5,037 fans descended on Christchurch's Orangetheory Stadium on November 12, hoping to cheer the Football Ferns on to victory in their first game on home turf since 2018, and their first in the Garden City since 1991. Unfortunately for the Ferns and their fans, their opponents, Korea Republic, didn't read the script, and emerged victorious 1-0 in the first of two matches between the teams, the second of which takes place at the same venue on Tuesday. There was plenty of activity in the middle third of the pitch in the opening stages of the contest, with the home team - 'tis a long time since that phrase has been used where the Football Ferns are concerned - starting well, and surviving some meaty challenges from the Koreans as part of the deal. Paige Satchell, in particular, was targeted by the visitors in this regard, especially after playing a part in the game's first opportunity, in the ninth minute. A slip by Korean captain Hyeri Kim was pounced on by the speedster, who scampered through the inside left channel before seeing her cross blocked by Seonjoo Lim. Olivia Chance was following up, and unleashed a rising snapshot which fizzed narrowly past the far post, much to the relief of Korean goalkeeper Jungmi Kim, who was rooted to the spot and wouldn't have had a prayer of stopping the shot had it been on target. It wasn't until the 25th minute that the next opportunity rolled around, and by this time the Koreans were enjoying the better of the exchanges. Guemmin Lee initially raided down the right, but her progress was halted by Betsy Hassett's slick tackle. The ball broke kindly for Mina Lee, whose clever reverse pass allowed Guemmin Lee to exploit space on the left-hand side of the Ferns' rearguard, from where she delivered a cross. Christchurch native Meikayla Moore headed the ball away, but only as far as Selgi Jang, whose tame shot was easily smothered by Victoria Esson. The Football Ferns captain is another Garden City native, and was called upon again on the half-hour, this time saving at the feet of Chaerim Kang after Yuri Choe and Hwayeon Son worked a neat one-two on the left, allowing the former to get in a cross as Katie Bowen looked to tackle her near the by-line. Sixty seconds later, Korea opened the scoring. Liz Anton was subjected to a torrid examination of her defensive credentials throughout this contest, often having to deal with both Kang and overlapping fullback Hyojoo Choo, occasionally simultaneously. On this occasion, Choo pounced on a poor headed clearance by Anton, and her low cross was dummied by the clever Son - Korea's star turn on the day - to allow Mina Lee, following in behind to thrash an unerring fifteen yard drive beyond the diving figure of Esson, much to the delight of the Korean Society of Christchurch, who turned out in great numbers to provide the players from their homeland with outstanding support. Buoyed by the goal, the Koreans kept on coming, Claudia Bunge blocking a 33rd minute strike from Guemmin Lee after she had been picked out by Son's splendid pass across the top of the Football Ferns' penalty area. Four minutes before half-time, a stray pass from Moore - there were too many of these from the Football Ferns, particularly in the first spell - allowed Son to secure possession and swiftly switch possession to Kang. She let fly with a wild effort from the edge of the penalty area which threatened the empty stand behind the goal, a target she should have at least hit. Not only were Football Ferns' passes not sticking, they suffered an early injury to Emma Rolston, the one change from the team which took on Japan last month. Creative attacker Grace Jale took over her central striker role, but it wasn't until Gabrielle Rennie took to the field at the start of the second spell that the Football Ferns had a genuine target to look for up top. The newcomer was swiftly involved. Esson dominated in the air - Esson Air, anyone? - throughout proceedings, and after grabbing a cross on this occasion sparked a swift counter-attack, which saw the ball swiftly shifted by Bowen and Jale to Rennie, who took on the defence but was always looking for support inside her instead of taking on all-comers. As a result, the Koreans were able to control her progress, and the opportunity was lost, a statement which doesn't apply where the visitors' 51st minute attack was concerned. A corner was delivered

