New Zealand’s Football Ferns produced one of their best performances in many a moon at Bluetongue Stadium on May 15, and were decidedly unlucky not to emerge with the reward their efforts fully merited from their latest clash with arch-rivals Australia in Gosford. Alas, a 22nd consecutive defeat in all clashes since October 1994 was their lot, but the 2866 fans present, not to mention the many watching this televised pre-FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals clash on both sides of the Tasman, know full well that the 2-1 scoreline flattered the Matildas. It is a wee while since New Zealand has produced this sort of ‘in your face’ performance against their nemesis, and having witnessed the last two such displays in Canberra - the 2003 OFC Women’s World Cup qualifying clash and the 2007 Waitangi Day encounter - the Australians certainly weren’t expecting this one, given they had overcome their trans-tasman counterparts 3-0 just three days previously. And the Football Ferns did it in the face of adversity, too, a hamstring strain in the pre-match warm-up denying midfield general Hayley Moorwood the opportunity to become the joint holder of New Zealand’s appearances record - she remains one cap behind 64-cap stalwart Wendi Henderson. Australia also had their pre-match concerns, striker Lisa De Vanna - no stranger to controversy, it must be said - being given her marching orders from the squad after breaching team protocol once too often for the liking of her team-mates. This development served to galvanise the host nation initially, Sam Kerr’s scampering cross-field run 95 seconds into the encounter culminating in a pass which allowed Catherine Cannuli to whip in a cross. As she did with just about every delivery from the flanks which headed her way throughout the match, Jenny Bindon dealt with this capably and confidently. Her opposite number, Melissa Barbieri, was similarly composed when Amber Hearn’s rampaging run from half-way past two opponents - Rebecca Smith’s interception and Katie Hoyle’s precise pass released the striker - culminated in a shot at the Australian captain in the fifth minute. Bindon, however, was found wanting positioning-wise in the ninth minute, as the Matildas took the lead. The solidly performed Kyah Simon played the ball wide to Kerr, whose hanging cross to the far post found Cannuli arriving eight yards out from goal. Her glancing header should never have crept inside Bindon’s near post, but the goalkeeper found herself somewhat bizarrely behind her goal-line when the striker met the dropping ball, and in no position to make any attempt at a save - a most uncharacteristic error from a player who prides herself on her performances. How the Football Ferns responded to this early setback would tell many folk who rarely get to see them in action - this was just the seventh time in history a match involving New Zealand’s national women’s team has been shown on TV - if this side is heading to Germany in six weeks just to make up the numbers, or with the intention of making a significant impact. What followed strongly suggests they will not be satisfied with a gallant first round exit, and rightly not. They tore into their rivals with a passion all too infrequently seen in these duels, their intentions clear from the twelth minute. Anna Green’s short free-kick saw the mightily performed Ria Percival - Moorwood’s eleventh hour replacement - let fly, only for Kim Carroll to block her shot. Betsy Hassett hooked the rebound wide, while two minutes later, Hearn and Rosie White combined to play in Hannah Wilkinson, who was only thwarted by the covering Claire Polkinghorne. In the sixteenth minute, there was genuine controversy in this trans-tasman duel, as a Green corner arrived in the goalmouth. Smith swooped, and steered the ball across goal to Hearn, whose close-range shot looked for all money over the line, or as near as damn it on the TV evidence! Barbieri, the tireless Tameka Butt and Elise Kellond-Knight combined to scramble the ball to safety in the eyes of referee Kate Jacewicz, but the conviction in the appeals of, in particular, both Hearn and Smith added further evidence to the case for the implementation of goal-line technology sooner rather than later. Australia survived this genuine scare, and another one seconds later, as Percival unleashed a teasing, curling twenty-five yarder which came right out of the sun as it headed towards Barbieri’s goal. The back-pedalling ‘keeper did well to tip the ball to safety. The home side found New Zealand’s invigorated rearguard nigh on impenetrable over the next few minutes, with Hoyle at her Javier Mascherano-like best as she combined with the Smith-led back-line to ensure Bindon had very little to do saves-wise all day long. The Football Ferns fired another warning shot across Australia’s bows in the 25th minute, and again it was a Green set-piece which was the source of the opportunity. The delivery was cleared to Rosie White, whose stinging twenty-five yarder prompted a smothered save by Barbieri. White’s next involvement, seconds later, proved the catalyst for a move which rocked the Matildas’ confidence to the core. The teenage terror gathered the ball on half-way and instantly swept it across field into the stride of Ali Riley, whose sublime first touch was followed by a burst of pace which took her clear of two opponents. Riley raced to the by-line and delivered an angled ball back to the near post, where Wilkinson was arriving on cue. Her angled eight yard first-time shot nutmegged both Servet Uzunlar and the unsighted Barbieri as it arrowed into the far corner of the net - a fine strike, with the goalkeeper’s reaction to letting the ball through her legs one for all Football Ferns fans to savour. The team certainly did, and looked to build on this massive boost to their self-belief.  Australia threatened first, though, but after Cannuli had fired wide from twenty yards upon receipt of Butt’s cross-field ball, Percival’s pressure on the right presented Abby Erceg with the chance to play the

