The Football Ferns concluded their SheBelieves Cup campaign on February 23, holding the Czech Republic to a scoreless draw at Frisco's Toyota Stadium in freezing conditions, so much so that all players were wearing gloves and Kiwi centurions Ali Riley and Hannah Wilkinson donned track pants as well in an effort to stave off the sub-zero temperatures. The striker was clearly eager to get warm early in the contest, twice going close to thwarting clearances by Czech goalkeeper Barbora Votikova inside the first seven minutes of a match in which Football Ferns coach Jitka Klimkova - a special occasion for her, coaching a team against her native land - made four changes to her starting line-up. One of those changes was called upon after twelve minutes to keep out a thirty-yarder from Katerina Buzkova, a feat Victoria Esson comfortably accomplished. Her distribution ignited a counter-attack featuring Riley, Ria Percival and Catherine Bott, whose first-time cross was spilled then gathered by Votikova under pressure from Wilkinson. There was nip and tuck aplenty in this engaging affair, with another of the fresh faces in the Football Ferns' ranks, Malia Steinmetz, making a very strong case for future appearances via an extremely eye-catching performance in central midfield, one which allowed Percival and the versatile Katie Bowen greater freedom to play in more advanced roles than both usually enjoy. The Czechs engineered a great chance to break the deadlock in the 25th minute when Michaela Khyrova, on receipt of a pass from Anna Dlaskova, turned the generally well-performed Claudia Bunge and tore into the penalty area, where she unleashed a rising drive towards the top far corner of the net. Esson dived to her left to divert the shot to safety, before presenting the Czechs with another chance to break the deadlock ten minutes later, via a scuffed clearance upon receipt of a pass from Steinmetz. Before Tereza Krejcirikova had a chance to capitalise, however, Bunge was all over her like a rash and calmly restored order. With Paige Satchell having lashed a twenty-yarder past the post in between these threats, after Wilkinson had latched onto a loose ball to create the opening, the Football Ferns forged another opportunity six minutes before half-time. Percival played a corner short to Bowen, who evaded an opponent before picking out Gabrielle Rennie with her cross. She wasn't able to make any progress before the ball was cleared, only as far as the Football Ferns' corner-taker, who had by now taken up a more threatening position on the park. Percival duly uncorked a lobbed effort over all-comers from the edge of the penalty area, one which the back-pedalling figure of Votikova was forced to turn onto the crossbar, before gathering the rebound under no pressure. It wasn't long before the black-clad Kiwis were threatening again, Satchell leading the charge on the right before feeding the overlapping figure of Bott, who evaded two opponents before firing in a low cross behind Wilkinson, who had made the right run but didn't time it to perfection. The second half was eight minutes old when Bowen's pressure forced an error in the centre circle, onto which Bott pounced like a fox in a henhouse. Away she raced through the inside right channel, with three defenders on her heels and Wilkinson unmarked to her left. Bott had one thing in mind, however, and kept on running before seeing the whites of Votikova's eyes and battering her shot into the side-netting - without question, the chance of the match so far, one from which Bott, who was now playing in an attacking midfield role in preference to her customary right-bank duties, should have at least hit

target. After the fit again Abby Erceg had blocked a shot from Andrea Staskova, the Football Ferns went close to breaking the deadlock on the hour. Halftime substitute Daisy Cleverley - Percival hasn't been withdrawn from the fray in many of her 160 internationals to date - combined with Wilkinson and Steinmetz to bring fellow halftime newcomer Liz Anton into play. Her deep cross from the right was flicked on by Wilkinson towards Bott, who was clearly relishing her new-found freedom compared with having to satisfy defensive duties. The intervention of Katerina Kotrcova six yards out from goal foiled this particular opportunity, but there is unquestionably some mileage to be gained from playing Bott further forward, with a dedicated defender - Anton, in this case - in behind. As if to emphasise the point, Bott thundered a twenty-five yarder narrowly past the post halfway through the second half after receiving a pass from Riley, then working a slick one-two with Bowen on the left flank. The Czechs responded by stepping up the tempo - they sensed a winning goal was theirs for the taking in the last twenty minutes, and only the offside flag prevented Antonie Starova from scoring it in the 73rd minute, the substitute having been in an offside position when Dlaskova slammed a twenty yarder against the angle of post and bar. The Football Ferns responded with a neat move four minutes later, Anton, Erceg and substitute Olivia Chance combining to release Riley at pace down the left, something which the Czechs struggled to counter. The skipper delivered a super cross for Emma Rolston to exploit, but her header lacked the power to trouble Votikova. There was only one team in it in the final ten minutes, but try as they might, the Czechs couldn't deliver the killer blow, though it wasn't for the want of trying. Erceg blocked a Miroslava Mrazova shot, the ricochet being cleared to Klara Cahynova, whose drive was smothered by Esson. The Kiwis endured a real let-off a minute from time, after Erceg had headed a Krejcirikova free-kick out to Simona Necidova. Her cross to the far post picked out Kotrcova, who took advantage of an untimely stumble by substitute Meikayla Moore to head goalwards from four yards. But she directed her effort too close to Esson, who plunged to her left to maintain her record of not having yet conceded a goal for her country in an "A" international, although she had the crossbar to thank for that still being the case in stoppage time after Mrazova let rip with a curling twenty-yarder. That was the last chance of an absorbing contest played in bone-chilling conditions, the Football Ferns concluding their SheBelieves Cup campaign with a point to their name and plenty of things to work on in the roughly 500 days which remain before they take to Eden Park in front of the eyes of the footballing world on 20 July next year. One of those elements is the team's structure. Is 4-3-3 the formation which best suits the talent coach Klimkova has at her disposal? Given our goalscoring dilemmas, perhaps a less conventional set-up best suits this team's strengths and available resources? Something to ponder … Czech Rep.:     Votikova; Kotrcova, Bertholdova, Necidova, Dlaskova; Slajsova (Cerna, 78), Cahynova, Buzkova (Starova, 64), Khyrova (Mrazova, 64); Krejcirikova (Pochmanova, 90), Martinkova (Staskova, 46) Football Ferns:     Esson; Bott (Stott, 82), Bunge (Moore, 83), Erceg, Riley; Percival (Cleverley, 46), Steinmetz, Bowen; Satchell (Chance, 68), Wilkinson (Rolston, 62), Rennie (Anton, 46) Referee:     Danielle Chesky (USA)