Forrest Hill-Milford United produced a stunning NZ Football Foundation Kate Sheppard Cup comeback at Keith Hay Park on Queen's Birthday Monday, coming from two goals down to stun Three Kings United 6-2 after extra time in a barnstorming tie of the round which lived up to its billing and then some. The first half was cageyness personified. Two Hannah Blake range-finders inside the first ten minutes were responded to by Ava Pritchard, who played in Sammi Tawharu in the fourteenth minute, only for Rivalina Fuimaono to block smartly at the striker's feet. United's 'keeper then grabbed a looping Arabella Maynard header in the twentieth minute, following a nice move featuring Tiana Hill, Pritchard and Talisha Green, while "The Swans"' next attack took place with Caitlin Pritchard receiving treatment on the sideline for an injury to which she shortly afterwards succumbed. Maynard pounced on a loose ball and presented Tawharu with a chance which she angled across Fuimaono but past the far post as well. And when the pair laid eyes on each other again in the 32nd minute, it was Three Kings' 'keeper who again came up trumps, Fuimaono parrying Tawharu's drive low to her right after Maynard had pounced on a stray Shivi Anthony pass and set up the striker. Rebecca Burrows had a generally quiet game by her lofty standards, but came close to breaking the deadlock five minutes before half-time when powering through a couple of challenges before letting rip from twenty-five yards. Emily Couchman was right behind this strike, then produced a stunning triple save in the shadows of the half-time whistle to maintain parity. Blake wriggled through three challenges before letting fly, a shot which Couchman parried, then swiftly recovered to block Tessa Leong's attempt to turn home the rebound. And before both Leong and Alosi Bloomfield could swoop on the loose ball, Couchman dived on it - great stuff! If the second half was to avoid following the tight nature of the first forty-five minutes, the game needed some of its big names to step up to the plate. And in the 48th minute, Leong was the first to throw off the shackles and say "Let's play". Teaming up with Burrows to catch Hill in possession, the striker - who produced a massive individual performance when these teams clashed just four days ago in league action - accelerated forward before unleashing a quite sublime inch-perfect, defence-splitting pass from half-way right into the stride of Blake, bursting down the right. Storming towards goal, the speedster had just one thing on her mind, and turned her vision into reality in merciless fashion, a rasping drive across Couchman which flew into the net by the base of the far post. Game on! Within two minutes, United went close to doubling their advantage. Bloomfield made in-roads down the right past two players before sending a cross whistling across the bows of the incoming figure of Leong. "The Swans" cleared the danger, with Saskia Vosper leading the charge downfield. The captain chased Anthony all the way, and kept on going once the fullback passed the ball back towards Fuimaono. Vosper launched herself at the ball as the 'keeper cleared it, taking one for the team in spectacular fashion as it rebounded off her for a goal kick. The resulting goal-kick didn't get too far, as Pritchard back-heeled it into the stride of Maynard on the right. Her cross careered across the goalmouth, with both Tawharu and Anya Gross racing in in a vain effort to turn it home. Cue an instant Three Kings counter-attack, with Blake racing away down the left before scything inside past a defender and battering a shot goalwards, a 52nd minute effort grabbed by Couchman. The cageyness of the first half was already a distant memory, and after Blake rattled the hoardings just to the right of Couchman's goal with a free-kick, Emma Leaming thundered down the left before firing in a cross. It arced over Bloomfield's head and looked to be set fair for Vosper to head clear, but Leong had other ideas, flying in to direct a header goalwards. Couchman plucked this from the sky, and was relieved to see nothing come of the almighty goalmouth scramble which resulted from Blake's 57th minute free-kick, with Anthony and Lily Jervis highly prominent in the ensuing chaos. "The Swans" cleared their lines on this occasion, but were undone by a classic route one goal on the hour. Fuimaono hoisted a clearance downfield which Leong flicked on, sending Blake buccaneering through the middle. She outpaced the defence then rounded Couchman before firing home her second goal of the afternoon. And it was so very nearly 3-0 two minutes later, with Leong latching onto a stray pass and sweeping past Jervis before pulling the trigger. Couchman smothered the effort gratefully. Either side of this attempt, the visitors made two substitutions, with Greer MacIntosh and Hannah Reddy respectively introduced for Vegas McCarroll and the injured Maynard. Then, in the 67th minute, Georgia Martin failed to head a Jervis free-kick to safety, an error ruthlessly punished by Pritchard, who latched onto the loose ball and thrashed it past Fuimaono into the bottom far corner - 2-1. Cat. Pigeons. Now it was Forrest Hill-Milford on the front foot, and five minutes after getting a foothold in the contest, Tawharu sent Gross racing clear on the left from where she let fly, only for

