The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website | home
30/05/04 | 20/06/04 | 18/07/04 | 15/05/05 | 07/08/05 | 14/08/05 | 04/06/06 | 11/06/06 | 23/07/06 | 17/06/07 | 01/07/07 | 18/04/10 | 8/5/11 | 07/08/11 | 20/05/12 | 03/06/12 | 260513 | 140713 | 040813 | 110813 | 250514 | 030416 | 260816 | 170618 | 200717 | 140419 | 050519 | 260519 | 090619 | 040819 | 250819 | 2019 SWANZ Cup Final
2019 SWANZ Cup Final
Cup Final Triumph Caps The Year Of "The Lilywhites"
by Jeremy Ruane
Eastern Suburbs scored a commanding 4-0 win over Coastal Spirit in the NZ Football Foundation Kate Sheppard Cup Final at QBE Stadium on 8 September to become the first team to win the league-and-cup double for eight years.
"The Lilywhites" never looked like losing after scoring with their first attack. Lucy Carter cut out a Whitney Hepburn pass and instantly fed Jade Parris, whose through ball allowed Hannah Pilley to get goal-side of Chloe Jones and slot home beyond Una Foyle.
Hepburn looked to reply instantly from long-range, but Corina Brown is too good a 'keeper to be beaten by that sort of attempt, and was as delighted as any of her team-mates when Suburbs doubled their advantage in the ninth minute.
There was a hint of offside about the goal, however. Parris held the ball up well before playing it back to Hannah Hoeksema, who had a super game in "The Lilywhites" midfield.
Her perceptive pass picked out Tayla O'Brien, whose presence on the edge of the six-yard box instantly had Spirit screaming for the offside flag. But as the striker duly despatched the ball beyond Foyle, Anna-Marie Keighley was pointing to Ellena Firth, who had kept O'Brien onside - 2-0.
Try as they might, there was no way back for Spirit after that, although the Mainland Premier Women's League champions went close to halving the deficit in the thirteenth minute when Lauren Dabner stabbed a shot wide from ten yards after Brown had punched out Chloe Webster's corner.
Spirit had no answers to Suburbs's rapier-like attacking thrusts, the next one of which materialised in the seventeenth minute. Erinna Wong, Hoeksema and Pilley worked a triangular interchange on the right which paved the way for a Wong cross which Parris stabbed goalwards, but made insufficient contact on the ball to truly trouble Foyle.
Five minutes later, "The Lilywhites" launched a super attack. Brown's distribution is key to many a Suburbs attack, and on this occasion she picked out Emily Gillion. O'Brien was swiftly brought into play, with the ball duly spread wide to Wong. On it went to Pilley, who stormed past a rival before picking out Parris. Her shot flashed just past the near post - the move deserved better fate.
Suburbs didn't have long to wait to further strengthen their grip on the trophy. In the 25th minute, Carter and Parris combined again, with the latter's delicious pass sending Pilley hurtling clear of all-comers. The speedster duly steered the ball home beyond Foyle to bag her second brace of Cup Final goals in as many matches - she also struck two in the 2017 final.
"The Lilywhites" kept their foot on the throttle. Parris pinged in a corner to the near post in the 29th minute which Foyle punched out to Carter. She played it back to Parris, whose beautifully weighted cross to the far post was only inches away from being headed home by Pilley.
After Dabner had fired wide under pressure from Kate Carlton after a Rebekah Van Dort clearance had rebounded to the Spirit veteran, Suburbs put the result beyond doubt ten minutes before half-time with their fourth goal.
|
Hoeksema sent Pilley powering down the right, and she evaded an opponent before playing the ball inside to Parris. Her touch back invited O'Brien to let rip from the edge of the penalty area, the ball thundering into the back of the net via the underside of the crossbar. Game over.
The second half wasn't quite a procession, but Suburbs certainly played within themselves against opponents who lacked the cutting edge to truly trouble the triumvirate of Carlton, Brown and Van Dort, collectively Suburbs' defensive heartbeat.
One can only wonder how Spirit would have fared had the suspended Mel Cameron, Futsal Fern Britney-Lee Nicholson and Junior Fern Tahlia Herman-Watt been available for selection.
Without that trio, the likes of Belinda Van Noorden made little headway in the face of a side with an exceptional defensive record in 2019. And it was clear that Suburbs had no intention of allowing their line to be breached on this occasion.
So it proved, with the noteworthy attacking threats in the second spell unleashed by the black-clad "Lilywhites". Hoeksema twice went close inside the first twenty minutes of the second spell, her first effort blocked by Dabner after Pilley and Wong had worked a one-two on the right.
Her second effort was a twenty-five yard chip following O'Brien's driving attack, soon after which substitute Annie Byrne roasted Firth on her way to the byline, from where she pulled the ball back to Parris. Rebecca Lake and Foyle combined to thwart the striker on this occasion.
Eleven minutes from time, Spirit resorted to route one to try and break down Suburbs' resistance, but Lake, upon reaching the ball, was clattered into outside the area by Brown, who picked up a booking for her troubles.
That and a Van Noorden cross-shot which careered across the face of goal after she got the better of both Ella Findlay and Carter, was as good as it got for the Mainlanders in their vain pursuit of a goal, while Byrne featured in the last three attacks of the match, the first of which saw her thunder a shot over the bar after Brown, Parris and Hoeksema had opened up Coastal Spirit's defence.
Byrne then threaded a pass through for Parris which was just over-hit - Foyle raced off her line to foil the striker - while in the final minute, Shania Heath got to the byline before pulling the ball back to Byrne, whose cross flashed across the bows of Parris, racing in at the near post.
The damage had long been done, however, and when the final whistle sounded soon afterwards, Suburbs' bridesmaid tag was well and truly a thing of the past. After finishing runners-up in the league in 2016, 2017 and 2018, and receiving Cup runners-up medals two years ago, 2019 will be remembered in NZ women's footballing circles as the year of "The Lilywhites".
Suburbs: Brown (booked, 79); Wong, Carlton, Van Dort, Mettam; Hoeksema, Carter, Gillion (Findlay, 70); Pilley (Byrne, 67), O'Brien (Heath, 82), Parris
Coastal Spirit: Foyle; Roberts, Lake, Jones, Donald; Firth, Hepburn, Van Noorden, Anderson (Millis, 88); Webster (Jo, 64), Dabner
Referee: Anna-Marie Keighley
|