A gutsy Eastern Suburbs combination produced the result of the round in the tie of the round in the National Women's Knockout Cup on Sunday, coming from 3-0 down at half-time to draw 3-3 with fellow Northern Premier Women's League title contenders Three Kings United at Keith Hay Park, before prevailing 3-1 on penalties at the end of a thrilling encounter. The tone of the match was set in the opening few minutes. Anna Green's splendid switched ball sent Betsy Hassett scurrying down the right in the second minute, the youngster's expert touch bringing the ball under control instantly before she picked out Annalie Longo with a cross. Her lay-back set up Rebecca Sowden for a shot, which whistled over from twenty yards. Suburbs' response was two minutes in coming. Marlies Oostdam's lobbed ball in behind Hannah Rishworth allowed Rebecca Tegg to stride onto the sphere, and with Jenny Bindon racing out of her goal, the prolific markswoman lobbed the advancing custodian. The trajectory on the ball took it just beyond the far post. Back came United, Zoe Thompson linking with Merissa Smith and Sarah Gibbs, whose teasing hanging cross arced beyond Thompson and Sowden in the penalty area. Hassett was coming in behind them, but Allysha Johnson lunged at the ball and thwarted the shooting opportunity. Suburbs retorted via a Grace Vincent corner. Gibbs headed it back to the corner-taker, who tried another cross. Rishworth headed this one away, but only as far as Rebecca Brown, whose tenth minute volley sizzled over the bar. Cue another United raid, in the fourteenth minute. Hassett played the ball into Sowden, who shielded the ball and used Hassett's decoy run to good effect, as this allowed her time in which to turn and cross. Thompson was the beneficiary of her cross, and the striker's fifteen yard header bulleted past Ginny Tan's near post. Two minutes later, Three Kings opened the scoring through an unlikely source - at least in terms of this season. Longo played the ball wide to Smith, who has been on something of a goalscoring drought in recent months. She ended it in emphatic fashion, thundering home a twenty-five yarder which sailed over Tan into the top near corner of the net. United weren't given the chance to build on their lead by Suburbs, who sought a swift equaliser. Johnson's free-kick from inside her own half wasn't cleared by the home team's defence, allowing Tegg to shoot on the turn with her right foot. Bindon smothered this comfortably, but was rendered helpless in the 24th minute by an absolute howitzer of a free-kick from Oostdam. From fully forty yards, she let loose a screamer which crashed off the crossbar back into play. Michele Cox was the first to do something of consequence with the rebound, playing the ball inside to Tegg, who lifted it over the bar from six yards. Some delightful Suburbs interchanges around the edge of United's penalty area three minutes later had the home team going this way and that, but despite the promptings of Oostdam in particular, they survived by fair means or foul - and a fair few of those went unpunished throughout this gripping cup-tie. United's response to Suburbs' pressure was to apply some of their own. On the half-hour, Longo lobbed the ball over Suburbs' rearguard, and Thompson was like a fox in a hen-house as a result. Tan hurtled off her line as the striker raced through, and it was as well she did, as it forced Thompson to shoot early and wide. In the 36th minute, Bindon, who had been warned about her generous use of time in possession when changing sides for goal kicks, was pinged for the rarely applied six-seconds ruling. Oostdam and Tegg contrived to fire the resulting free-kick over the crossbar, an effort for which they were to pay dearly just moments later, albeit through no fault of anyone in a Suburbs shirt. Hassett rode Johnson's tackle in midfield and sent Thompson scurrying through to face Tan once more. Her attempt to beat the `keeper with a near post effort was battered away by the custodian for a corner. Green's delivery was headed back to her, but on entering the penalty area she was cleanly dispossessed by Johnson. Green went down inside the box, and referee's assistant Sam Tompsett instantly signalled for an infringement, and began making his way round to take up his position for a penalty before referee Hengo Sioneloto had even reacted. Cue utter disbelief from the Suburbs players and others, this writer included - it was never a penalty! But the ball was duly