beyond the far post to Guemmin Lee, who guided the ball down to Son. Her shot through a crowded penalty area crept inches past the upright, with both Esson and Moore in close attendance ensuring this was the case. Cue more Korean pressure. Jang beat Indiah-Paige Riley to the ball and took on Moore, before working a one-two with Choe, whose delicious back-heeled return invited Jang to let fly. Esson smothered this effort at her near post, but could only look on in the 56th minute as Son's angled header across goal just cleared the crossbar, after Kang and Choo had combined on the right. Esson produced a fabulous full-length diving save to deny Mina Lee's bid to double her goal tally on the hour. Choe and Kang combined on the left before inviting the goalscorer to let rip from twenty yards, only for Esson to tip the shot round the post. That was the cue for the Football Ferns to up their game. Anton and Chance combined on the left, with Riley the beneficiary of the latter's pull-back from the by-line. The former Australian age-grade international had time to control the ball before picking her spot. Instead, she snatched at a first-time volley, and over the bar the sphere sailed. Unperturbed, the Ferns came again, with Chance presented with a golden chance to equalise in the 66th minute as a stray Korean pass in their defensive third allowed Celtic's former Claudelands Rovers star to home in on goal. She let rip from the edge of the penalty area, but her shot lacked accuracy, and Chance's reaction immediately afterwards spoke volumes, as did the accompanying groans of dismay from the home fans. Football Ferns coach Jitka Klimkova turned to "Plan C" - Ava Collins and Daisy Cleverley were unleashed on proceedings, but they took time to make an impact. Before they could, Esson had to clear her lines swiftly as a Hassett back-pass was well anticipated by Son, while the goalkeeper was right behind another Guemmin Lee effort thirteen minutes from time, after she'd got the better of Jale. The remainder of the match was one-way traffic, as wave after wave of black-clad Kiwi raids caused problems galore for Korea Republic. The versatility of Bowen - she had a fine game - was again to the fore as she switched from her central defensive role to an attacking outlet. She was instantly involved, linking with Collins, who presented Chance with another opportunity to level the scores. This time, she evaded two opponents before battering her shot against the post from ten yards, with goalkeeper Jungmi Kim beaten all ends up. That really got the crowd going, and Ferns chants rang out from the stand, spurring their heroines on. Hassett was taken out - referee Reibelt allowed the Koreans a lot of leniency in this regard, particularly bookings-wise - but Jale kept the move going and sent Chance surging through once more. The goalkeeping Kim careered off her line to save at the playmaker's feet in the 81st minute. Four minutes later, Collins and Chance combined with Rennie, who held the ball up well before inviting Chance to shoot once more. Kim grabbed this snapshot, and smothered a Cleverley drive in stoppage time after Mackenzie Barry linked with Bowen, who worked a one-two with Hassett before pulling the ball back from the by-line, just beyond the reach of Collins. Cleverley's effort proved to be the last of the match, with the Football Ferns left to rue missed opportunities once more, and reflect on things upon which they need to work - making passes stick, controlling the ball better under pressure, and making composure a key component of their execution process in front of goal. More of this in this contest, and the outcome would almost certainly have been different. As it is, they've three days to work on these things, along with a plan to counter Korea's right flank raids, before they take on the same opposition at the same venue on Tuesday evening, with a long-awaited win on home soil their ambition as they play their final game of 2022, as the countdown to our FIFA Women's World Cup Finals continues apace. Football Ferns:     Esson; Moore (booked, 35), Bowen, Bunge (booked, 54), Anton (Barry, 83); Hassett, Steinmetz (Cleverley, 67), Chance; Satchell (Rennie, 46), Rolston (Jale, 16 (booked, 44)), I. Riley (Collins, 67) Korea Rep.:     J. Kim; Choo (booked, 87), H. Kim, Lim (Y. Park, 72), S. Jang; G. Lee, Y. Kim, M. Lee (booked, 64); Kang (E. Park, 83), Son (Y. Jang, 90), Choe Referee:     Casey Reibelt (Australia)