Jess Reddaway was in a right state as kick-off approached in the National Women's Knockout Cup tie between Metro and Hamilton Wanderers at Albie Turner Field on Queen's Birthday Monday. The thrice-capped Young Ferns goalkeeper couldn't prepare for the game in her usual manner because, upon opening her kitbag in the dressing room, she discovered, to her horror, that she had forgotten to pack the most important tools of her trade - her boots! Cue something approaching mild panic, with the threat of making a significant - the price of a pair of boots was suggested - contribution to the team's fines funds the least of her worries. A string of phone calls were made, and with about five minutes to spare, salvation was at hand. A family member arrived with Reddaway's absent friends, which were quickly donned, allowing Metro's number one to complete an extremely limited preparation - "I am so not prepared for this (match)", she loudly wailed - before the teams took to the field for the last tie of the round in the northern region. It was almost inevitable that these two teams would be drawn together in the Cup, as there is recent previous between them, with last season's Lotto Northern Premier Women's League promotion play-off seeing Hamilton edge Metro 5-4 on aggregate, their 2-1 victory on this ground occurring prior to the teams sharing six goals at Porritt Park. So as well as seeing a further chapter in what was clearly a close rivalry unfold, there was an expectation of goals galore, with Reddaway's disturbed pre-match preparations countered by Hilary Forster's far from impressive warm-up routine, which exposed a lack of certainty and confidence in dealing with anything above head height. 'Methinks there'll be a few goals and plenty of close calls to write about today', I thought to myself prior to kick-off. As things panned out, that pre-match pondering proved to be bang on the money, with Metro coming from two goals down to square the ledger between the sides by upsetting Hamilton 4-3 after extra time in a thrilling encounter. The home team started brightly, Min Khanthee going in where angels fear to tread just 105 seconds into the contest, and managing to poke the ball between Forster and Hannah Reid but just past the post. Seconds later, Hamilton's custodian was deceived by Khanthee's cross, forcing Briana Rose to hook the ball off the line to safety, a scare which sparked the visitors into life. They wasted little time in getting to grips with the game, first threatening through Lauren Henry in the tenth minute. Leanna Ryan, Caramia Ali and Anina Peresson combined to set her up, but Reddaway proved equal to the shot, before saving at the feet of Ryan seconds later following a defensive mix-up. When next called into action, on the quarter hour, it was an incident of Reddaway's own making - an awful clearance, which gifted possession to Shannon Trebes. She instantly looked to set up Ryan, whose shot was grabbed by the fast-recovering - and very grateful - goalkeeper. The game developed into a bit of an arm wrestle over the next fifteen minutes, but the deadlock was broken in ruthless fashion by Ryan on the half-hour. Grace Cox got the better of Tina Kolose in midfield and instantly sent a ball over the top for Hamilton's foremost attacking weapon, who outpaced Sivitha Boyce before thrashing her shot past Reddaway. Metro looked to hit back straight away, and within three minutes came desperately close to doing so, Khanthee rattling the frame of the goal with a thunderous twenty-five yard free-kick which had Forster beaten all ends up at her near post. The visitors gradually gained the upper hand, however, with Ryan leading the charge. Ten minutes before half-time, Hamilton's talisman gathered possession on the left and once more outpaced Boyce before fizzing a low cross across the bows of Peresson towards Henry, arriving on the far post. A second goal looked an absolute certainty, but Reddaway had other ideas, as evidenced by a flash of canary yellow flying across her goal to pull off a wonder save low by her left-hand post. Ryan, the visitors' go-to girl, rattled the near post side-netting three minutes before half-time, to which Wyllowe Poata responded with a thirty-yarder which cleared the crossbar, Forster having again looked uncertain under the high ball in the seconds prior to the shot. The final act of the first half saw Boyce break out of defence at pace before picking out Khanthee on the right. Her teasing cross picked out the head of Sammy Burton on the far post, but the youngster was unable to guide the ball home. The first act of