Bugger! Bugger! Bugger! Bugger! Bugger! Bugger! So near, yet so far. So close to shattering that glass ceiling which is thwarting the Football Ferns' undeniable potential. All it needs is a win over a top-ten-ranked team … and on July 1, at the Rudolf Harbig Stadium in Dresden at the FIFA Women's World Cup Finals, that team was so nearly England. What a feather in the cap that would have been, for New Zealand, the colonial upstarts, to overcome the Motherland. And in the Fatherland at that! Oh, the irony! But for 62 minutes, it was more than a dream - it was a living, breathing, undeniable reality which so nearly came to pass. Sadly, for we inhabitants of this far-flung empirical outpost, it wasn't to be this time round, but the watching world, while acknowledging an England win, will be talking long and loud about the enormous strides the Football Ferns have made since the China Finals of this showpiece tournament four years ago. Theirs was a display which epitomised everything that makes up the word Kiwi. There was courage in spades; pride aplenty; endeavour; enterprise; a willingness to work tirelessly for the cause and for each other; initiative; improvisation; heroism; leadership; fearlessness; delight; and, sadly, in the end, despair. In some shape or form, you'll find all but that last attribute above in the code of ethics which is a key component of the Football Ferns package. There will be others I haven't mentioned - were I to do so, there'll be no room left for the match report! And what a match, one perhaps lacking at times in the highest footballing quality, with both England and New Zealand employing the direct approach more frequently than the cerebral one, but one which more than made up for this with a roller-coaster ride chock-full of emotions, ebbs and flows, highs and lows, delight and ultimately despair … bugger! England started strongly, and enjoyed the upper hand in the pressure stakes, but the Football Ferns held firm. Abby Erceg - unquestionably one of her finest displays in a white shirt - was rock-like in the twelfth minute to foil Ellen White, after she had caught Rebecca Smith in possession. Jenny Bindon then made keeping out a Fara Williams' thirty-five yarder look as easy as plucking a plum off a tree, before the Football Ferns first flexed their attacking muscles in the sixteenth minute. Sarah Gregorius - tireless throughout - chased down Rachel Unitt near the by-line and found Betsy Hassett up in support. The midfielder jinked her way into the box, only for her honest nature to kick in when she was tackled by Casey Stoney - had she gone down in the challenge, Cameroon referee Therese Neguel would have had an early test of the courage of her convictions, one which she was to fail in glaringly obvious fashion later in the game. At this time, however, her intervention wasn't necessary - the Football Ferns were quite capable of taking the lead without having to appeal to the referee for the privilege, and did so in the eighteenth minute. Anna Green sent Amber Hearn thundering through the inside-left channel at pace which culminated in the striker delivering a low first-time cross into the stride of Gregorius, who was lurking in between English defender six yards out from goal … the wrong-footed Karen Bardsley never stood a chance. 1-0 to the Football Ferns, with just their second attack of the match - the colonial upstarts were bossing the Motherland on the scoreboard! And for some strange reason, those charged with representing the Motherland didn't take too kindly to that situation, so sought to redress it in fairly short order. They hadn't reckoned on those colonial upstarts having a steely resolve to stand firm in the face of adversity, however. At times it was panic stations stuff, but the Football Ferns, to a woman, weren't going to give an inch, and it showed. England were forced to shoot from distance. Fara Williams, Rachel Yankey and Kelly Smith did so over the course of the next fifteen minutes, but lacked accuracy. The latter tried another route to goal, wriggling her way between Rebecca Smith and Katie Hoyle into the penalty area, only for Erceg to clear the danger posed by her low cross. It wasn't all one-way traffic, however. Anna Green's thirty-two yard free-kick stung the gloves of Bardsley in the 37th minute - Amber Hearn should have done better with a similar opportunity from closer range soon after - while Gregorius squandered a glorious chance to double the lead seven minutes before half-time when one-on-one with Bardsley, thanks to the industry of Ali Riley and Hearn. Unitt spared England's blushes on that occasion, while Faye White was responsible for thwarting Hoyle in the act of shooting on the occasion of the Football Ferns' midfielder's fiftieth international, Hearn and the tireless Betsy Hassett having set up their team-mate. Ria Percival stung the gloves of Bardsley soon after, while England's goalkeeper had to be on her toes to clear seconds later as Gregorius came racing in in a desperate attempt to crown a flurry of Football Ferns' attacks with a second goal before the interval. The final act of the half perhaps summed up the opening forty-five minutes of both teams. Eniola Aluko played in Kelly Smith, who let fly from inside the penalty area. But her New Zealand namesake, Rebecca, was in the right place at the right time to take the sting off the shot and considerably ease the saving burden on Bindon. The start of the second spell mirrored the first half in many regards. The Football Ferns stood firm in the face of English pressure, while offering plenty to trouble their European rivals. Indeed, just two minutes had elapsed when Rebecca Smith knocked the ball forward to Gregorius, who combined with Hassett to prise open England's defence and set up a headed opportunity which Hearn directed onto the roof of Bardsley's net. Ten minutes later, the Football Ferns were denied a clear-cut penalty. How referee Neguel failed to give anything when Faye White had Rebecca Smith in a near-headlock as they contested a Percival free-kick only she will know. It was to prove a crucial oversight. England had been pounding away at the other end in search of an equaliser since the resumption of play, but found Bindon, who saved at the feet of Kelly Smith just shy of the hour mark, well supported by Erceg, Percival and Rebecca Smith, as they frustrated Kelly Smith, Williams and Jill Scott on the hour, the last-mentioned having pressed forward since the interval. That tactical tweaking was soon to bear fruit for England, for Jill Scott it was who levelled matters in the 62nd minute. Ellen White picked out Alex Scott, whose first-time cross found her namesake soaring above Rebecca Smith. Jill Scott directed her

