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Australia
Frustrating Night For Ferns As Heartache Continues
by Jeremy Ruane
The Football Ferns' twenty-five years of heartache against Australia's Matildas continued unabated at Leichhardt Oval on February 28 as Tom Sermanni's charges deservedly went down 2-0 against the old enemy, who were last beaten by their Kiwi counterparts in October 1994.
The Matildas, who have undergone recent behind-the-scenes upheavals which saw Ante Milicic in charge of the team for the first time in this match, were on the front foot from the outset as the Kiwis once again went into a tournament - Argentina and Korea Republic are also involved - without the benefit of a warm-up match to get rid of the cobwebs and re-engage their combinations.
That lack of cohesion was swiftly exposed by the Australians, who, with the versatile and impressive Steph Catley leading the way, initially threatened via some slick counter-attacks before launching a fifth minute raid resulted in a corner, from which Caitlin Foord and Emily Van Egmond worked a one-two before picking out Elise Kellond-Knight with a cross.
Her twenty-five yarder was smothered by Erin Nayler, who, after seeing one of her team-mates scoop a Sam Kerr header to safety following Catley's deep cross, was called upon again in the seventeenth minute as Catley sent Emily Gielnik away down the left, from where she got the better of Meikayla Moore before delivering a low cross which Nayler blocked well at her near post.
The Football Ferns instantly mounted their own counter-attack, with Rosie White and Betsy Hassett combining to play a ball in behind The Matildas' rearguard for Sarah Gregorius to exploit.
Clare Polkinghorne stepped in to avert the danger, with the visitors offering very little in attack other than threats of this nature, with Gregorius' pace and timing of her runs the key to unhinging the Australian defence, a tactic which those in green and gold were swift to latch onto.
The visitors were fortunate to remain on level terms in the 25th minute when Kellond-Knight thundered a free-kick from the edge of the 'D' against the crossbar, soon after which Nayler made a fine save low to her right to keep out Kerr's powerful twelve yard header from an Ellie Carpenter cross.
From the resulting clearance, Kellond-Knight blundered, allowing Katie Bowen to pounce on the loose ball and lash a twenty-five yarder past the post. Had she seen the instantaneous run of White through the inside-right channel, a measured pass would almost certainly have given the former Liverpool striker a great chance to open the scoring.
Roused by this threat, Australia piled on the pressure, with Foord charging through from midfield before feeding Kerr through the inside-left channel, where she was thwarted at close quarters by Nayler.
The ball was cleared to Carpenter, whose cross struck Hassett on the arm at close range in the penalty area … you've seen them given, but this one wasn't, much to the Football Ferns' relief.
There was no respite for the black-clad Kiwis, with a teasing Catley cross-shot landing on the roof of Nayler's net before the Football Ferns mustered a couple of half-chances.
Hassett and Gregorius combined to present White with an opening, but Catley swiftly and decisively slammed shut that particular door, while in the 37th minute Gregorius finally found some daylight to work in, and evaded a couple of challenges before seeing her twenty yarder smothered by Lydia Williams.
Back came The Matildas, Foord and Catley working a wonderful one-two down the left before the former drove to the byline prior to pulling the ball back perfectly into the stride of Kellond-Knight. From ten yards, she steered her shot past the far post when scoring appeared to be the only option.
The Football Ferns were incensed when referee Fusako Kajiyama completely ignored a blatant foul on Gregorius by Alanna Kennedy in the 43rd minute, and their mood was darker still sixty seconds later as Australia opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time.
Abby Erceg had not enjoyed the greatest of returns to the international stage in this, her comeback match following her latest retirement. Stray passes and wild clearances were not what one has come to expect of the former Football Ferns captain, which would doubtless have come as quite a shock to her NZ mainstream media champions.
The goal was largely down to Erceg's untimely interventions. Catley yet again was a menace on the left, and delivered another teasing cross to the near
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post. Nayler came to grab it, and would have done so had Erceg not opted to head the ball out, straight to Gielnik.
The flanker controlled the ball neatly before, with Nayler barely back on her feet and well out of her goal, drilling a low shot towards the target. Erceg, in an attempt to avert her error, compounding it, the ball going through her legs en route to creeping into the net by the upright - 1-0 Australia, courtesy a half-time team-talk changer.
The second half saw the Football Ferns revert to a back four - a defensive trio hadn't worked, as the spaces behind wing-backs Ria Percival and Ali Riley were exploited to the fullest by The Matildas, Catley in particular.
But the home team were on top all over the park, Foord volleying over within seconds of the restart after Gielnik and Carpenter combined on the right. The Football Ferns offered an instant response, Hassett winning the ball before instantly releasing White, whose first-time shot was smothered by Williams.
Catley was soon on the march again, linking with Van Egmond, who threaded a ball in towards Foord. She got the better of Erceg, thereby allowing Kerr a shot at goal, one which the usually prolific markswoman fired past the post.
On the hour, Moore broke up an Australian attack, allowing Annalie Longo to release Gregorius through the inside right channel with an early ball. The speedster latched onto it instantly and promptly lobbed a first-time effort over the advancing figure of Williams towards the target. But much to the visitors' chagrin, the ball curled away from goal … 1-0 it remained.
It was all change at Grand Central Station soon afterwards, Australia introducing four substitutes simultaneously, one of whom, Amy Harrison, had an instant impact on proceedings.
Her 66th minute free-kick was punched out by Nayler to Tameka Butt, whose looping twenty yard volley crashed off the crossbar and into the stride of Gielnik. Her second goal of the game didn't materialise, however, as she directed a header straight into the grateful gloves of Nayler.
After White had tried to unsuccessfully chip the back-pedaling figure of Williams from distance, Harrison engineered three openings in quick succession, the last of which put the match beyond the visitors' reach.
The midfielder angled a ball through for the freshly introduced figure of Hayley Raso to pursue, but Nayler was swiftly off her line to save at the feet of the speedster, who just six months ago, feared she may never play again, the victim of a broken back.
Seconds later, another Harrison pass for Raso was cut out by Erceg, who, it must be said, had an improved second half showing. But she and her team-mates, Riley in particular, were powerless to prevent Raso from rifling home The Matildas' clincher fifteen minutes from time.
The striker wrong-footed the Football Ferns captain before dispatching the ball unerringly beyond Nayler after Harrison had emerged with the sphere in midfield following a mix-up between Longo and Percival.
Teresa Polias' bid to lash home a third goal nine minutes from time was headed out by Erceg, to which the Football Ferns responded via substitute Paige Satchell, whose low drive was well saved low to her right by Williams.
Another Football Ferns substitute soon appeared on the scene, and in Emma Kete's case, it was some seven years after she last sported the silver fern on the international stage.
A second fairytale return on the night wasn't forthcoming, however, as on her lone opportunity to drag the Football Ferns back into the contest, five minutes from time, she lost control of the ball at the vital moment when taking on Polkinghorne, an incident which summed up a frustrating night for the New Zealand team at the start of their preparations for the FIFA Women's World Cup Finals in 100 days' time.
Australia: Williams; Carpenter, Kennedy (Alleway, 63), Polkinghorne, Catley; Butt (Chidiac, 78), Van Egmond (Polias, 63), Kellond-Knight (Harrison, 63); Foord, Kerr (De Vanna, 63), Gielnik (Raso, 72)
Football Ferns: Nayler; Moore, Erceg, Stott (booked, 65); Percival, Bowen, Longo (Kete, 82), Hassett, Riley; White (Bott, 74), Gregorius (Satchell, 66)
Referee: Fusako Kajiyama (Japan)
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