Western Springs striker Nicky Smith took full advantage of two dire first half defensive lapses to lead her team-mates to their maiden National Women's Knockout Cup triumph on August 25, as they overcame a gallant Glenfield Rovers combination 2-1 at Seddon Fields. Defender Michele Hogg and goalkeeper Ashleigh Cox will not want to view the video highlights of this match, as it was their errors which left Rovers with a mountain to climb. And while the North Harbour team produced a sterling second half display which contributed greatly to making this a memorable cup final, some outstanding defending from Maia Jackman in particular saw Springs realise their objective of going one better than last season's runners-up spot. Both sides began nervously, Springs even more so than Rovers, who steadied their unease by firing the game's first shots in anger. Caitlin Campbell's long-range free-kick attempt was grabbed cleanly by Danielle McFadyen in the sixth minute, although when she was next called into play five minute later, the fifteen-year-old goalkeeper was nearly found wanting. Campbell's early cross from the right picked out Alice Bresnahan, who held the ball up well before turning it into the path of long-serving striker Gillian Thurlow. The one-time New Zealand international unleashed a twenty-five yarder which bounced in front of McFadyen, forcing the youngster to take evasive action in order to tip it round the post. Cue an inswinging corner from Campbell which Jackman headed off the line. Chelsey Wood helped the ball on, sending Smith scampering away down the left. She fired over a crossfield pass to Priscilla Duncan, whose attempt to pick out Rosie White's run through the middle was well thwarted by Rebecca Simpson. Seconds later, Springs raided again, Jackman, Poppy Binning and Smith combining to send Annabelle Bramwell buccaneering to the by-line, from where her cross careered across the face of goal. In the sixteenth minute, Springs earned a left flank throw-in which saw Jessie Verdon fire in a cross. Rovers failed to deal with it competently, allowing Wood to slip the ball through for Smith, who out-muscled Hogg to get goal-side of the defender, from which position she cleverly stroked home the opening goal beyond the advancing figure of Cox from a tight angle. The goal buoyed the home team in the first-ever women's final not to be played at a neutral venue, and was clearly a body blow to Rovers, who took some time to recover from it - effectively the rest of the half. For Springs, now they had the lead, soon proved themselves good value for it, Smith leading the line superbly. Spurred on by the disappointment of missing out on New Zealand's Women's World Cup Finals squad, she provided the watching national coaching staff with evidence aplenty in this match to suggest that if one of the chosen picks up an injury twixt now and their departure for Shanghai on September 5, she's ready, willing and able. Rovers can definitely vote for the last-mentioned of those attributes. Smith turned Bridget Armstrong superbly in the 24th minute, only to shoot straight at Cox. Seconds later, the player later named Cup Final MVP was absolutely clattered by Hogg, for whom this final was fast becoming a personal nightmare. She was booked for the foul - Rebecca O`Neill's resulting free-kick sizzled a yard over the crossbar - and later committed another which earned her a final warning from well-performed referee Leigh Perry. But in between times, the young defender's reckless streak contributed greatly to a savage blow to Rovers' confidence. A wildly mistimed 31st minute clearance by Hogg saw the ball fly backwards rather than forwards, and Smith swooped on the sphere in an instant. Her first-time twenty-yard drive should have seen Cox produce a routine save, given it was struck straight at her. But producing the seemingly inexplicable on the big occasion is a trait for which Cox has acquired a bit of a reputation over time, and by letting Smith's shot go through her hands and over the line behind her in the country's biggest fixture in women's club football this year, she did little to refute it. The contrasting reactions of both teams was telling. Springs' delight was perfectly understandable, having been gifted a two-goal lead in the Cup Final with barely half-an-hour gone. Meanwhile, the heads of Rovers' players dropped as one, most visibly that of its captain and defensive lynchpin, Simpson. With fellow North Harbour loyalists Cath Porteous and Anna Barlow, she makes up the collective heartbeat of women's football north of the Harbour Bridge, and when the ball crossed the line on this second occasion, the sinking feeling Simpson felt at that moment was almost tangible. The home team weren't slow on looking to exploit Cox's suspect handling. Just two minutes after the second goal, Smith switched play to Duncan once again, who raced down the right before being forced to check back by Armstrong's covering run. Binning, racing up in support from fullback, received Duncan's pass, and steered the ball inside to Jackman, who, playing in her record-equalling eighth final, let fly from twenty-five yards. Cox grabbed it cleanly, and dealt with a long-range effort from the impressive Jessie Verdon in similar fashion in the 36th minute. Springs had their tails up, and when a Wood goal-kick was headed backwards by Porteous two minutes later, the midfielder was horrified to see Smith dashing onto it with just Cox standing between her and a hat-trick. Simpson had other ideas, however - danger averted, albeit with a hint of having got away with a back-pass. Rovers' captain almost single-handedly held things together for her team in the next few minutes, heading clear a Verdon cross - Binning lashed the loose ball wide from twenty-five yards - then coolly dealing with a dangerous situation by heading the ball to safety with Smith hovering on her shoulder in anticipation of a slip-up. The final act of the first half saw Binning, O'Neill and Wood combine to play Duncan in on the edge of the penalty area. She laid the ball back into O'Neill's path, but her wayward shot gave Cox little cause for

