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30/08/09
Rampant Lynn-Avon Hit Ten To Reach Tenth Final
by Jeremy Ruane
National Women's Knockout Cup holders Lynn-Avon United were in rampant form at Ken Maunder Park on August 30, as they hammered Upper Hutt City 10-0 to reach their tenth final in the competition.
It was a record scoreline for this stage of the Cup, and in all honesty, it could have been far greater. And that's without considering the impact Lynn-Avon's sidelined Football Ferns trio Hayley Moorwood, Kirsty Yallop and Emma Kete would have made were they not denied the opportunity to play by red tape.
As it was, the gulf between these teams was chasm-like anyway, with Lynn-Avon relentless in their quest to maintain their lofty standards from first whistle to last against opponents who fired just one shot in anger, a ninth minute effort from player-coach Wendi Henderson which gave Ashleigh Cox scant cause for concern.
Even by that stage, United could have been at least one goal to the good. Liz Milne lashed a shot goalwards after just eighty seconds which Sarah Duffin blocked with her knees, while after Caitlin Campbell had let fly with a shot which deflected across the face of goal, the same player picked out Amber Hearn with a third minute corner.
The Football Ferns number nine had been the subject of some intensive physiotherapy on her injured ankle prior to the match, but her aerial prowess is unrivalled. On this occasion, she headed the ball down to Sarah Gregorius, who lobbed it across goal for United captain Melissa Ray to execute a looping header which bounced off the top of the crossbar.
Lynn-Avon's next raid saw Katie Hoyle play the ball wide to Ria Percival, who raced past fullback Maria Papp before picking out Campbell with a deep cross. She played a one-two with Emily Cooper prior to clipping over a cross which Hearn headed narrowly wide.
Upper Hutt's resistance lasted until the fourteenth minute, when Percival and Dana Humby combined to play Milne in down the left. After surging past Kelly Rogers, she fired in a cross looking for Gregorius, only for Lucy Sneddon to intervene. Sadly for the defender, she only succeeded in directing the ball past Duffin - 1-0.
The scent of Wellington blood was heavy in Lynn-Avon's nostrils - teams from New Zealand's home of football love nothing better than putting rivals from the nation's capital to the sword at any time, but particularly when there's a place in the national Cup Final at stake. And United duly piled on the pressure in search of more goals.
Milne was enjoying the run of the left flank, and Hoyle duly let her loose once more, in the eighteenth minute. Duffin spilled her cross, but before Percival could pounce, Toni West stepped in to avert the danger.
Three minutes later, Campbell picked out Briony Fisher with a perfect corner to the far post. The defender headed narrowly over, prior to Campbell featuring twice more in proceedings, in tandem with Percival.
On the first occasion, the former picked out the latter with a raking cross-field pass which permitted Percival to power past Papp at pace prior to pinging in a peach of a cross to the near post. Gregorius shot straight at the grateful figure of Duffin.
Seconds later, Percival had a go herself, on receipt of another Campbell pass. This time, her dipping twenty-five yarder arced just over the bar, seconds before Milne maraudered down the left once more. Fisher was the beneficiary of her deep cross, and the Young Ferns captain played the ball back in to Campbell. Duffin pawed out her attempt to double Lynn-Avon's lead, which was still just 1-0.
The locals were subjecting their guests to an all-out attacking onslaught, and that City were still in touch on the scoreboard, even at this stage of the match, was down more to good luck than good management.
In the 27th minute, Campbell, producing by far her best performance yet in a Lynn-Avon shirt, sent Percival down the right once more - Papp won't forget the sight of one of the United Soccer Leagues' W-League stars bearing down on her at a great rate of knots in a hurry! The resulting cross saw Gregorius' bullet header flashing past the post.
On the half-hour, Hoyle hurtled out of defence before releasing Gregorius down the right at pace. Two opponents later, she fired in a low cross intended for Hearn, only for hard-working defender Nicola Ingham to take the brunt of the striker's shot at point-blank range.
Still they pressed, Fisher and Campbell combining to present Gregorius with an opening. She missed it, but Hearn was following up, only for the defiant figure of Sally Kent to stave off this opening, at the expense of a corner.
It was from this opportunity that United doubled their advantage. Campbell's delivery picked out Ray, whose header was parried by Duffin. Percival swooped and wasted little time in bundling home the rebound - 2-0 after 33 minutes.
More Campbell corners came careering into City's goalmouth, with Hearn heading one narrowly wide in the 39th minute, and Ray hooking a volley just past the upright three minutes later, as the visitors failed to clear the threat.
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 Amber Hearn (LAU) and Sally Kent (UHC)
 Bria Sargent (UHC) fends off Sarah Gregorius (LAU)
 Liz Milne (LAU) beats Kelly Rogers (UHC) to the ball
 Caitlin Campbell (LAU) heads the ball forward
 Ria Percival (LAU) shields the bouncing ball from Rebecca Jefferies (UHC) as the rain tumbles
 Bria Sargent (UHC) makes sure Katie Hoyle (LAU) stays behind her by grabbing a fistful of her opponent's shirt!