the second half looked to have put Hamilton on the home straight to victory - they doubled their lead. Ryan got the better of Eloise Morris in the centre circle and quickly worked a one-two with Ali before dashing through, all the while holding off the challenging figure of Boyce en route to firing across Reddaway into the far corner of the net - 2-0 in the 49th minute. And so nearly a third goal three minutes later. Forster, having grabbed a free-kick from former Young Fern Jess Oulaghan, launched the ball downtown to Henry, who, in turn, directed traffic towards Ryan. Her cross to the near post found Caitlyn Bloxham hurtling in on goal, but Reddaway was on hand to smother her header. Metro then set about responding to the challenge. A Khanthee corner was met on the volley by Burton, whose effort flashed past the upright. Isobel Douglas was next to chance her arm, but found herself ploughing a lone furrow in the 54th minute, the massed ranks of Hamilton's rearguard combining to crowd her out. It was a different story two minutes later, however. Another Khanthee corner picked out the head of Boyce. Hamilton failed to adequately clear their lines in response, allowing Khanthee a second chance to whip the ball in. After evading a challenge, she did so via a wickedly angled low cross in behind the defence which found Douglas ghosting in on the near post, from where she bundled the ball home past the stranded figure of Forster. 2-1 - game on! Was it ever! Inside sixty seconds, it was 2-2! Khanthee secured possession for the home team straight from the kick-off, and instantly sent Douglas dashing away down the right, where she got the better of Cox before firing over a deep cross. It cleared all bar Oulaghan, who had made a supporting run beyond the far post. She controlled it before firing in another cross, only this time, the ball ricocheted off the covering figure of Michaela Clark and spun behind Forster to the far post, where the diminutive figure of Burton, sliding in, just managed to squeeze the ball home before the comparatively towering figure of Reid could retrieve the situation for the visitors. What a turnaround! And having got their second wind, Metro proceeded to pile on the pressure. Morris sent Douglas away down the left in the 63rd minute, from where she picked out Kolose with a cross.

The midfielder instantly combined with Poata, Morris and Burton to present Khanthee with a chance, but her angled drive careered across the face of a target which Metro barely sighted in the next ten minutes, as Hamilton responded to their opponents' double whammy in stirring fashion. They earned a string of corners, Ryan picking out the head of Bloxham with the first of them. Reddaway dived to her right to turn the ball round the post, prompting another Ryan corner. This one wasn't cleared, much to Reid's delight, which turned to despair a split-second later as she saw her shot rebound off the crossbar, much to the relief of Metro, who were beginning to show signs that they were starting to tire. But with Khanthee at their disposal, they always posed a threat. Fifteen minutes from time, Metro's talisman gathered the ball on the right, and slipped a pass into the stride of Burton, who side-stepped a challenge before letting fly from twenty-five yards with an angled drive which had Forster struggling. Much to the 'keeper's relief, the ball carried on past the far post, but she stood not a prayer in the 83rd minute as the home team completed their remarkable comeback from the penalty spot. Fullback Tessa Naden angled a ball into the box from the left which arced over the head of Douglas, who instantly set off in pursuit. With her went Cox, whose awkward challenge saw the striker go to ground. Referee Beth Rattray had no hesitation, pointing to the penalty spot from where Oulaghan did the honours. 3-2 Metro - you knew what was coming next! A furious Hamilton onslaught duly ensued, Ryan leading the charge. Boyce matched her stride for stride and was on the spot to block the striker's shot, the rebound from which fell invitingly to Henry. Somehow Reddaway denied her, then looked on with relief as a curling effort from substitute Jess Minhinnick arced past the far post seconds later, with Metro hanging on grimly as time ticked away. They looked to have done the job, but with twenty seconds remaining on the clock before the tie moved into stoppage time, Hamilton delivered a hammer blow via Bloxham, who levelled the scores with a stunning thirty-yarder which soared beyond the diving figure of Reddaway into the top far corner of her net - 3-3. With their