placed on the spot by Sowden, who promptly thrashed it home - 2-0 after 39 minutes. Which became 3-0 two minutes later. With Suburbs still reeling from this setback, Hassett played Smith in through the middle. The speedster turned into space before lashing home a low twenty-yard drive for her second goal of the season, United's third of the game. That was the half-time scoreline, and it looked very much as if the tie would hinge on a penalty which should never have been. But the visitors, with nothing to lose, came out for the second half determined to give it a go - they had 45 minutes to do what Liverpool managed in a mere six during the 2005 European Cup Final, so why not? Five minutes into the second spell, Oostdam picked out Tegg, who turned in between Rishworth and Jane Simpson before playing the hitherto invisible Melanie Gooch in on goal. She fired wastefully into the near post side-netting on this occasion. Seconds later, Smith lost out to Janet Groves in the centre circle, the stopper teaming up with Tegg to present Gooch with another chance. Gibbs thwarted her progress, but not the lay-back to Vincent. High, wide and not very handsome was the verdict on her effort. In the 56th minute, Suburbs' belief took root. Gooch and Tegg teamed up in attack, the latter sending Oostdam steaming down the right. Her first-time cross on the run was anticipated by Bindon, who called for the ball. But a couple of her defenders failed to respond, denying the goalkeeper the chance to take the ball cleanly. Tegg was first to react - 3-1. Stung, United responded instantly, with a vicious inswinging corner from Green grazing the far post as it arced across the goalmouth. Suburbs responded through Tegg, whose shot on the run from thirty yards lacked the height to beat the advancing Bindon. United's `keeper smothered low to her left from the same player in the 62nd minute, after Gooch had got in between two defenders and played Tegg in, while

Jane Simpson (TKU) climbs above Rebecca Tegg (ESubs) to head clear, watched by three of her team-mates Rebecca Sowden (TKU) shields from Grace Vincent (ESubs) Betsy Hassett (TKU) skips past Marlies Oostdam (ESubs) Zoe Thompson (TKU) shadowed by Sandee Hui (ESubs) Melanie Gooch (ESubs) shields from Sarah Gibbs (TKU) The key moment - Rebecca Tegg (ESubs) heads the ball out of the hands of Jenny Bindon (TKU) to equalise Grace Vincent and Michele Cox (ESubs) look on as Rebecca Sowden (TKU) attempts to control the ball Betsy Hassett (TKU) and Allysha Johnson (ESubs) tussle for the ball

Bindon was again to the fore three minutes later, racing off her line to clear off the toes of substitute Flora McLeod, after further industry by Gooch. A couple of tantalising crosses arced across the face of Suburbs' goal before Longo, Rishworth and Hassett linked up to present Nicole Stratford with the chance to unleash a cross-shot. This 73rd minute effort whistled over the crossbar, unlike what happened seconds later. Oostdam was robbed in midfield, her appeals for a free-kick in vain as Sowden and Green exploited the opportunity to the full. Hassett took over, and surged forward before slipping Thompson through an offside trap she too often fell foul of in this match. Tan raced off her line to save at the striker's feet. It was to prove a costly miss, for in the 81st minute, Gibbs brought down Gooch from behind in the penalty area. Incredibly, referee Sioneloto was prepared to let play continue in spite of what was an obvious penalty, and it was only the intervention of his assistant, Tompsett, which meant what should have been awarded without hesitation was eventually given some twenty seconds later!! Oostdam didn't need that long to despatch the penalty, thundering the ball home to make it 3-2 in United's favour. It was an advantage they were to hold for just two more minutes. For another foul on Gooch, this time by Simpson just outside the area, saw Oostdam hovering over the set-piece once more, her cultured left foot poised to cause more mayhem. Sure enough … Bindon came off her line to grab Oostdam's flighted free-kick, but the ball was headed out of her hands by Tegg and into the net behind her. Referee Sioneloto looked across to his assistant, Tompsett, who signalled a goal, and it was promptly awarded, much to the chagrin of the United players this time. Like it or not, the score was now 3-3, and that's how it stayed for the remaining six minutes. Which meant extra time, given this was a cup-tie. And throughout the