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Ashy through to Preliminary Final |
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Written by Admin
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Sunday 23
September 2007
Ashburton
advanced to its second
Preliminary Final berth in
as many years after a
nailbiting penalty shootout
win over a gallant
Sandringham at Bob Jane
Stadium on Sunday.
Scores were locked at 2-2 at
the end of normal time
and, with neither side able
to find the net in extra
time, the result came down
to a shootout where
Ashburton goalkeeper
Antoinette Michail saved two
Sandringham spot kicks to
see her side through.
The
result sees Sandringham
eliminated from its first
WPL finals campaign but it
can nonetheless take many
positives from a game where
it displayed enormous spirit
to fight back from two goals
down, sending the match into
extra time.
In a goalless first half, it
was Ashburton which had the
game’s first real chance
when Stacey Louras was
unable to capitalise on a
deflection off a Sandringham
defender – goalkeeper Peta
Horman getting down well to
block the midfielder’s low
drive.
Christie Parton then
affected an important
interception for Sandringham
as Seyma Erenli tried to
pick out an unmarked
Annabelle Gibney after a
fast break down the right.
Sarah White came close to
opening the scoring for
Sandringham when played in
on goal by Michelle Parton,
but Michail closed her down
quickly, forcing her hurried
shot wide.
Gibney then blazed over the
bar after latching onto a
headed flick-on from Tal
Karp’s well-weighted corner.
The best chance of the first
half fell to the lively
Jocelyn Murdoch moments
before the interval, when
the Sandringham striker
outmuscled two markers to
find herself one-on-one with
Michail. But the Ashburton
custodian was up to the
task, getting enough on the
block to send the ball round
the post for a corner.
Sandringham looked to have
the advantage going in at
half time with scores level
and the wind at its back
when play resumed.
But Ashburton showed its
class with two quick goals
inside the first 10 minutes
of the second stanza to set
Sandringham back on its
heels.
Kristin Stensholt and Erenli
combined to set up the
first, which Gibney finished
with aplomb over the
advancing Horman.
And moments later, Louras
collected Rosey Mortellaros’
incisive ball, cut inside
two defenders and finished
truly to double the
advantage.
Sandringham was handed a
lifeline when Lucy Kapusta’s
strike was handled inside
the area, earning a spot
kick which was duly
converted by Ashlee Good to
pull the score back to 2-1.
And Sandringham was level
shortly afterwards when
Murdoch cut inside Letizia
Sammut on the touchline,
wheeled onto her left foot,
and fired home a screamer
from outside the penalty
area which lodged in the top
left corner of the net.
With extra time looming,
Stensholt had a chance to
win it in normal time for
Ashburton when she connected
at full stretch with a
dangerous Gulcan Koca cross.
But Horman did superbly to
knock down and then gather
the goalbound shot.
Ashburton looked the more
likely to take the game in
added time, dominating
possession and pinning the
tiring Sandringham into its
own half.
But it all came down to the
shootout, where Michail was
the hero, saving off Good
and Kelly Eaton, and
watching Sian Rogers’ strike
hit the bar to give
Ashburton a 3-1 win on
penalties.
By George
Egonidis
Courtesy FFV
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