Reigning Kate Sheppard Cup holders Glenfield Rovers made hard work of overcoming a stubborn Three Kings United combination at McFetridge Park on June 24, eventually prevailing 3-1 on penalties after the visitors' last-gasp equaliser made the score 2-2 and brought about extra time in the feature tie of the round in the NZ Football Foundation-sponsored competition. United got off to a flying start, Helen King hammering home from four yards in the fourth minute after Annie Byrne's corner into the danger zone wasn't cleared by Rovers' rearguard. But they failed to capitalise on that early advantage, and very soon it was the cup holders who were in the ascendancy, a position they rarely relinquished throughout the balance of regulation time. On the quarter hour, Maggie Jenkins fed Dayna Stevens - good to see her back in harness, albeit with a heavily strapped knee she injured when United last visited this parish. On this occasion, she was initially thwarted by Ally Toailoa, only to trip the defender and retrieve possession, with referee Heloise Simons - a surprise appointment for the middle in this tie, as she usually can be seen running the line in such drawcard fixtures - ignoring the offence. She ignored Glenfield's penalty claims seconds later, too, as Stevens struck a shot which cannoned off the arm of covering defender Caitlin Pritchard. The striker retrieved the ricochet and the ball was swiftly shifted into the stride of Helena Kelderman, only for United 'keeper Rivalina Fuimaono to save at her feet. The burly 'keeper's clearance sent Tessa Leong away at pace down the left, where she made light of the challenges posed by both Tessa Berger and Emily Oosterhof before delivering a cross which had King as its target. Claudia Bunge's vital touch at the near post averted the danger. Glenfield drew level in the 21st minute, and such had been the pressure they had been applying over the previous ten minutes, penning United deep inside their own half, that there was a sense of inevitability about the goal. Oosterhof was the architect, her delivery from the right picking out Stevens, who had plenty still to do, but executed her duties with precision, swiveling sharply to stroke a low drive beyond the flailing fingertips of Fuimaono from the edge of the area. Rovers smelt blood, and swiftly went in search of a second goal. Berger and Kate Loye combined for Stevens' benefit just two minutes after the equaliser, but a loss of control at a crucial moment meant the goalscorer was foiled by Fuimaono this time round. Stevens then squandered a glorious chance to give Glenfield the lead on the half-hour. Bunge's booming ball downfield sent Kelderman scampering clear of all-comers. Her low cross found Stevens racing in on the far post, past which she inexplicably steered the sphere with the goal at her mercy. Unperturbed, Rovers came again, Loye releasing Stevens this time round. Both her cross, and Jenkins' subsequent shot, foundered on the figure of Pritchard, whose defiant defensive work was to foil many more prospective goalscoring opportunities Glenfield engineered throughout the match - she had a fine game for the visitors. After Kelderman had thrashed a shot past the post following a partially cleared Loye corner, Three Kings mustered a rare raid in the 37th minute. Toailoa, Shivi Anthony and Byrne worked a right flank interchange which culminated in the first-mentioned pinging a pass which allowed King to get in behind Glenfield's defence. Alice Noyer saved bravely at her feet on this occasion, and was a relieved figure when Rebecca Burrows shot straight at her six minutes later after King had headed down a Fuimaono clearance to Loye, whose through ball invited United's playmaker to take the ball on and let fly. In between those denials, Noyer looked on as Kelderman saw a shot blocked by Anthony, with Berger heading Loye's resulting corner past the post before Loye herself lashed an effort past the upright as Glenfield continued to dominate. Right on half-time, the home team came close to taking the lead. Berger - who was to depart the fray early in the second half as the troublesome back problem through which she has played for over three seasons returned to haunt her once more - and Loye combined to present Stevens with a chance which she lifted past the approaching figure of Fuimaono, but just past the near post as well. The second half was barely thirty seconds old when the ball was in Rovers net. United raided straight from the kick-off, with Sophie Stewart-Hobbs and Leong linking with Burrows, whose shot deflected off Bunge and was parried by Noyer straight into the stride of Byrne, whose delight at scoring was swiftly curtailed by the offside flag - she had been ahead of the ball when Burrows let fly. That let-off galvanised Glenfield, whose first half dominance continued unabated after half-time, albeit without the creation of as many scoring opportunities during the first thirty minutes of the second spell. Indeed, just three of note were to be engineered by the home team. Loye - she and Liz Savage were at their dominant best in midfield - created the first of them, only for Stevens to be denied by Fuimaono in the 58th minute. United's goalkeeper made a wild error of judgement thirteen minutes later, throwing the ball straight to Sydney Bultitude, who instantly invited Loye to exploit the opening. Her angled cross careered just too far in front of the incoming figure of Jenkins. A rare Three Kings raid materialised two minutes later, Burrows leading the charge down the right, from where she looked to pick out Leong with a cross. Bunge read the danger well and stepped in at precisely the right moment to frustrate the striker. After Pritchard's vital block had prevented a goalbound Jenkins shot from finding its intended target, and Fuimaono had saved spectacularly from Oosterhof and in a more routine fashion from Savage, another United raid had Rovers' fans flinching.