opponents visibly wilting, the Premier League side were favoured to kick on and win the tie in extra time, despite losing the services of Trebes, victim of a close quarters' clearance which copped her flush in the face in stoppage time. But having ripped up her own script before the game by forgetting her boots, Reddaway wasn't about to subscribe to one of her opponents' creation. Just two minutes into the extra half-hour, a twenty-five yarder from Bloxham ricocheted off Morris straight to the goalkeeper, who produced another 'worldie' eight minutes later to deny Ryan her hat-trick, after the striker had swooped on a Morris blunder and raced through the inside-right channel. Henry also got the better of the tiring Morris two minutes later, but fired wide, while three minutes into the second half of extra time, Ryan pounced on a tired Kolose pass and bore down on goal, Boyce again her principle nemesis. To Ryan's left lurked Henry, and a deft pass left the striker one-on-one with Reddaway, who somehow blocked the shot with her legs at her near post, then looked on with relief as the ball spun across goal and just past the far upright. Henry and her Hamilton team-mates couldn't believe it, but a save of this nature tends to suggest that the destiny of the contest has been pre-determined. Unperturbed, the fitter side pressed once more, from the corner which arose from Reddaway's remarkable denial. Ryan's delivery picked out the statuesque figure of Reid, whose thumping close-range header was in for all money until Reddaway raised her left arm and nonchalantly plucked the ball out of the air one-handed, as if 'twas an apple dangling invitingly from a tree! You had to admire the pluck of Metro's 'keeper, but in the 112th minute her luck appeared to have run out, as Reid launched a free-kick which released Ryan through the inside-right channel. Reddaway hurtled out of goal, but the striker easily rounded her and found herself on an acute angle from a gaping, untended target. Surely now was Ryan's moment, but unbelievably, she directed her effort into the side-netting - 3-3 it remained. Metro's players were visibly out on their feet. They're used to playing with rolling substitutes across the course of ninety minutes, none of this two hours and 'once you're off, you're off' lark! They still had one or two who had a wee bit left in the tank, however, but which of them would join Reddaway in being the heroine of the hour, and win the match for the underdogs? We were just seconds away from finding out. Ryan's miss resulted in a goal kick, which Reddaway launched downfield, the ball eventually arriving at the feet of Metro's talisman, some thirty-five yards from goal. Khanthee had absolutely no hesitation. She turned and let rip with everything she could muster, and a thunderbolt fair screamed over the flailing figure of Forster before crashing into the roof of the net - 4-3 Metro, with seven minutes remaining. Hamilton were shell-shocked, the goal a real hammer blow from which they had little time to recover. But upon coming to their senses, there was still a couple of minutes remaining - ample time in which to nab another equaliser and take the tie to penalties. As this epic encounter entered its final minute of 120, Reid played the ball forward once more, and once more Ryan was the recipient. Racing clear with just Reddaway to beat, Hamilton's talisman set herself before pulling the trigger, only to look on in despair as Metro's heroine plunged to her left for the final time to deny the visitors at the death. The final whistle, seconds later, prompted a combination of cheers, relief and the raising of arms aloft by the home team, as the visitors looked on, wondering how on earth this cup-tie had got away from them - they had it in the bag … The reason they missed out wasn't hard to spot. And as the Hamilton players turned their stunned gazes towards their nemesis, the canary yellow-clad, wild-haired figure of Reddaway was briefly, contemplatively, looking down at her boots. She'll pay her dues per the Metro team's fines book, but after keeping them in the cup with her fine saves, she should be able to work out a "mates' rates" deal! There is, however, one thing of which you can be certain - Reddaway won't forget to pack the tools of her trade in her kitbag ever again! Metro:          Reddaway; Chandler, Boyce, Morris, Naden (P. Mackay, 111); Khanthee, Poata, Kolose, Oulaghan; Burton (Goldstone, 80), Douglas Hamilton:     Forster; Clark, Reid, Rose, Cox; Bloxham, Peresson, Ali (Minhinnick, 72); Henry, Ryan, Trebes (Baylie, 90) Referee:     Beth Rattray