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09/09/01
Resolute Ellerslie Overpower Two-Time Finalists
by Jeremy Ruane
Wairarapa United’s hopes of a third consecutive Uncle Toby’s Women’s Knockout Cup Final appearance came to grief at Ken Maunder Park at the hands of a resolute Ellerslie combination on September 9, the Aucklanders overpowering the Central Region champions to record a 2-0 win, and set up an all-Auckland final against holders Lynn-Avon United.
The youthful Ellerslie combination tore into Wairarapa straight from the kick-off, United ‘keeper Pam Yates forced to pluck Maia Jackman’s cross off Margot Bowker’s head inside the first minute of play.
Soon after, Bowker was felled from behind on the edge of the penalty area, but Dana Humby squandered a gilt-edged chance to open the scoring by firing her free-kick into the defensive wall, the rebound of which United used to good effect.
Pip Meo, whose game-long duel with Jackman was one of the highlights of the semi-final - experience prevailed over youthful exuberance in that contest - scurried away down the left, with challenges from Ellerslie players conspicuous by their absence.
The pocket powerhouse burst into the penalty area and let fly, only to see her shot cannon to safety off the legs of the advancing Rebecca Rolls, the former SWANZ goalkeeper who, when not keeping wicket for the White Ferns, can be found relishing the midfield derring-do in Ellerslie’s reserve side - with regular custodian Stephanie Puckrin suspended, it’s fair to say she’s not a bad replacement!
In the eighth minute, Nicola Morrison’s failure to deal with a bouncing ball was pounced on by Priscilla Duncan, who had a whale of a game in central midfield. With Yates caught in two minds, she slipped the sphere through to Bowker, who got in a shot which the recovering Morrison got just enough of a touch on to take the pace off, allowing the goalkeeper to smother the ball and avert the threat.
Duncan was into everything from the outset, and on the quarter hour, set up a chance for Kristy Hill, which whistled over the crossbar. Moments later, a low cross from Lily Somerfield was gathered by Yates at the feet of the incoming Jackman, another who shone throughout for the northern side.
The SWANZ international received a pass from Vicki Rainbow on the right flank in the nineteenth minute, with Meo in close attendance. Jackman turned sharply and fair skated past both her marker and the covering Morrison, before whipping in a cross which Bowker controlled before looking to shoot. She was crowded out, but neither Tess Murphy nor Somerfield were able to capitalise on this opening.
Eight minutes later, Jackman was marauding forward again, this time scything in from the right on an angled run before slipping the ball through to Duncan, who found herself one-on-one with Yates near the edge of the penalty area. The ‘keeper stood her ground well, and saved comfortably.
After Murphy had steered a free header from a Humby free-kick wide of the mark, Wendi Henderson fired what was an all-too-rare Wairarapa shot on goal straight at Rolls. The prime reason for United’s lack of attacking impact was the anticipation of Ellerslie’s player-coach, Sue Taylor.
The former SWANZ international was a colossus in defence, foiling many a promising raid primarily through her positional sense, and her knack of putting her body between her opponent and the ball when the likes of Nicky Smith and Michele Keinzley thought the route to goal lay in looking to force Taylor to turn after a ball knocked past her - as in Jackman’s clashes with Meo, the more experienced player ultimately prevailed in this battle within the war.
Ellerslie twice went close to breaking the deadlock in the final minutes of the first half. Taylor picked out Jackman with a peach of a pass, and a pass inside to Humby resulted in a cross which the diving Bowker just failed to make contact with, as the ball arced across the face of goal.
Seconds later, the striker got too much contact on the ball, getting in the way of Duncan’s shot after Jackman had again got the better of Meo on the right, despite the Wairarapa player resorting to foul means to take out her opponent, her unsuccessful attempt on this occasion resulting in the first of four yellow cards - an unprecedented number of bookings in a women’s game - issued by Waikato referee Michael Brock.