Substitute Hannah Blake - she would have started the match, but thought it was a 1pm kick-off, so her late arrival meant team discipline took priority - was at the heart of this attack, outfoxing Oosterhof before playing in Leong, who turned Bunge this way and that before unleashing a shot which was blocked by the covering figure of Berger's replacement, Serena Murrihy. Glenfield's response to that scare was swift and decisive - they scored the goal they had been long been threatening, one which would surely decide the tie. Savage got in ahead of Stewart-Hobbs to secure a loose ball in midfield, and instantly sent Kelderman storming into the space which the out-of-position fullback had vacated in an effort to foil Rovers' counter-attack. Kelderman's teasing cross-shot was pawed out from beneath her crossbar by Fuimaono, but to her horror, the ball landed at the feet of Jenkins, who gained due reward for following in - 2-1 to the cup holders. And that was that. Or so we thought. Substitutions dominated the final ten minutes of play, one of which saw Rovers make a key positional change, not that it seemed to matter at the time. But with time all but up on the clock, United rolled the dice one last time, and came up trumps, exploiting that alteration to the fullest. Blake released Leong down the left, where she found herself facing Savage, who had moved across to cover the right back role vacated by Oosterhof. United's leading markswoman led the makeshift fullback a merry dance, ultimately luring Savage into the tackle from behind which prompted referee Simons to point to the spot unhesitatingly. A penalty in the ninetieth minute, with the destiny of the tie in the balance. On the balance of play, United scarcely deserved this opportunity to force extra time, but Glenfield had failed to exploit their dominance on the scoreboard, and Pritchard made them pay from twelve yards with the match now in stoppage time - 2-2. To extra time, and now a challenge for the players which was as much mental as physical in nature. For it's the top two inches which tend to betray one more when playing thirty minutes more than usual - if you've done a thorough pre-season then regularly train 90 to 120 minutes a session, your legs, while tiring, should still be strong enough to carry you through two hours of cup-tie action. Straight from the start, there was drama, Burrows and Blake combining, only for the latter to mis-time her pass to Leong. The ball went through to Noyer, who promptly spilled it with Leong just three yards away. But she had turned away at the vital moment, thinking the chance was lost … top two inches. Never switch off. Never lose focus. Two minutes later, Rovers resumed their pursuit of victory, but Pritchard stood in their path, blocking shots from Jenkins then Stevens, then producing a vital tackle to foil the former after Fuimaono had also foiled the former Wellington-based striker. A Murrihy volley cannoned off Pritchard to safety in the 102nd minute, following Loye's corner to the far post, to which United responded with a counter-attack, Maisy Dewell, Blake and Byrne combining on the right, only for Noyer to save at the feet of the last-mentioned, before turning a Blake corner round the near post as the first half of extra time drew to a close. The final fifteen minutes saw Glenfield very much in the ascendancy once more. In the 109th minute, Bunge picked out Stevens, who took advantage of an untimely stumble by Toailoa to exploit the space this created. Her dipping twenty-five yarder was tipped onto the bar by Fuimaono, who was relieved to see the offside flag rising as Jenkins, following in, had her celebrations curtailed. Two minutes later, Stevens just failed to get on the end of Savage's cross following her driving run down the right. Then Stevens and Jenkins worked a one-two on the left before Loye was brought into play. She stepped inside a challenge before seeing her shot parried to safety by Fuimaono, who looked on seconds later as another Toailoa stumble let in Jenkins. This time, she got past Pritchard but was forced wide, prompting a pull-back from the by-line rather than the shot which the striker had intended. United scrambled this to safety, and held on throughout the final five minutes to take the game to a penalty shoot-out. Players tend to do strange things when faced with the prospect of that mentally challenging trudge from the half-way line to the penalty spot. It's thirty-odd seconds when they question themselves, their ability, their self-belief, their technique, their inner convictions. Those with a steel-trap mind-set for such occasions usually deliver the goods from twelve yards. Those who harbour doubts … Sadly for Three Kings, Pritchard, the first player to step forward, was in the latter group. She tried something different from the penalty she had scored to force extra time, and fired the ball past the post. Loye had no such misgivings. Nor Jenna Dodd, although Noyer got her hand to the substitute's effort. Fuimaono got both to Bunge's poor penalty to restore parity - 1-1, but Rovers regained the advantage with the very next kick. Blake's effort was splendidly saved by Noyer, and from that moment on, United were up against it. Jenkins' unerring finish piled pressure aplenty upon Toailoa, and when her rising drive rattled the crossbar, it was left to Stevens to apply the coup de grace and clinch Glenfield's deserved place in the quarter-finals for the twelfth successive season - a competition record. Glenfield:     Noyer; Oosterhof (Strachan, 87), Berger (Murrihy, 52), Bunge, Gross; Savage, Bultitude, Loye; Kelderman (Turnbull, 89), Jenkins, Stevens Three Kings:     Fuimaono; Anthony, Toailoa, Pritchard, Stewart-Hobbs; Bloomfield (Dodd, 67), Mathews (Dewell, 85), Burrows; Byrne, King (Blake, 62), Leong Referee:     Heloise Simons