A superb penalty save by Football Ferns captain Victoria Esson with seven minutes remaining secured a rare draw on home soil for the FIFA Women's World Cup Finals co-hosts on November 15, as they were held to a 1-1 draw by a rampant Korea Republic in front of 3,523 fans at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch. It's the first time in nearly eight years that the Football Ferns have earned a draw on these shores, with a 1-1 outcome the result of their last stalemate in New Zealand, against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea at Bill McKinlay Park in February 2015. You have to go back to June 2012, and a 1-0 win over China at North Harbour Stadium, for the occasion of the Football Ferns' last win in Aotearoa, but after twelve minutes of this encounter in the Garden City, they were on course to update that particular record. Jungmi Kim's poor clearance on receipt of a Hyeri Kim back-pass presented Gabrielle Rennie with a terrific chance to open the scoring. The goalkeeper recovered well to block her shot - the striker will know she should have done better in the circumstances - but was powerless to prevent Olivia Chance from ramming home the rebound from twelve yards. The opening goal was greeted with a roar of delight from the crowd, but just two minutes earlier they were responsible for a collective sigh of relief, as it could just as easily have been the Koreans who opened the scoring with the game's first noteworthy attack. Mina Lee secured possession on the left and held the ball up well before timing her pass to perfection for the overlapping Selgi Jang to race onto. She took the ball to the by-line before picking out Guemmin Lee with a cross which was promptly touched into the stride of Hwayeon Son. She fair battered a fifteen-yarder which had "top near corner" written all over it until Esson tipped the ball over the bar, a save which earned the hometown heroine a roar of approval from the natives. Five minutes after going behind on the scoreboard, the Koreans came close to levelling the scores after a clumsy foul by Rennie. Hyeri Kim's free-kick wasn't cleared, and the first player to react was Seonjoo Lim, swiftly followed by Esson and Claudia Bunge. A split-second after the midfielder struck a rising drive which cleared the crossbar, the trio collided, with the goalkeeper the player who took the brunt of it. Thankfully, Esson was able to continue after treatment. The pace and penetrating runs of Paige Satchell were a feature of the first half for the Ferns, and in the 25th minute Kim was forced to save at her feet after Grace Jale and Rennie - the two changes to New Zealand's starting line-up - had combined to unleash the speedster through the middle. Alas, that was the only time Satchell's endeavours resulted in a threat on the Korean goal. For the most part, the visitors stood firm in the face of the home team's attacking threats, with Lim in particular snuffing out a number of promising raids before they could escalate in terms of the danger they posed. Instead, it was Colin Bell's team whose pursuit of an equaliser saw them threaten four more times before the break. Only a superbly timed sliding tackle from Katie Bowen prevented Son from capitalising on some rare ponderous play by Bunge on the half-hour, after which Esson smothered a Son drive after Meikayla Moore had directed a clearance straight to the striker. Eight minutes before half-time, Yeeun Park - the one change to Korea's starting eleven - combined with Hyojoo Choo to invite Guemmin Lee to fire a low cross into the danger zone. Bowen read it superbly, and stepped in to clear with the minimum of fuss. On the stroke of half-time, the visitors threatened again, Mina Lee switching play to Chaerim Kang on the right, where she got the better of Bunge before whipping in a cross to Guemmin Lee, who was unmarked eight yards out from goal and squandered a glorious chance to equalise, sending her attempt soaring over the bar with Esson scrambling. Satchell departed the fray at half-time, but her absence didn't impact on the Football Ferns initially. Chance and Rennie combined to give Jale a promising opening to exploit in the 49th minute, but Lim raced back to avert the danger. Two minutes later, Chance, Malia Steinmetz and Rennie combined on the right, with Jale the target of a hanging cross. Kim swiftly gobbled that up, one of the few times she got to handle the ball in anger during a second spell which the Koreans proceeded to dominate with the prevailing wind now at their backs. Mina Lee and Kang combined splendidly on the left in the 53rd minute, only for Bowen to save the day for the Football Ferns with another superbly timed tackle. The resulting corner from Guemmin Lee wasn't cleared, with Park's close-range effort narrowly clearing the crossbar. Two minutes later, Chance was caught in possession by Guemmin Lee, who instantly fed Choo on the right. Her cross to the far post found Mina Lee doing a fair impersonation of Michael Jordan, in terms of hang-time. Her header wasn't too shabby either, as Esson was forced to tip it round the post. This presented Korea with a 57th minute corner, and on this occasion, captain Hyeri Kim changed her normal delivery into the goalmouth routine, instead playing the ball to Jang, some twenty yards from goal. She promptly let fly, the ball careering straight towards Park, who improvised brilliantly, her subtle back-heeled flick six yards out from goal careering through the legs of Steinmetz and affording Esson no chance of preventing a deserved equaliser for the Taegeuk Ladies, as the Korea Republic women's team is affectionately known. Buoyed by the goal, the Koreans kept on coming,