Wairarapa started the stronger after the interval, Smith warming to the task of leading the line by example. She pounced on a Duncan error, only to find Taylor her nemesis once more, in the 53rd minute.
This sparked Ellerslie into action, for three minutes later, Yates saved a well-struck twenty yard drive from Rainbow, then smothered a shot which Jackman fired at full-stretch, after a well-worked one-two with the hard-working Bowker.
In the 65th minute, Jackman came agonisingly close to opening the scoring. Rainbow, Somerfield and Murphy combined to engineer the opening for their speedy team-mate, who led Angie Donaldson a merry dance before cutting inside her and letting fly from twenty yards.
The ball sizzled past the upright on this occasion, Yates beaten all ends up. Seconds later, the goalkeeper saved at Jackman’s feet, after the solidly-performed Murphy sent the striker through once more.
By the 72nd minute, Wairarapa were beginning to struggle to contain Ellerslie’s mounting pressure, and the goal which the Aucklanders had threatened for so long finally came to pass.
Murphy and Jackman played a one-two on the right, the former playing the ball forward to Bowker. She held the ball up well before squaring into the path of Hill, who, in full flight, sent the ball crashing past Yates’ despairing dive into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.
The goal was no more than Ellerslie deserved, but while they were still celebrating it, Smith, Henderson and Keinzley charged downfield straight from the kick-off, the first-mentioned sending the second-mentioned to the byline. Henderson whipped in cross for Keinzley, whose shot deflected off Claudia Hicks towards the target. Rolls was onto the spinning sphere like a cat with a ball of wool - 1-0 it remained.
Two minutes later, the post denied Rainbow from doubling Ellerslie’s advantage. Humby’s corner sought out both Taylor and Murphy, but it was the captain who ultimately got on the end of it, her strike cannoning off the inside of the upright and spinning across the face of a crowded goalmouth for a goal-kick.
With time running out for Wairarapa, Henderson and Smith looked to keep alive their team’s hopes of another crack at winning the cup. The former sent the latter scampering through the offside trap in the 84th minute, which immediately saw Rolls racing off her line to challenge the nippy front-runner.
The goalkeeper’s challenge knocked Smith off-balance, but she managed to keep her footing, her first instinct being to steer the loose ball into the gaping goal from an ever-decreasing angle.
Her effort hit the outside of the post and went out for a goal kick, only for referee Brock to call play back for the free-kick - hadn’t Smith already gained an advantage by keeping her footing and going for goal? Rolls’ challenge in this incident earned her a yellow card which, had Smith gone down, could quite easily have been red.
Justice was served on this occasion, in terms of the free-kick coming to nought, and when Henderson let fly with a twenty-five yarder at Rolls in the dying minutes, after dogged pressure from Keinzley, the game looked all but up for the competition runners-up in both 1999 and 2000.
And so it proved. For in stoppage time, Ellerslie came desperately close to confirming their final berth before finally doing so, “Late Show Lil” again taking the plaudits. Before she did, however, a Humby corner picked out Jackman, whose header crashed against the post and rebounded to Taylor, whose close-range drive was blocked on the line by Donaldson.
Wairarapa cleared this threat, and surged forward once more, only to concede a free-kick on half-way. Spotting Somerfield’s signal, Taylor clipped the ball forward, and the midfielder ghosted in behind United’s defence to deftly steer the ball over Yates and into the back of the net to complete the scoring, and spark off great celebrations in the Ellerslie camp.
Ellerslie: Rolls (booked, 84); Humby, Taylor, Hicks; Jackman, Rainbow, Murphy, Duncan (booked, 90), Somerfield; Bowker (McLeod, 76), Hill
Wairarapa: Yates; Donaldson, Morrison, Presow; Scott, Carre (Turnbull, 82), Henderson, Gibson (booked, 54), Meo (booked, 45); Keinzley, Smith
Referee: Michael Brock
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