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Campbell then played the ball wide to Milne, whose cross was headed to partial safety by Ingham. Gregorius was hovering, however, and saw her shot blocked, with Percival volleying the rebound straight at Duffin.
The embarrassingly one-sided nature of this semi-final continued in the shadows of the half-time whistle, with Hearn hammering a low drive narrowly past the post on receipt of a Hoyle pass, before Gregorius' first touch failed her as she looked to meet another Campbell cross at the near post.
When the teams emerged for the second spell, City were bereft of their talisman, with Henderson having succumbed to an injury. It meant New Zealand's most capped international got to sit back and savour the pleasure of watching some of the best football she'll have seen this season, as Lynn-Avon, far from resting on their laurels, produced a footballing clinic while mercilessly putting Upper Hutt to the sword.
Just three minutes after referee Anthony Barnes had lit the touch-paper, Lynn-Avon let loose. Hearn picked out Campbell, whose shot on the turn was parried by Duffin. City scrambled the ball back to Hearn, whose cross spun off Ingham and brought the best out of Duffin as she prevented a second own goal from breaching City's lines at her near post.
After a Campbell effort had been scrambled to safety, Hoyle hammered home a twenty-yarder in the 51st minute to make it 3-0. Cooper then played the ball wide to Fisher, whose cross saw Hearn's flying header flash past the post.
Campbell rampaged down the left on the hour before linking with Cooper, who played in Gregorius. Sneddon stopped the striker in her tracks on this occasion, but was powerless to prevent Gregorius getting in a header seconds later, after Hoyle's super ball down the left had invited Campbell to stride onto it and clip a cross into the near post zone.
Gregorius headed over on this occasion, but the provider of the cross was soon celebrating a goal her display richly deserved. Hearn and Campbell linked on the left, and the latter, spotting Duffin off her line, whipped in a wicked curling dipping cross-shot which crashed into the net off the underside of the crossbar in the 63rd minute.
That made it 4-0, and Campbell was denied a second goal just sixty seconds later as the offside flag curtailed her celebrations. But there was no stopping Lynn-Avon now, and they duly went nap in the 66th minute through Hoyle, who thundered home another twenty-yarder after Milne and Campbell had combined on the left.
United then eased off the pace ever so slightly, allowing substitutes Sam Selwyn and Courtney Noble to get up to speed. Once they did, it was back to full throttle action, and a devastating nine-minute spell ensued in which Lynn-Avon scored five more goals to double their lead on the scoreboard.
Hearn led the charge, turning to flick home a Percival cross in the 73rd minute. Seconds after, Selwyn handled a Nadine Dawson clearance, but referee Barnes waved play-on. Campbell played to the whistle, and picked out Hearn with a cross which saw the striker beat Duffin all ends up - 7-0 with sixteen minutes remaining.
Just three minutes more had elapsed when Percival's corner picked out Milne flying through the gathered throngs, and her header crashed into the net to leave City wondering what they could possibly do to prevent the relentless red-and-blue express train from rumbling right over the top of them.
As far as Lynn-Avon were concerned, eight wasn't enough, and after Duffin had saved at the feet of Gregorius, Hearn completed a seven-minute hat-trick ten minutes from time with a cheeky back-heeled goal, the goalkeeper having spilled a header from Ingham as the W-League's goalscoring sensation put both players under pressure.
A tenth goal was, by now, inevitable, and Gregorius, who had endured one of those games where nothing seemed to be going her way, finally made amends eight minutes from time after racing clear down the right. Duffin stood not a prayer as the striker emphatically blasted the ball into the roof of the net from six yards out - a fitting punctuation mark to crown an outstanding display by the cup holders.
With Lynn-Avon seemingly content with their ten-goal haul, West sought to provide Upper Hutt with a consolation strike in the time which remained, as the visitors, who battled bravely and never let their heads drop throughout, were afforded a respite late in the match.
She hadn't reckoned on the determination of Humby, who, on the two occasions West threatened to break through, shepherded her opponent into a cul de sac from which there was no escape - fine defending which epitomised Lynn-Avon's standards, and ensured they were maintained right to the end of this emphatic 10-0 drubbing.
Lynn-Avon: Cox; Fisher, Humby, Ray (Noble, 67), Milne; Percival, Cooper (Selwyn, 62), Hoyle, Campbell (Doubleday, 74); Gregorius, Hearn
Upper Hutt: Duffin; Ingham, Sneddon, Kent, Papp; Rogers (James, 82), Dawson, Henderson (Jefferies, 46), Sargent, West; Stirling (Taylor, 79)
Referee: Anthony Barnes
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