Eastern Suburbs earned a quarter-finals berth in the ASB National Women's Knockout Cup the hard way at Madills Farm on 25 May, as they came from behind to down Three Kings United 5-2 after extra time in a tie which saw Lady Luck favour "The Lilywhites" at a crucial moment in the match. Long before fortune favoured the home team, however, they found themselves on the back foot, as United stormed to a two-goal lead inside the first eighteen minutes of the match, and had Suburbs in all sorts of bother thanks to their pressing game. The game was barely five minutes old when this was in evidence. Malia Steinmetz caught Jolene Muir in possession half-way inside Suburbs half and stormed forward before slamming a twenty-five yarder beyond the diving figure of Rachael Slocum. Cat amongst the pigeons stuff, this. And after Rebecca Rolls had saved at the feet of Becky Hawker after Melanie Gooch had pounced on a stray United pass, the visitors struck for a second time. Shivi Anthony's ball forward prompted a touch of hesitance in Marlies James' approach to dealing with it, an action which contrasted starkly with Sam Muirhead's direct approach. She stole in to leave the former Football Fern in trouble, and the advancing figure of Slocum could do nothing as Muirhead poked the ball past her and into the empty net beyond - 2-0, with just eighteen minutes on the clock. Was a boilover in prospect? Not if Suburbs could help it. They went all out in pursuit of a swift riposte, but found Rolls in commanding form. She foiled a Gooch shot bound for the top near corner of the net in the 22nd minute, and looked on with relief two minutes later as Caitlin Pritchard's timely challenge thwarted Rebecca Tegg, after she had pounced on a Tessa Berger error. They also found themselves victims of a couple of harsh offside calls, as well as being guilty of some wayward passes - Chelsey Wood was particularly prominent in this regard - and generally ponderous play in their defensive third, something which United looked to capitalise upon by forcing errors for their benefit. Ten minutes before half-time, United produced the best move of the match so far, with Berger, Anthony, Courtney Noble, Jessie Mathews, Tina Kolose, Steinmetz and Muirhead all involved in a sweeping one-touch interchange. The overlapping run of Anthony, after her early involvement, was pivotal to the move, and when Noble sent her galloping down the right, Mathews set off on a run to the near post which she timed perfectly to meet the fullback's cross, only to stab the ball just the wrong side of the upright - a fine move which deserved better fate. Had United scored then, or two minutes after half-time when Muirhead directed a diving header past the near post after Noble had turned Dayna Manak and crossed from the right, the prospect of the reigning Lotto Northern Premier Women's League champions crashing out of the Cup would have been very real indeed. However, there was a sense that if Suburbs were to pull one back, the momentum they would gain from it would see them finish over the top of a United side which was beginning to find itself increasingly reliant on the efforts of Berger, Pritchard and Rolls to keep Suburbs at bay. Such as in the 52nd minute, when Sarah Gregorius stripped Kolose of possession and promptly threaded a pass through for Tegg to exploit. Berger's tackle stopped the striker in her tracks, but after Pritchard cleared up, Suburbs' captain was in again, this time from the resulting throw-in. Tegg weaved her way deep into the penalty area, evading two challenges in the process, only for Rolls to parry her shot superbly round the near post at point-blank range. United's Football Ferns custodian was in fine form again ten minutes later, bravely saving at the feet of Gooch after she had been played through the offside trap by Tegg, who had ever dropped a touch deeper in subtle fashion to rid herself of any man-markers and earn herself the space in which to create a bit more havoc as a result. Hawker and Muir combined for Tegg's benefit in the 65th minute, and she held off Berger's challenge before seeing her shot blocked by the legs of Rolls, who was relieved to see Muir's dipping twenty yarder narrowly clear the crossbar soon afterwards, Tegg having managed to get her pass away before Berger and :Pritchard's combined challenge could take effect. Nineteen minutes from time, United's solid efforts to stave off Suburbs' challenge were unhinged by a dreadful offside call, or, rather, the lack of one. Tegg was in an offside position when James pinged the ball forward from just inside her own half, so