Fuimaono to launch herself to her right and pull off a fine save. Back came Three Kings, Bloomfield doing Vosper a treat on the right before fizzing in a low cross which Blake, had she caught it perfectly, would almost certainly have been celebrating her hat-trick as a result, and possibly putting the tie to bed. But she miscued, allowing Couchman to smother - a real let-off for "The Swans". Twelve minutes from time, Pritchard caught Martin in possession and raced goalwards, rounding Fuimaono in the process. The 'keeper got a hand to the ball, however, flicking it away from Pritchard, who upon regathering possession was tackled by Lily Taitimu - a let-off for United. After Leong, Bloomfield and Blake had combined to present Burrows with a shooting chance from twenty yards - Couchman was right behind it, "The Swans" drew level four minutes from time. Vosper's prowess with long throw-ins allowed Tawharu to get in behind Taitimu on the left, from where she drilled a low cross across the goalmouth. Racing in on the far post was Pritchard - 2-2, and she was only denied a dramatic 89th minute winner by an offside flag against Tawharu in the build-up. To extra time, and three minutes into the additional thirty, "The Swans" took the lead for the first time in the contest. Hill was allowed to run and run and run by United's midfield, who paid the price for doing so as the midfielder rifled home a twenty yarder to the undisguised delight of her team-mates. Straight from the kick-off, United came desperately close to equalising. Bloomfield beat two before linking with Burrows, who brought both Blake and Leaming into play. The fullback returned the compliment to the hat-trick-hunting striker, whose twenty yarder crashed into the hoardings with Couchman beaten. From the resulting goal-kick, referee Avinal Narayan made a dreadful call on half-way, awarding the visitors a free-kick when substitute Renee Wasi had clearly fouled Jessie Mathews - another example of a match official ignoring the body language of the players and making himself look a pompous ass as a result. This call had significant consequences, as from Jervis' free-kick downfield, "The Swans" made it 4-2 with a genuine striker's goal. Pritchard worked her way down the right before turning Martin inside the penalty area and lofting the ball towards the near post. Tawharu's striker's instincts meant she was perfectly placed to meet it, but the ball was rising on her, limiting her options severely. Solution? A stunning flicked volley from near shoulder height which fair sizzled into the top far corner before Fuimaono had a chance to react - quite brilliant! That goal severely rocked United, and within seconds Pritchard was through on goal again. But Fuimaono blocked well at her feet, prompting a counter-attack which saw Burrows ride a MacIntosh tackle before combining with Bloomfield for the benefit of Leong, who beat three defenders with a smart turn and snapshot, only to see Couchman save the effort at her near post. Four minutes into the second half of extra time, "The Swans" put the result beyond doubt. Mackenzie Barry charged forward before spreading play wide to Tawharu, who held off the challenge of Kate Duncan before slipping the ball into the path of the charging figure of Vosper. She beat two opponents before playing in Reddy, who rifled home number five past Fuimaono. And the final goal of the game materialised just sixty seconds later, Pritchard rounding Fuimaono before rolling the ball home into an empty net after last season's runners-up caught their hosts out on the counter-attack. At this point, Wasi was withdrawn from the fray by the visitors, having come on as a substitute half-an-hour earlier as she continues her recovery from the ACL injury which savaged her 2018 season. It meant "The Swans" finished the game with ten players on the park, and United looked to take advantage of that in the dying minutes. Blake, Leong and Bloomfield combined to present Charlotte Tinsley with a chance, but the youngster rattled the crossbar, the last act of note in a thrilling clash which deserved to take place far deeper into the competition. Sadly, the nature of the cup draw means that Three Kings' season, given their league position, is effectively over, a fact not lost on their players, many of whom were crestfallen come the final whistle, Leong in particular - if there's one player who didn't deserve to finish on the losing side in either of the duels these clubs fought out over the last four days, it was United's striker. She gave everything for the cause. "The Swans", by contrast, were buoyant, and rightly so - it's not every day you score five goals in fifteen minutes of a cup-tie to clinch a stunning come-from-behind victory. After this, they'll fancy their chances of going all the way again, and with playing resources still to be added to the squad, don't be surprised to see last year's runners-up walking out at QBE Stadium again come September 8. Three Kings:     Fuimaono; Anthony, C. Pritchard (Taitimu, 28), Martin, Leaming; Mathews (Duncan, 106), Bloomfield, Burrows; Blake, Leong, Dewell (Tinsley, 75) FHMU:     Couchman; Green, Barry, Jervis, Vosper; Hill, McCarroll (MacIntosh, 61), Gross (Wasi, 84); A. Pritchard, Tawharu, Maynard (Reddy, 65) Referee:     Avinal Narayan