header beyond Bindon and into the top far corner of the net - 1-1. Bugger! As the Football Ferns reeled from this blow, Kelly Smith and Ellen White both went close to giving England the lead, before New Zealand wrestled back the initiative. Half-time substitute Hayley Moorwood saw her twenty-five yard drive deflected to safety, while with her first touch, Rosie White was only inches away from converting Riley's cross, the fullback having stripped Unitt of possession and dashed to the by-line before crossing to the far post. Eleven minutes from time, Hoyle and Gregorius teamed up with Moorwood, who evaded two challenges before curling an enticing cross to the far post, where Rosie White was arriving bang on cue. Alex Scott, later named FIFA's Player of the Match, saved a certain goal with her timely clearance. Back came the Motherland, Bindon producing a superb parried save to deny Kelly Smith after Jill Scott - a great off-the-ball run - and halftime substitute Karen Carney had linked on the right. Crucially, England swiftly regained possession after Bindon's save, with the ball very swiftly at the feet of Jill Scott once more. Despite being inside the penalty area, she seemed to retain possession unchallenged for an eternity, before sliding a pass into the stride of substitute Jessica Clarke. She smashed the ball into the roof of the net from eight yards to finally break the Football Ferns' resistance … Bugger! Bugger! Bugger! The goal set up a thrilling finale, with the Kiwis chasing an equaliser, yet at the same time vulnerable to copping a third goal against them on the counter-attack. England didn't reckon on Bindon, however, the 'keeper saving splendidly with her legs to thwart Carney in a one-on-one situation two minutes from time, a denial which meant the game would go right to the final whistle before its outcome could be confirmed. Soon after, with the 2-1 scoreline unchanged, referee Neguel duly blew for time. So, so close for the Football Ferns. Only one word truly does the situation justice from a Kiwi perspective … Bugger! England:     Bardsley; A. Scott, Stoney, F. White (Bradley, 86), Unitt; Aluko (Carney, 46), J. Scott, Williams, Yankey (Clarke, 65); K. Smith, E. White Football Ferns:     Bindon; Riley, Smith, Erceg, Green; Percival (R. White, 71), Hoyle, Hassett, Bowen (Moorwood, 46); Hearn, Gregorius (Wilkinson, 90) Referee:     Therese Neguel (Cameroon) POST-MATCH COMMENTS It was a proud but disappointed New Zealand captain who faced the fourth estate post-match, as Rebecca Smith explains. "It was a disappointment that we lost that game. "As a player, it's never fun to be leading and then lose, but I'm really proud of the team and how it performed. Like John (Herdman) said, I don't think anyone really left anything out there. I don't think there'll be any regrets going into our locker room now. Onto the next game, really". That game is against Mexico. "We saw Mexico tie with England and lose 4-0 to Japan, but it's a World Cup - anything can happen on any given day. There are different conditions to every game. "It's the third game, so I think you're playing for pride in that game, 'cause neither team will be going through. But we're really looking to get three points and make our country proud". Foreign media representatives already considered the latter goal has been achieved, simply by comparing the Football Ferns' efforts at these Finals with those at China 2007. Smith didn't dispute their thinking. "Women's football in NZ has improved so much in the last four years that it looks like a totally different team from four years ago in China, and that's something we're really proud of, 'cause that's been a lot of hard work, both domestically and with players playing in professional leagues around the world. "Hopefully it was a good game to watch (tonight), and the fans enjoyed it. It was exciting for us on the field, so I'm sure it was exciting in the stands. The fans here were amazing - they just added to the atmosphere. It was a great game to play in". And one which New Zealand was in a position to win, but didn't. In the captain's eyes, "It comes down a little bit to experience. We did a good job leading England for about an hour, but they knew that they had the pressure to win, so they ended up sending more players forward from midfield, and they did a good job. We knew that they had quality players and those players really stepped up. "We also can improve on things like keeping the ball - a little bit more ball possession, 'cause it's hard to defend for ninety minutes. The best defence is offence. In the end, I'm really proud of the girls, but we just couldn't do it". At the conclusion of the match, the Football Ferns unleashed their haka on an unsuspecting world, and it fascinated foreign media. Smith explained its significance to them. "The haka was something we made up for our team at the Olympics in 2008. The lyrics were made up by Kristy Hill and some of her Maori friends - the Maoris are the indigenous people of NZ. It's a war dance, and we do it normally before a game - the All Blacks have one. "We obviously have our own one, and it has quite a big significance for us. It brings us together. It showed that even though we've lost today, we're still very proud of our performance, thanking our fans for being there, and moving onto our next performance as a team, still united and looking for our first three points". * * * * * The nemesis of New Zealand in Dresden had a big smile on her face after the match, and can you blame her? Jill Scott scored the equaliser and set up the winner to see England past the Football Ferns, who had led at the hour mark. "We like to do it the hard way - that's England all over, isn't it? "I wouldn't say it got nervous, though. I think we always believed that if we got the ball down and passed it then we'd get something out of the game. We've created a lot of chances these past two games but haven't put them away. "It was definitely a relief when the ball went in, however. But we knew that we had to win, so we still had a job to do. Jess (Clarke) did well to come on and get the winner. Hope (Powell) said at half-time that she would like to see us combine with the wide players and try to get into the box. That's what I tried to do, and I think it worked. "Obviously I'm pleased to score, but at the end of the day, as long as we get the win (is what counts). We said today that, regardless of the performance, let's come off the pitch with three points, and obviously we've done that and we take great comfort from that".