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23/06/91
Superb Team Effort Overcomes Conditions And Ellerslie
by Jeremy Ruane
Collective effort was the name of the game for Gold Chick Poultry Farm Eden at a muddy Pollard Park on June 23, as opponents Ellerslie were overran 7-0.
Helen Exler started Eden’s attacks rolling, with a shot well saved by Felicity Beckett, the first of several in a busy eighty minutes for her. Michele Cox was next to fall victim to the Beckett barrier, a beautifully placed chip being tipped onto the bar by the Ellerslie ‘keeper, with Monique Van de Elzen unable to stop herself in time to direct the rebound home.
The goals had to come, and Sacha Haskell stroked home the first in the 23rd minute, after hard work by Van de Elzen to retrieve a Beth Clark corner.
Haskell was in a goal-hungry mood, and good hard-running individual play from the Auckland utility saw her fire a shot which struck the post with Beckett beaten.
In the 31st minute, Tarah Cox struck home a beauty. Terry McCahill combined with Van de Elzen to release ‘TC’ on the right. After jinking past two challenges, she fairly hammered the ball into the back of the net from the eighteen yard line.
Five minutes later, off-the-ball running from Lyn Pedruco and Michele Cox saw the Red Sea open up in front of Haskell. Onwards and goalwards she ran, eventually firing in number three from twenty yards via the post.
The home side continued to relentlessly press home their advantage in the second spell, but it was the 58th minute before an addition to the scoreline was made. Tarah Cox broke down the right and crossed early for Karin Jensen, who laid off to put Clark in the clear. Beckett parried her shot, but could do nothing to stop Exler rapping home number four.
A minute later, and confirmation for Beckett that this was not her day. Jensen fired a shot which hit the post. The rebound hit the now grounded ‘keeper on the head and rolled agonisingly over the line. 5-0, and no sign of stopping for the “Gold Chicks”.
If the fifth goal was fortunate for Eden, the sixth, created from nothing in the 64th minute, bore all the hallmarks of Liverpool at their brilliant best. There seemed little danger for Ellerslie as play continued near half-way. Suddenly, slick first-time passing from McCahill to Pedruco to Van de Elzen sent Jensen away, and she went on to round the advancing ‘keeper before coolly slotting home. The Kop would have been in raptures!
Seven minutes later came number seven. Haskell completed her hat-trick, calmly chipping Beckett after being released by Van de Elzen, thus wrapping up a comprehensive win for the Eden team, for whom no-one gave less than 100%.
Beckett stood between Eden and an even greater scoreline being incurred by Ellerslie, for whom three of their first-choice line-up were absent. Mention, too, of the excellent refereeing of John Harding, in difficult playing conditions, should not go unobserved.
Eden: Townsley; Wheeler, Haskell, McCahill, Exler; T. Cox, M. Cox, Pedruco, Van de Elzen; Jensen, Clark. Sub: Loos
Ellerslie: Beckett; Davies, Adams, Gush, Porter; Cheeseman, McRae, Spitz, Ritchie; Kettyles, Powell. Subs: Anderson, Baas
Referee: John Harding
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