Captain Contented After Clinching Olympic Berth by Jeremy Ruane The Football Ferns arrived home from their Olympic qualifying odyssey late on March 9, and like her team-mates, squad captain Hayley Moorwood was tired but contented after a demanding tour of Australia and Papua New Guinea. “Four games in seven days made for a pretty tough week”, reflected Lynn-Avon United's midfield maestro. “But we got some goals against Australia before realising our main focus of this tour, getting the result against Papua New Guinea”. That 2-0 victory meant the Football Ferns became the first New Zealand football team to ever qualify for an Olympic Games Football Tournament. And like the OlyWhites, who qualified for Beijing 2008 twenty-four hours after their female counterparts, the girls must now await the outcome of a meeting between NZ Football and the NZ Olympic Committee to determine their fate. While that is out of her control, the bright-eyed 24-year-old remains excited about the team's achievements on this latest tour, which saw New Zealand clock up its 100th international on foreign soil in Port Moresby. “We had to cope with the heat there - and it was hot!! But we dealt with it mentally and came away with the win after an extremely physical game. Overall, it was a good team effort. “There were three highlights of the week for me”, the 29-times-capped star continued. “Scoring three goals against a team of Australia's calibre - they were quarter-finalists at last year's Women's World Cup Finals, don't forget - and playing as well as we did against such a quality team served to emphasise how far we've come in the last five months, never mind the last year. “Going in 2-1 up at half-time in the final game against Australia was a really good feeling”, grinned Moorwood, whose dipping twenty-yard drive just before the interval put the Football Ferns in front on the scoreboard for the first time in any match between these trans-tasman rivals since 1994. “Unfortunately, we lost 4-2, but hopefully when we're in that position in future, we'll apply the lessons we've learnt on this occasion and hold on for the win”.

Hard Selection Task Ahead For Herdman by Jeremy Ruane The Football Ferns' qualification for the Olympic Women's Football Tournament in Beijing this August has given coach John Herdman the sort of headache every coach dreams about yet dreads - who to omit. Only eighteen players can be selected under the tournament regulations, and New Zealand's mentor knows full well the task his charges have given him will not be an easy one. “To think there are still players to add to this squad who were unavailable this time round”, he reflected upon returning from New Zealand's Olympic qualification tour late on Sunday evening. “The girls will have to knuckle down and work really hard if they want to be in the team. It's going to be survival of the fittest”. As it was for the sixteen-strong squad during their tour, which took in three matches against Australia  on the Sunshine Coast, before the all-important qualifier against Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby. “It was a full-on week, and a tough tour, but a very rewarding one for the players - they did the business when it mattered most. “The Australian leg of the tour was a delight - a real highlight“, beamed Herdman. “But going into PNG was tough. In terms of the preparation, playing four games in seven days was a bit of a risk, but so was the heat and the awful playing surface we encountered”. The one-off Olympic qualifying clash was played on Port Moresby's rugby league ground, which was riddled with stones and ruts, and was extremely hard and bumpy. It made for challenging playing conditions, on top of the intensely physical battle which the Football Ferns had to endure. “I'm really proud just coming out of that game with the win, to be honest”, reflects New Zealand's coach. “PNG camped behind the ball, and bullied New Zealand out of it. The referee, Australia's Tammy Ogston, admitted afterwards she'd been a bit lenient, mainly for fear of inciting the crowd”. Victory over Papua New Guinea means the Football Ferns can begin making plans for their next international assignment. It's likely to involve matches in Asia, either against teams preparing for the Asian Women's Cup in late May, or in the second Peace Queen Cup tournament in Suwon, Korea Republic, in June.