Honours to United in thrilling knockout final

TWO OUT OF THREE AIN’T BAD: Tatapouri Marist Thistle had to settle for second in the Braybrook Cup women’s football knockout final on Sunday. But they had already locked away the most important honour — the Gisborne women’s league title. The champions are, back row (from left): Chelsea Simpson, Britta Carroll, Mellissa Jones, Jamie Gedye, Mandy Owen, Stevie Clarke, Mandy Harbottle, Mandy Hughes, Emily Willock and Pip Thomson. Front: Coach Adrian Cutler, Bridget Hagar, Hollie Murrell, Michelle Elliott (holding Rusty), Lysha Shoosmith, Teah Kahaki, Kim-Maree Larby and Sarah Homer. Pictures by Liam Clayton

GISBORNE United ended Marist Thistle’s hopes of a women’s trophy treble in a Braybrook Cup knockout final decided by penalties at the weekend.

Tatapouri Marist Thistle, who won the Gisborne women’s league and first-round cup titles, were beaten 5-4 on penalties after the sides finished 1-1 after normal time then 30 minutes of extra time at Childers Road Reserve.

Heavy Equipment United’s Kayla Dalrymple and Mel Knight were the match-winners in the penalty shootout.

Sarah Graham, Rebecca Peach, Knight and Tessa McDonald scored from the spot for United.

Emily Willock, Kim-Maree Larby, Stevie Clarke and Teah Kahaki replied for Marist Thistle.

Both sides missed one of their five regulation penalty attempts.

Midfielder Knight, who took over as keeper for the shootout, then made a pivotal save, leaving Dalrymple to step up and score the winning goal.

“Kayla had to come off in the first minute with a calf injury but she came back on, and it was good to see her score that last penalty,” said United coach Mollie Adams.

“We were definitely the underdogs in our semifinal and final. We had to beat Riverina in the semi, a team we hadn’t beaten in two years, and we finished third in the league.”

“It would have been great to have won the cup to add to our other two trophies but it wasn’t to be,” said Marist-Thistle goalkeeper Pip Thomson, the longest-serving player from the Marist team who affiliated with Thistle this season.

Marist Thistle midfielder Emily Willock opened the scoring midway through the first half with a long-range effort only for United to hit back through Tessa McDonald.

Thomson and Adams said both teams had chances to score in the second half and during extra time.

“Marist dominated the first half and we had the better of the second half,” Adams said. “Our midfield of Karen McDonald, Sarah Graham and Mel Knight worked really hard to get us back into the game.”

Marist Thistle thought they had scored a second goal only for the referee to rule the whole ball had not crossed the line.

They also went agonisingly close when Mellissa Jones’s header from a corner hit the crossbar.

United had a golden chance when Graham had a one-on-one with Thomson, who won that battle.

“It was disappointing to lose on penalties but the most important thing is we won the league, which we haven’t won since 2002,” Thomson said.

Marist Thistle finished the league nine points clear of Riverina. They won 15 and lost two of their 17 games, scoring 81 goals and conceding 16.

Hollie Murrell and Michelle Elliott shared the bulk of the goals.

Thomson first played in goal for Lytton High School after being asked to fill in as the team didn’t have a keeper.

She played for Marist as a guest player at a national Marist tournament in 1986 while still at school and was with Gisborne City for a number of seasons before transferring to Marist in 1998.

“Since then I’ve always played for Marist but I think it is time to step aside and let the younger girls play. Finding someone who wants to be a goalkeeper is the problem.”

Thomson is not the only long-serving Marist player.

McDonald, who transferred to United this year to play alongside daughter Tessa, was with Marist from 1989; Mandy Owen and Jones since 1998.

Willock ?and Bridget Hagar have also been with the team for a while now.

For the newly-combined Marist-Thistle outfit, coached by Adrian Cutler, this season has been about rebuilding.

In Teah Kahaki (formerly GGHS), speedster Jamie Gedye (Campion), captain Kim-Maree Larby, Stevie Clarke and Chelsea Simpson, Cutler has the basis of a good squad for next season.