additional half-hour, only one team was sighted as an attacking force. But try as they might, United couldn't get the goal their attacking forays sought with increasing gusto. Five minutes into the first half of extra-time, Thompson laid the ball into Gibbs' path, the full-back's hanging cross picking out Smith, who directed her side-footed volley straight at Tan. Seconds later, Sowden sent Smith hurtling through the inside-left channel towards the edge of the penalty area, from where, after taking on a couple of defenders, she lashed a shot beyond the flailing dive of Tan. 4-3 surely, but Johnson had other ideas, the full-back sliding in to clear off the line. Hassett was next to chance her arm, Thompson's fine work in holding the ball up rewarded by her young team-mate's bursting run in support. A neat lay-off allowed Hassett to race into the area, where she aimed for the top near corner. Tan greedily grabbed the sphere, but United were far from done with. In the 103rd minute, Vincent was double-teamed by Green and Hassett, the latter sending Thompson on another gallop. Sandee Hui stuck to the task well to prevent her initial cross, but Thompson's second attempt presented Sowden with a shooting chance, which she sliced wide. Seconds later, Sowden turned provider, substitute Roseanne Cox racing down the left before whipping in a wicked cross which flew just beyond the far post, where the airborne figure of Thompson was desperately lunging at the ball in an attempt to turn it home. The instant turnaround which should be the case at half-time in extra time of any cup-tie wasn't applied in this match - this was not the officials' most memorable display by any stretch of the imagination! - but regardless of what was said by Andrew Clay (United) and Chris Milicich (Suburbs) to their charges, it was more of the same for the next fifteen minutes. Straight from the kick-off, United pressed once more, the irrepressible figure of Hassett leading the charge. She sent Thompson through, but some desperate defending denied her, only to find Roseanne Cox lurking in acres of space on the left, with just Tan between her and a near certain winner. The substitute let fly, hard and low across Tan towards the far corner of the net. The `keeper flung herself to her left and just got her fingertips to the ball to divert it for a corner, one which Green whipped in with venom. But the goalkeeper pawed this out well also. Three minutes later, the massed ranks of Suburbs' rearguard thwarted a Sowden piledriver, as United maintained their near-constant pressure. Six minutes later, the same player lashed a low twenty-five yard free-kick through a crowded goalmouth, but Tan was perfectly placed to smother it. Cue further controversy, two minutes from time. Smith charged down the right to the edge of the penalty area, where she took on Johnson. The defender's lunging tackle left the striker in a crumpled heap, but once again, referee Sioneloto failed to make a decision of his own volition. Seeing no signal from his assistant, Robbie Fletcher, he waved play on, amid further howls of protest from United players. It was the last act of note in an enthralling encounter, Suburbs holding out to secure a 3-3 draw at the conclusion of extra-time, a position they would have bitten one's hand off for had it been offered them after just forty-five minutes in a cup-tie which would have been worthy of the final itself, rather than a first round clash between two of the competition's heavyweights. So to the shoot-out. Michele Cox was first up, but Bindon tipped her effort round the post. Thompson's retort was tipped onto the post by Tan. Vincent opened the scoring with the next effort, while both Hassett - wide - and Sowden - over the bar - spurned United's next chances to score, much like Groves for Suburbs - she shot straight at Bindon. Oostdam's unerring finish put Suburbs 2-0 up, and while Roseanne Cox dragged United back into the contest, it was left to Tegg to send Bindon the wrong way and spark celebrations for the visitors, who advance to the last sixteen as a result of a shoot-out victory over their fellow league title-chasers, on a day when Suburbs looked out for the count at half-time. Three Kings:     Bindon; Stratford, Rishworth, Simpson, Gibbs; Hassett, Longo (R. Cox, 76), Sowden, Green, Smith; Thompson Suburbs:     Tan; Moore (Glenton, 64), Groves, Hui, Johnson; Vincent, M. Cox, Oostdam, Brown (McLeod, 60); Gooch (Fuller, 116), Tegg Referee:     Hengo Sioneloto