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Australia 1
Matildas Continue Football Ferns' Scoreless Streak
by Jeremy Ruane
The Football Ferns' scoreless streak continued unabated at Stockland Park on the Sunshine Coast on March 1, as Australia's Matildas downed their trans-tasman rivals 2-0 in the first of a three-match series between the teams.
An uncharacteristic error by goalkeeper Jenny Bindon, when she gifted possession to Sarah Walsh in the sixteenth minute, was supplemented by a twenty-five yarder from Jo Burgess just shy of the hour mark which sealed victory for the Matildas, who were on the back foot for lengthy periods of this trans-tasman encounter.
The Football Ferns, for whom the three-match series serves as ideal preparation for their Olympic qualifying encounter with Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby on March 8, surprised the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup quarter-finalists by taking the game to their rivals.
The sight of Merissa Smith giving the influential yet aging - a week shy of her 34th birthday - Cheryl Salisbury her comeuppance on more than a few occasions spurred the enterprising Kiwi combination onwards, while Renee Leota, Emily McColl and captain Hayley Moorwood wasted little time in reminding their opponents that the Football Ferns are not a team to be taken lightly.
Indeed, in hitting the post, McColl came closest to scoring New Zealand's first goal from open play against non-Oceania opposition since Amanda Crawford's effort against Japan in the Pacific Cup encounter at the Sydney Football Stadium on June 2, 2000 - yes, it is that long ago!
Smith brought the best out of Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams with a long-range effort ten minutes from time, while Kirsty Yallop was another to go close for the Football Ferns, her shot on the turn blocked to safety as she marked her return to action with a solid performance, her first since Anzac Day last year.
That day saw her become the second of five New Zealand internationals - Melissa Ray, Rebecca Tegg, Marlies Oostdam and U17 starlet Rosie White being the others - to fall victim to the dreaded anterior cruciate ligament injury which has plagued some of this country's foremost female footballing stars in the past twelve months.
Leota was the only player to give the Football Ferns any concerns on the injury front following this encounter, the battering she took from the battle-hardened Matildas rearguard seeing her make way for Wendi Henderson in the dying minutes.
That substitution means the Wellington stalwart is now New Zealand's most-capped women's international outright, her 61st appearance for her country surpassing the mark Maureen Jacobson set upon donning the silver fern for the final time on March 30, 1996, against Australia at Ken Maunder Park.
The Matildas won 2-0 that day as well, but twelve years on, Football Ferns coach John Herdman continues to be encouraged by the efforts of a young team which is improving by the match.
“Today was a decent performance, a strong performance, one which gave the Matildas a bit of a shock, to be fair. During my time as a national coach,
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 Jenny Bindon - uncharacteristic error
 Kirsty Yallop - back in action at long last
 Emily McColl - hit the post
 Wendi Henderson - new caps record-holder
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we've never dominated an Australian team to the extent that we did in the first half of this match, when we had the wind behind us.
“In the early stages of the second spell, we struggled to get out of our half, but once we mastered the wind into which we were playing, we controlled things again during the last twenty minutes.
“But it was also a disappointing performance in some ways, and the girls are certainly downbeat after that result. We spent a lot of time in the attacking third of the pitch, but we've got to start scoring goals - we certainly can't afford to gift them to our opponents, as we did with the opening goal.
“It was an uncharacteristic error from Jenny Bindon, but it was a really sloppy goal, and so unnecessary. It contributed to a brief loss of belief for a twenty-minute spell, during which we started going back to our old ways. But we overcame that, and finished the game strongly”.
Two players who shone throughout for Herdman was the central defensive pairing of Maia Jackman and Abby Erceg. “They completely controlled the Australian strikers”, says the coach, who was similarly impressed with the efforts of Leota and Smith in attack - “they really looked like they were giving Australia problems”.
Matildas coach Tom Sermanni was reasonably pleased with his team's display, and was gracious in acknowledging his opponents' efforts. “I'm pleased with the result considering the adjustments we had to make to our team.
“We are missing several regular and experienced players, and it was our first competitive match since the World Cup. It was always going to be a difficult fixture against a well organised and focused New Zealand team, who have made considerable improvement since we last met in July last year”.
The Matildas weren't without their chances in the match, which marked the fiftieth appearance of Walsh for her country. Heather Garriock saw her close-range effort cleared off the line in the shadows of the half-time whistle, and hit the crossbar with a header just after the hour mark, before directing another header over the woodwork fourteen minutes from time.
Clare Polkinghorne twice went close soon after the interval, first with a header then with a shot which hit the post and rebounded straight to Bindon in the 49th minute.
The teams resume their series on Monday at Stockland Park on the Sunshine Coast, the match kicking off at 6.30pm NZ time.
Details:
Australia 2 (S. Walsh (16), J. Burgess (54)), New Zealand 0 HT 1-0
Matildas: Lydia Williams; Clare Polkinghorne, Karla Reuter (Lyndsay Glohe, 63), Cheryl Salisbury, Amber Neilson; Heather Garriock (booked, 58), Sally Shipard, Colette McCallum, Jo Burgess (Amy Chapman, 60); Caitlin Munoz, Sarah Walsh
Football Ferns: Jenny Bindon; Ria Percival, Maia Jackman, Abby Erceg, Ali Riley; Simone Carmichael (Annalie Longo, 65), Emily McColl, Hayley Moorwood, Kirsty Yallop (Emma Kete, 78); Renee Leota (Wendi Henderson, 85), Merissa Smith
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