ball forward to White, who was only denied by Polkinghorne’s timely interception on the half-hour. Three minutes later, another strong run by Butt - only Polkinghorne and Simon rivalled her as the Matildas’ best-performed players - saw the defence standing off as the midfielder charged to the edge of the penalty area, from where she sent a shot flashing narrowly past Bindon’s left-hand post. New Zealand’s response, seconds later, saw the dynamic White work her way to the right wing by-line before whipping in a cross which Hearn met under pressure. Her header looped into the hands of Barbieri, while the hard-working Simon responded with some fine play in the 38th minute, wrong-footing Hassett before belting a twenty-five yarder inches over the bar. Back came the Football Ferns, Hearn unhinging the Matildas’ right flank with a strong run past three opponents before checking inside to fire in a near post cross. White’s diving header flew past the upright, while Barbieri plucked a Green free-kick off Hearn’s head in the last act of a half in which Australia twice went close just prior, Erceg diverting Kerr’s shot for a Colette McCallum corner which clipped the crossbar. The second spell was just seconds old when the Football Ferns sought to press home their ascendancy. Percival caught Kellond-Knight in possession, an act which caught Wilkinson unawares, as she was twice found wanting in the next few seconds as deliveries from Percival and Hearn looked to reward their team-mate as she lurked eight yards from goal. Unperturbed, Percival pressed again, finding Australia’s defence all at sea with a 48th minute free-kick which found Hearn and Wilkinson like foxes in a henhouse with feathers flying everywhere. Sadly for New Zealand, mixed in with the feathers was the ball - the Matildas scrambled the sphere to safety. Australia regained the lead in the 55th minute, a tad against the run of play, it must be said. Butt went down under Erceg’s challenge on the edge of the penalty area, presenting McCallum with the chance to uncork another free-kick from her repertoire. That she did, to the delight of the Matildas and the despair of their opponents, her delivery arcing over the wall and in by the left-hand post as Bindon looked on from the other side of the goal, flat-footed. Again, a blow to test the Football Ferns’ fortitude. Have no fear where this team’s concerned, folks - they’ve got more bottle than a liquor store! The Matildas repeatedly found themselves on the back foot for much of the rest of the half as their opponents attempted to restore a parity only the most one-eyed Australian would have begrudged them. Within seconds of the goal, a Green corner was flicked on by Smith to Erceg, whose shot was blocked to safety. Five minutes later, the defender calmly wrong-footed an opponent before bringing the ball out of defence and releasing White down the left. She linked with Hassett to set up Hearn for a twenty-yarder which Barbieri smothered low to her right. White was all over the pitch, and popped up on the right wing in the 63rd minute as Smith picked her out with a probing pass. Standing up her opponent, the striker engineered the space from which to whip in a cross for which Hearn, Wilkinson and Hassett were queuing up in the penalty area. The last-mentioned was targeted, but the flying figure of Barbieri prevented Hassett from heading home the equaliser. More Ferns pressure followed, Wilkinson forcing Barbieri to save at her feet after Uzunlar was put in an awkward spot by the rampaging front-runner. And after Butt had shot wide after getting the better of Smith in the penalty area, Riley’s super cross-field ball caught White off-guard as the Matildas’ rearguard was once more unhinged. Emma Kete and Kirsty Yallop had entered the fray by this time, and the former was involved in an incisive 73rd minute raid which was sparked by the tireless Hoyle. White was the beneficiary of her challenge, and she linked with the full-of-running Green to present Kete with the chance to set up Hearn. Her drive cannoned off Carroll, while an eighteen-yarder from Hassett forced a save from Barbieri four minutes later, as Kete made further in-roads down the right. Unlike their opponents, the Matildas, while threatening, rarely penetrated the Football Ferns defences. When they did, Smith was colossal. A stunning tackle on Simon in the area thwarted the striker after Butt had played her in behind Erceg in the 75th minute, while eleven minutes later, Smith made stripping Sally Shipard of possession on the edge of the penalty area look no more challenging than taking candy off a baby. It was anything but, and the midfielder’s disbelieving look said as much. But time was the Football Ferns’ enemy, and the captain wasn’t for dwelling on the situation - a last rally of the troops saw New Zealand mount an all-out assault on the Australian goal in the dying minutes of the match, and if they’d been able to smuggle a kitchen sink out of the Star of the Sea Hotel, you can guarantee that would have featured in the finale. What did was a rasping twenty-five yarder from substitute Sarah McLaughlin which stung the gloves of Barbieri, who gratefully grabbed a Hassett snapshot soon after, her team-mates having failed to clear Green’s cross. A sliced clearance by Uzunlar earned the Kiwis a corner deep in stoppage time, which prompted Bindon to make an appearance in the Australian penalty area in the visitors’ desperate search for a richly deserved equaliser. Alas, it was not to be, with the Matildas resorting to ‘anywhere’ clearances as they held off the fast-finishing Football Ferns to register a 2-1 win over a well-performed side deserving of at least a draw. Matildas:     Barbieri; Polkinghorne (Perry, 64), Uzunlar, Carroll, Kellond-Knight; Shipard (booked, 45), McCallum (Van Egmond, 82), Butt; Kerr, Simon (booked, 78), Cannuli (Khamis, 46) F’ball Ferns:     Bindon; Riley, Smith, Erceg, Green; Percival (Yallop, 68), Hoyle (booked, 48), Hearn, Hassett; White (McLaughlin, 87), Wilkinson (Kete, 66) Referee:     Kate Jacewicz