in the net again in the 33rd minute, but Keinzley's thirty-yard effort was ruled out for using her hand to control the ball prior to shooting. Seconds later, Humby saw her twenty-five yarder grabbed by Clansey, who launched a counter-attack which culminated in a cross from Bourke.
Ray headed it clear to O'Neill, who slipped the unmarked Van Kampen in with just Yates to beat. She rattled the sidenetting with her effort, as she looked to expose the goalkeeper at her near post once more.
Back came Auckland, with O'Neill felling Vincent just outside the penalty area. Referee Perry awarded a free-kick, which Humby clipped goalwards, picking out the head of Tegg. Clansey greedily clutched the striker's header, in much the same manner Yates grabbed Bourke's quickly-taken free-kick moments before half-time, after the ineffective Marlies Oostdam was
|
 Patrice Bourke and Grace Vincent
 Liz Oliver
 Michele Keinzley
 Toni West
 Maia Jackman
 Rebecca O'Neill and Grace Vincent
 Zarnia Cogle
|
adjudged to have handled the ball outside the area.
The second spell saw a change of referee, with the inexperienced - at least at this level of the game - Jacqui Stephenson taking over from Perry, who had shown signs of suffering from an achilles injury during Capital's encounter with North Harbour a week ago, but was able to see out the match.
This match was an altogether more demanding encounter, however, and was to be something of a baptism of fire for the newcomer, who, while not being greatly assisted by the inconsistencies of her assistants' signals, understandably made a few mistakes along the way herself in what is easily the biggest game of her career to date.
Mistakes such as not adding a single second of stoppage time at the end of the half, to compensate for injury breaks, substitutions, and a bizarre scene when play was held up while a second replacement ball was sought, an embarrassed O'Neill having earned herself a few sniggers and cat-calls by unintentionally sending the initial one over the fence into the street, following its predecessor!
Lest we forget, folks, this match featured the two teams who last met in the 2004 National Women's League Grand Final, i.e. the best provincial women's soccer teams in the country.
While meaning no disrespect to Stephenson, who was put in a very difficult situation and handled it to the best of her ability in the circumstances, shouldn't these teams be afforded four match officials who are of a pedigree in keeping with the quality and standing of the players on display?
Too many showpiece fixtures in New Zealand women's soccer of late - in particular the last two Uncle Toby's Women's Knockout Cup Finals - have been marred by the appointments of match officials who lack the experience in their roles which matches involving multiple numbers of international footballers - nine senior New Zealand reps on the park in this game alone - merit.
Would this situation be tolerated if it was, say, Auckland City playing Waitakere United in a NZ Football Championship encounter? Of course not! Indeed, there would be an almighty hue and cry if this were to occur. So why don't the best women's teams in the country warrant the appointment of the best officials available when they lock horns?
Back to the action, of which there was plenty in the second spell. After Vincent had fired a tame effort at Clansey, Yates' initial attempts to make amends for her first half howler saw her display the dribbling skills of Diego Maradona in evading the challenges of Goodridge and Delahunty inside her own penalty area.
Sadly for the goalkeeper, she doesn't boast the Argentinian legend's passing prowess, as her next trick saw her gift possession to Van Kampen. So startled was the youngster that she shot straight at Yates, whose relief was palpable, to put it mildly!
Seconds later, the `keeper redeemed herself somewhat by saving at the feet of Goodridge, after O'Neill had done unto Jackman what she had done unto Bria Sargent - caught Capital's captain in possession on half-way.
Jackman, one of numerous “A Team” players to raise their level of performance in the second spell, sent Tegg scampering down the right in the 53rd minute. The goalscorer skipped past two challenges before firing a vicious low cross just beyond the incoming Keinzley on the far post.
More Auckland pressure followed, with Oostdam picking out Jackman from a corner. She laid the ball back to Humby, whose thirty yard drive was grabbed under her crossbar by a relieved Clansey, who smothered a Jackman effort ten minutes later after she had caught West in possession then reacted quickest to the rebound after her cross had been blocked.
In the 68th minute, a Humby corner was cleared to Jackman, who went down in the penalty area under O'Neill's challenge from behind. Referee Stephenson initially pointed to the spot as Auckland howled in protest, then after a brief spell when no-one appeared to know what was going on, ruled in favour of the home team … go figure!
Prior to these efforts, O'Neill had muscled through three challenges on half-way before threading a pass through for Goodridge, who chipped the ball over the advancing Yates. Unfortunately for the striker, her effort drifted past the far post.
Auckland's former Wellington goalkeeper then had to deal with two efforts from Cogle, one of which flew wide, before Auckland cranked up the pressure and went all out for an equaliser in the last ten minutes.
Capital failed to clear a Selwyn throw-in, an error on which Jackman pounced, only to volley at Clansey. Seconds later, the shooter linked up neatly with Vincent, who slipped Keinzley through on goal. Her rasping drive was tipped over the bar by Clansey, with Jackman heading Oostdam's subsequent corner past the far post.
Oostdam then had Clansey back-pedalling furiously as she attempted a long-range chip which just cleared the crossbar, while Jackman played a ball through for Keinzley to pursue two minutes from time.
Clansey initially came out, then hesitated as she realised the bounce would carry it over her head, and the goalkeeper was relieved to see West looming large behind her to clear the danger, and in doing so, ensure both the Challenge Cup and the Roy Cox Shield would stay in Wellington, the former for at least a week, the latter till Capital next take on Auckland, perhaps in three weeks' time.
Capital: Clansey; Oliver, West, Sargent, Horne; Van Kampen, O'Neill (Milne, 87), Bourke, Cogle; Delahunty, Goodridge
Auckland: Yates; Selwyn, McCahill, Ray, Humby; Jackman, Hill, Vincent, Oostdam; Keinzley, Tegg (Gooch, 82)
Referee: Leigh Perry (Jacqui Stephenson, 46)
|