and nearly gained some assistance from an unlikely source in the 62nd minute. Esson beat Son to the ball outside her penalty area and proceeded to dribble forward, looking for options. Son came back at her, forcing Esson to turn back and play the ball to Bunge, whose clearance only went as far as Guemmin Lee. She played in Mina Lee inside the penalty are, but Bunge dashed across to challenge and successfully block the shot, much to the relief of Esson, who had recovered her position twixt the sticks. From the resulting goal-kick, Indiah-Paige Riley chased down Choo then closed down Jang before securing possession and sending Rennie racing through the middle in pursuit of a first-time pass. The striker latched onto the ball, with three Koreans in hot pursuit. She got to the edge of the penalty area before letting fly, but shot straight at Jungmi Kim, much to the fans' disappointment. There was rugged play aplenty going on in the midst of all this, with the Football Ferns standing up to their physical opponents and fighting fire with fire. Referee Kate Jacewicz ended up booking six players in this battle royal, including Mackenzie Barry, who left her calling card on Choo three minutes after entering the fray in the 64th minute. The resulting free-kick was fired towards goal by Guemmin Lee, but never got near the target. Instead, Kang gathered it in near the left-hand touchline, and her clever back-heeled pass allowed Jang, once more on the overlap, to get to the by-line and fire in a dangerous cross which Moore sliced narrowly over her own crossbar - the way her facial expression changed from mortified to relieved in a split-second said it all! A brief lull in the intensity of the contest followed, before the final ten minutes saw everything ramping up again. Jungmi Kim's raking clearance in the 83rd minute was flicked on by Son to Guemmin Lee, who darted through the inside right channel into the penalty area, where she was clumsily upended by Esson. Referee Jacewicz instantly pointed to the penalty spot, and the vast majority of those of a Kiwi persuasion watching must have thought, "That's it, they've won it!". Esson wasn't amongst them, however - "Cleaning up my own mess" was how she described the situation afterwards as she proceeded to produce a stunning full-length save diving to her right to turn Son's spot-kick round the post and keep the Football Ferns on level terms. This denial was the undoubted highlight of a tremendous rearguard action which the Football Ferns produced throughout the second half to keep the Koreans at bay. Moore, Bowen, Bunge, Liz Anton and Barry, and those ahead of them, worked ceaselessly in their quest to stave off a year-ending defeat, in doing so producing a backs-to-the-wall Football Ferns performance so typical of the character of this team. True, they've a great deal of work to do in an attacking sense, for which they will rightly earn criticism, while they ride their luck at times. But you can't build a house without solid foundations, and when one considers that the likes of Catherine Bott, Ria Percival, Ali Riley and Rebekah Stott are on the recovery trail from injuries at present, Football Ferns coach Jitka Klimkova has a very solid base upon which she can rely as the quest for success on the world stage continues unabated. Some folk would suggest Abby Erceg should be added to that mix. For mine, no - this team can't and never has been able to afford to carry passengers, luxuries, players who pick and choose when they want to play for their country, or who consistently put self before team. Those attributes aren't part of the Football Ferns' DNA. The character of this squad has at its heart a very solid, long-established esprit de corps, of which full commitment to the cause is and has always been a critical element. If you play for this team, you're all in - little wonder Oceania employs that phrase in driving its women's football programme, as it's such a fundamental aspect of the make-up of the Confederation's flag-flying women's football team. Said team still had a bit to do to see this game through, however. Esson denied Son once again five minutes from time, the striker having been picked out by Hyeri Kim's wind-assisted free-kick from halfway. Moments later, a clash of heads left both Moore and Yuri Choe prone on the pitch, the latter forced to leave the ground on a stretcher, while the former saw not only stars but a yellow card for her part in proceedings as she made her way to the sideline, Kate Taylor her replacement. The newcomer wasted little time in showing her commitment to the cause, diving in where angels fear to tread in order to execute a diving headed clearance on the edge of the goal area to prevent Garam Chun from turning home a Guemmin Lee cross. It ensured the Football Ferns would conclude 2022 with a 1-1 draw against a strong Korea Republic side, as both teams continue their preparations for the FIFA Women's World Cup Finals in eight months' time, by which time the Football Ferns will need to have unearthed a winning formula to complement their defensive solidity. The latter is certain to be further tested in January when the world champions, Team USA, finally grace these shores, while Portugal and a still-to-be-confirmed opponent follow in February. Two matches in the week leading up to Easter and a further two in the weeks immediately prior to the Finals are also scheduled before the main event commences on July 20 - Norway at Eden Park. Football Ferns:     Esson; Moore (booked, 90) (Taylor, 90), Bowen, Bunge, Anton (Barry, 64 (booked, 67)); Jale, Hassett, Steinmetz (Cleverley, 64), Chance; Satchell (I. Riley, 46), Rennie (booked, 17) (Collins, 74) Korea Rep.:     J. Kim; Choo, H. Kim, Lim, S. Jang; G. Lee, Y. Park (booked, 85), M. Lee; Kang (C. Jang, 90), Son (booked, 58) (Ko, 90), Choe (booked, 48) (E. Park, 90) Referee:     Kate Jacewicz (Australia)