Nicky Smith, Cup Final MVP Therese Saito (Glenfield) tackles Rosie White (Springs) Caitlin Campbell (Glenfield) and Jessie Verdon (Springs) in aerial combat Anna Barlow (Glenfield) Poppy Binning (Springs) Bridget Armstrong (Glenfield) Maia Jackman (Springs)

concern. Hogg gave the goalkeeper even less cause for concern throughout the entire second half, a result of coach Peter Buchanan opting to make a double-change at the interval. Two goals down, he went for broke, and introduced the attack-minded duo of Alison Wintle and Tracey Carpe to the fray. The ploy worked, because for the bulk of the second spell, Rovers took the game to their Cup Final opponents as they chased it. Just five minutes in, Barlow headed a Campbell corner over the bar, while after Duncan and Bramwell had combined to present Smith with a near post headed chance which she directed wide of the mark, Binning cleared a hanging Therese Saito cross with Bresnahan's unwitting assistance. In the 56th minute, Campbell ran at the Springs rearguard down the right, and finally enjoyed some change out of Verdon, who generally contained Rovers' biggest attacking threat very well indeed. Bursting through, Campbell drilled a low cross across the face of goal, with Barlow just failing to get onto it at the near post. Beyond the far post, the ball struck Bresnahan and ballooned over the bar. Five minutes later, she had far greater joy as Rovers dragged themselves back into the contest, Campbell, unsurprisingly, the instigator. Her through ball was angled behind the retreating figure of Jackman, and in swooped Thurlow, Carpe on her shoulder in support. McFadyen raced out of goal to foil the pair, but succeeded only in spilling the ball into the path of the incoming figure of Bresnahan. From twenty yards out, she picked out the top far corner of the net with a beauty - 2-1, game on. And how! Rovers tore into Springs with renewed vigour, initially via Campbell's long-range free-kick. That cleared the crossbar by not a great deal, while in the 66th minute, Thurlow was all over Wood like a rash before the latter could clear the danger Barlow's measured through ball caused. Only Jackman's timely header into the grateful gloves of McFadyen as Armstrong whipped in a cross prevented Glenfield from drawing level, while nineteen minutes from time, the goalkeeper smothered a snapshot from Carpe after O'Neill had been caught in possession just outside her penalty area. Cox had been largely inactive throughout the half to this point, but was finally called upon in the 73rd minute, saving at the feet of White after she had got the better of Saito and somehow evaded the clutches of the fast-retreating figure of Simpson. Glenfield's goalkeeper then dealt capably with some challenging cross-shots from Verdon and O'Neill, but before she did, the visitors were denied a near-certain equaliser by an outstanding piece of defensive play. Saito played the ball forward, and Verdon's misjudgement of the bounce was pounced on by Thurlow, who had Carpe and Campbell outside her with just one defender to beat. The veteran played the ball on to Carpe, but before she could exploit the opportunity, the lone defender stepped in to avert the danger - Jackman's reading of the situation and anticipation of the outcome made a large dent in Rovers' challenge with twelve minutes remaining. So did Binning's challenge four minutes from time, the signal for a frenetic finish to the match. Simpson - she and Smith had some terrific clashes throughout this tie - linked with Saito to feed Porteous, whose ball over the top of the defence sent Campbell haring through. Binning, racing across from her right full-back role, scampered across the pitch and got there in time to block Campbell's shot to safety, much to the delight of the local faithful. Smith threatened again, but Cox proved equal to the task and promptly launched a counter-attack which culminated in Jackman denying Thurlow on the edge of the penalty area. Seconds later, Thurlow's pull-back from the by-line found no-one in a yellow shirt racing in to take advantage, while in stoppage time, McFadyen grabbed a long-range free-kick from Campbell right on her goal-line. Soon after, the final whistle sounded, much to the delight and relief of Western Springs. “We're ecstatic to win our first trophy”, declared coach Jose Figueira afterwards. “Credit to Glenfield, though - they came out fighting in the second half, when our senior players stepped up and saw us through - Maia Jackman was superb, while I thought Jessie Verdon did a fantastic job containing Caitlin Campbell. “As for the Cup Final MVP, it's due recognition of Nicky Smith's commitment - travelling up from Blenheim, and scoring twice in both the semi and the final”. Smith joins Jackman as a two-time winner of the much-coveted individual honour. “I was hoping to get three goals, but that's how it goes! And while I'm disappointed to miss out on the World Cup squad, I'll just keep doing what I do as best I can, and what happens happens!” Jackman herself created a wee bit of history in picking up her fifth winner's medal, as the first player to win the National Women's Knockout Cup with four clubs, Lynn-Avon United (1996), Three Kings United (1998 and 1999) and Ellerslie (2001) being her other triumphs. “I hadn't really thought about having won it with three other clubs. I guess it means I'm getting old!! My groin injury came through way better than I thought it would. I went against medical advice, passed the pre-match fitness test, and went OK”. Peter Buchanan was pleased with his team's second half effort. “I thought we were going to get another. In the first half, we were so nervous. But Gillian Thurlow and Alice Bresnahan both played well”. Springs:     McFadyen; Binning, Jackman, Nelson, Verdon; Bramwell (Chapman, 67), Duncan, O'Neill, Wood; Smith, White (Pearl, 79) Glenfield:     Cox; Saito, Simpson, Hogg (booked, 25) (Carpe, 46), Armstrong (Frame, 79); Campbell, Barlow, Porteous, Kemp (Wintle, 46); Thurlow, Bresnahan Referee:     Leigh Perry