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17/08/97
United Defy Fates To Keep Cup Dream Alive
by Jeremy Ruane
Had this been a boxing bout, the referee would have stopped the contest and declared a TKO!! Such was the dominance of Three Kings United over Waikato Unicol at Keith Hay Park on August 17, in the semi-final of the SWANZ Knockout Cup.
That dominance, however, was not reflected on the scoreboard. Indeed, it needed an equaliser 46 seconds into stoppage time from Michele Cox to keep United in the cup, Unicol having gone ahead in the 58th minute through Joy Howland. Once the home team was on level terms, though, there was only ever going to be one winner, and Pernille Andersen duly confirmed the fact with the winning goal right on the stroke of half-time in extra-time.
Unicol barely crossed the halfway line in anger in the first 27 minutes. It was all United. Referee Ian Hiscox admitted afterwards that he could have awarded three penalties in the first nine minutes for fouls on Andersen, but on each occasion there was an element of doubt in his mind as to whether the defender intended to play the ball rather than fell the opponent. Consequently, nothing was given.
The home team’s buccaneering start continued soon after, with four chances in as many minutes before the quarter hour mark had passed. Beth Clark hit the sidenetting; Tarah Cox unleashed a screamer which flashed past the upright; Andersen hit a first-time volley on the run which cleared the crossbar by barely a foot, moments after seeing a shot on the turn saved by Rebecca Rolls.
Unicol’s ‘keeper was in action again soon after, Andersen again her unwilling victim. But Rolls was beaten in the 23rd minute, only for lady luck to come to the rescue. Michele Cox weighted a lovely pass into Andersen’s path, and the striker dismissed the challenge of Kelly Mawston before belting the ball past the goalkeeper. The sphere struck the inside of the far post and rebounded straight back to the relieved New Zealand international shot-stopper.
Michele Cox and Jane Simpson were next to go close before Unicol finally mustered an attack of consequence. Howland, their most dangerous player, beat the offside trap with a well-timed run down the right. Cutting inside, she beat two defenders before crossing to Naomi Clarke. Unmarked, and with just Rachel Howard to beat, the youngster could only guide the ball into the goalkeeper’s hands in the 28th minute.
Thrice more Andersen homed in on goal before the interval, as United responded to Unicol’s forward foray by piling on more pressure of their own. The best of these chances came in the 38th minute, a result of Melissa Ruscoe’s inept headed back-pass to Rolls. The defender recovered, however, executing a fine tackle to foil the striker in the act of shooting.
Howland and Maria Wilkie exchanged efforts immediately after the interval, while Andersen and Howland repeated the dose moments later. Cox then hit a ferocious drive from twenty-five yards which dipped viciously. Rolls hadn’t a prayer of stopping it, but the sight of the ball crashing against the crossbar must have sent a message to United that perhaps this wasn’t meant to be their day.
A message which was hammered home in fine style by Howland in the 58th minute. Four challengers were left reeling in the wake of the striker’s powerful run, and while her finish from the edge of the penalty area wasn’t the cleanest, it was good enough to wrong-foot Howard and give Unicol what was, in all honesty, an undeserved lead.
You can guess what the remainder of the half was like - United pounding away in search of an equaliser, Unicol looking to exploit the spaces which their goal-chasing opponents were leaving behind them in pursuit of a goal. Instances of the former scenario were more frequent than the latter, with United’s frustration growing as time ticked away.
Andersen sent a shot crashing against the post in the 61st minute - further confirmation that fate was not wearing a striped shirt today, while Cox was just inches away two minutes later. Andersen then found the sidenetting, while Rolls parried a shot on the turn by Clark to safety with ten minutes left.
Clarke‘s 82nd minute shot on goal for Unicol brought a save from Howard, who immediately punted the ball forward. Clark flicked on for Andersen, but her effort was tame. Rolls was given a tougher time of things two minutes later, as Marlies Oostdam ran at and outfoxed two defenders. The goalkeeper saved with her legs this time.
Three minutes from time, any hopes that United held along the lines of “We’ve got to get one sooner or later” were all but dashed by the sight of Clark, with the goal at her mercy and Rolls prone on the ground, having parried a low Oostdam cross into the SWANZ international’s path, guiding the ball into the midriff of the stunned goalkeeper, who then saved from Karin Jensen with sixty seconds left on the clock.
United’s coach, Sascha Viertal, had called for his team to show more composure at half-time, but his message had largely gone unheeded in the second spell. Unicol were all but home and hosed with time up on the clock, as Howard gathered the ball and sent it forward one last time. Andersen gathered the clearance, and played the ball inside to Cox.
The 1996 Players’ Player of the Year instantly turned her marker and began a run towards goal, two defenders and the seemingly unbeatable Rolls her obstacles. One challenge was avoided, then the other, at which point Rolls hurtled off her line, hell-bent on keeping a clean sheet. It wasn’t to be, however, as Cox stretched out and guided the ball under the diving frame of the ‘keeper and into the far corner of the net.
The contrasting emotions at this point summed up the match as a whole. The delight and sheer relief on the faces of United’s players and supporters alike were anything but mirrored in the Unicol camp. “Captain Fantastic”’s death-knell strike was a real kick in the teeth for Jo Bradley’s team, and the ensuing period of extra-time merely served to pile on the agony.
United were, understandably, transformed. Rolls’ goal was under siege, as the home team chased the winner. The ‘keeper kept her side in it by saving from both Clark and Andersen. The latter’s first shot was fingertipped over the bar, the second parried, then recovered, as the former homed in on the rebound.
Throughout the match, Simpson’s crosses had ranged in accuracy from inches away from their target to “Who was that meant for??!!” Right on the stroke of half-time, however, she got the recipe just right, and Andersen nipped in to give United the lead, heading home powerfully past a startled Rolls from eight yards out. Unicol didn’t even have time to restart.
The home team continued to press in the second spell of extra time, none more so than Andersen. But when Unicol were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box two minutes from time, it was all hands on deck in United’s defence.
Mawston flighted the ball perfectly, and was all set to jump into the air ecstatically, when Howard leapt to paw the ball to safety in the shadows of the crossbar. Andersen couldn’t look as Mawston drilled in the resulting corner, and with good reason - the ball hit the post! United cleared their lines, and seconds later, the final whistle sounded to send them through to the SWANZ Cup Final, and a showdown with Petone in Napier.
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