when she latched onto it, United's rearguard called as one for the expected free-kick. But referee Chris McDermott never blew his whistle, the lack of an offside flag from his assistant prompting his silence. Tegg kept on running, and calmly tucked the ball beyond Rolls as United players looked on in as much disbelief as those watching around the ground, before giving the referee's assistant absolute daggers, Berger particularly. Talk about if looks could kill … Suburbs, now back in the game, instantly looked to seize the initiative, and within three minutes they were back on level terms. Gooch held off the challenge of Berger before slipping the ball through towards Tegg, who was unquestionably onside on this occasion. Whether she was or not mattered little, for the ball never reached her. Instead, Pritchard, in her desperation to prevent it from doing so, succeeded in achieving her objective via a desperate lunge, only to look on in horror seconds later as the diverted ball crept past Rolls and into the corner of the net - 2-2, and an "oggie" to boot! Pritchard was mortified, but she and her team-mates had to regroup quickly - having kept Suburbs at bay for so long, they daren't let all that hard work be for nought by falling apart inside the final twenty minutes. The home team went all out for a winner, but United managed to take the game to extra time, although it was touch and go late on, with Tegg firing inches past Rolls and the far post five minutes from time, while Muir's shot through a crowded goalmouth was directed straight at the 'keeper moments later, after United failed to clear James' corner. Extra time periods in women's matches generally tend to be a case of survival of the fittest. This match was an exception. End-to-end action ensued, both teams throwing caution to the wind to produce a rip-roaring additional thirty minutes of action, well in keeping with the traditions of clashes between these great rivals. Rolls grabbed a free-kick from James in the 92nd minute, then repeated the dose to deny substitute Leanne Tiffen's header two minutes later, Tegg having been instrumental in influencing both opportunities. Back came United, Slocum grabbing a Noble drive in the 96th minute after Mathews had set up her team-mate. Suburbs' 'keeper duly sent the ball thundering downfield, picking out Hawker, who touched it on into the stride of Maxine Cooper, surging through the inside left channel. The substitute's low drive beat Rolls and found the back of the net - the first time in the tie Suburbs had been in front. United heads dropped, and only timely blocks by Anthony and Rolls prevented Tegg and Hawker respectively from twisting the knife in the 102nd minute. Three minutes later, Tiffen came within inches of clinching the tie, flicking the ball narrowly past the post after anticipating Berger's back-header to Rolls, who was left stranded by the substitute's intervention. Into the final fifteen minutes, and United substitute Claudia Crasborn escaped a tight spot on the left before inviting Hannah Robert to deliver a hanging cross, intended for Mathews. Slocum had other ideas, and grabbed the ball gratefully. Robert's next involvement, in the 111th minute, effectively ended the contest. The tiring fullback caught the fresh-legged figure of Tiffen in the penalty area, and down she went. Referee McDermott had no hesitation - penalty, one Gregorius despatched with aplomb from the spot, sending Rolls the wrong way in doing so. 4-2 became 5-2 four minutes from time, Tiffen and Hawker combining to pick out Tegg, who steered the ball home into the far corner of the net to wrap up the scoring, despite the efforts of makeshift striker Berger to pull a goal back for United before the final whistle. In the end, the scoreboard suggests an emphatic Suburbs victory, and it was certainly one which tested their character and patience, given the come-from-behind manner in which it was achieved. Whether it would have been had they not enjoyed a sizable slice of Lady Luck in the 71st minute remains to be seen. United were particularly hard done by with that offside call, and the final outcome doesn't truly reflect their contribution to a cup-tie which, on another day, they could well have held on to win. Suburbs:     Slocum; Wong, Wood, James, Manak (Meyer, 68); Kraakman (Tiffen, 94), Muir, Hawker; Gooch (Cooper, 88), Tegg, Gregorius United:     Rolls; Anthony, Berger, Pritchard, Robert; Mathews, Kolose (Jale, 75), Steinmetz; Noble, Muirhead (Crasborn, 66), Hayr (Hand, 100) Referee:     Chris McDermott