31/7/01

<BODY BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" LINK="#FFCC99" ALINK="#009D74" VLINK="#FF9966"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" ><B>The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website</B></FONT>     |   <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id535.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="23/9/00"><U>23/9/00</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id522.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="30/7/01"><U>30/7/01</U></A>   |   <B>31/7/01</B>   |   <A HREF="id524.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="1/8/01"><U>1/8/01</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id526.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="3/8/01"><U>3/8/01</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1011.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="12/10/02"><U>12/10/02</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id993.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="28/10/02"><U>28/10/02</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id994.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="16/11/02"><U>16/11/02</U></A></div> <div> <IMG SRC="04658020.gif" border=0 width="600" height="2" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> 31/7/01</div> <div> <B>Standards Not Met In Latest “A Team” Win</B></div> <div> <B>by Jeremy Ruane</B></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="502" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1803 WIDTH="496"><div> Auckland’s “A Team” produced a far from convincing performance in recording a 6-0 victory over Central Soccer at Keith Hay Park on July 31, a result which propels the side to the top of the tournament table, on goal difference from three of their six rivals for the National Women’s Soccer Tournament crown.</div> <bR> <div> While the scoreline was the biggest recorded at the tournament in its first three days, such are the standards expected of the “A Team” - standards they themselves have set over the years - that this was not a performance with which they should be overly satisfied.</div> <bR> <div> Aside from Rebecca Parkinson skying a Maia Jackman cross in the second minute, it took the “A Team” a good fifteen minutes to get into their stride in this match, and it could be argued that the sight of Tanja Grunwald’s free-kick clearing the crossbar by not a great deal in the thirteenth minute was the prompting they needed to snap out of this laborious spell and start producing some moments of quality.</div> <bR> <div> For the next twenty or so minutes saw the “A Team” dominating proceedings, and creating chances in the process. After Parkinson had squandered a golden opportunity supplied by the ever-industrious Amanda Crawford, the scoring was opened in the nineteenth minute by Melanie Gooch, who thundered home a fifteen yard screamer after Crawford, Angela Vujnovich and Parkinson had linked up to create the opening.</div> <bR> <div> Within seconds, Vujnovich was thwarted by the fingertips of Debbie Bailey, as the “A Team” looked to build on their goal. They didn’t have long to wait to do so, as Gooch and Vicki Rainbow produced some tidy combination play down the left before the former swept the ball across for the incoming Jackman to stroke home in the 23rd minute.</div> <bR> <div> Jackman went close to adding another goal soon after, the combined efforts of Bailey and Stacey Pearce thwarting her powerful flying header on the line, after a pinpoint Crawford corner.</div> <bR> <div> On the half-hour, Vujnovich’s off-the-ball movement was rewarded by a made-to-measure pass from Terry McCahill. The striker still had plenty of work to do, however, and after turning first one way then the other, created enough space in which to engineer the goal of the game, a gorgeous curling left-footed chip which left Bailey beaten all ends up - 3-0.</div> <bR> <div> Two minutes later, Crawford slipped Jackman through the Central defence, but with Bailey advancing towards her, leaving half the goal gaping, the SWANZ international was unable to steer her shot inside the far post.</div> <bR> <div> Rainbow rewarded Crawford’s off-the-ball running moments later with a fine through ball, which the “A Team”’s third-highest goalscorer in history steered into Vujnovich’s path. The sidenetting took the brunt of her powerful close-range drive.</div> <bR> <div> Just on half-time, Bailey needed two bites of the cherry to thwart Jackman, who was again denied by the goalkeeper four minutes into the second spell, after McCahill and Crawford had linked to good effect, the latter’s pass into space the sort of ball which the speedster relishes pursuing - one such burst of acceleration in the first half drew audible gasps from the entire Central bench!</div> <bR> <div> In the 52nd minute, the “A Team” extended their advantage to 4-0 via an unlikely source. Jackman and Crawford teamed up on the right, with the latter’s cross to the far post a gem. Parkinson was its intended target, but Helen Kibby had tracked her run, and got to the ball first. </div> <bR> <div> Unfortunately for the youngster, her attempted volleyed clearance slammed into her own net, but to her credit, she got on with the job, and went close to scoring herself in the 71st minute, when heading a Hana Light cross wide of Stephanie Puckrin’s right-hand post.</div> <bR> <div> By which time the “A Team” had gone nap. Crawford’s fine turn and run created the opening on the hour, and her through ball invited Vujnovich to shoot. Bailey blocked this effort, but Gooch was following up - 5-0.</div> <bR> <div> Jackman came close to extending the “A Team”’s lead three times in the next twenty minutes, firstly guiding a flicked header narrowly wide of Bailey’s right-hand post following Crawford’s 67th minute cross, then, following a one-two with Rebecca Sowden, unleashing a dipping drive which cannoned off the crossbar nine minutes later.</div> <bR> <div> Bailey thwarted her on the third occasion, after Crawford’s inswinging corner cannoned off a defender straight into the hands of the bemused goalkeeper, with Jackman closing in for the kill.</div> <bR> <div> Four minutes from time, Sowden completed the scoring, due reward for following in after a Crawford drive was spilled by Bailey. Vujnovich went close to adding a seventh before the end, but despite their creativity, there was too much ordinary fare from the “A Team” on this occasion - errors, inconsistencies and poor option-taking were as much in evidence as their creative flair.</div> <bR> <div> Helen Exler was the “A Team”’s most consistent performer throughout the game, although Crawford, Vujnovich, Gooch, in the time she was on the park, and Jackman weren’t far behind in the Player of the Day stakes.</div> <bR> <div> For Central, seventeen-year-old Denbigh O’Keefe shone throughout, while Kibby, in the half that she played, and Pauline Buckman also impressed, the former particularly in the way she got on with the job after conceding the own goal.</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> “A Team”:     Puckrin; Exler, McCahill, Hicks (Humby, 63); Jackman, Rainbow, Taylor (Sowden, 52), Parkinson (Somerfield, 72); Vujnovich, Crawford, Gooch (Hill, 62)</div> <div> Central:         Bailey; Coulter (Ning, 46), Wenzlick, Buckman; Hamilton, Archer, Grunwald (Kibby, 46), Pearce (Goodridge, 46), O’Keefe; Thessman, Light</div> <div> Referee:        Marie Asbury</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="id520.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="200002"><U>2000-02</U></A></div> </BODY>