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Belgium
Ferns Survive Dismissal, Penalties To Reach Semis
by Jeremy Ruane
The Football Ferns showed courage in the face of adversity to reach the Algarve Cup semi-finals after seeing off Belgium 7-6 on penalties at the Estadio Municipal da Bela Vista in Parchal, Portugal, on March 4, after a late Belgian equaliser brought about a 1-1 draw after ninety minutes.
That goal came against a Football Ferns side which, despite having been reduced to ten women after Claudia Bunge committed her second bookable offence in three minutes twenty minutes from time, looked to have rediscovered their mojo in a performance which was much more like those we've come to expect of New Zealand Football's flagship team.
The Belgians looked to exploit New Zealand's initial rustiness early in the contest, Charlotte Tison and Elena Dhont - a sumptuous first-time round-the-corner pass - combining to get Janice Cayman in behind Ali Riley in the third minute. Her cross picked out Marie Minnaert, whose header was greedily grabbed by Erin Nayler.
Four minutes later, the European side threatened again, a short corner routine involving captain Tessa Wullaert and Cayman culminating in the latter's shot being blocked by Rebekah Stott, who had a monstrous game at the heart of a Football Ferns' rearguard which welcomed the return of Meikayla Moore following her Achilles tendon rupture-enforced absence.
Another player to shine for Tom Sermanni's team was Katie Bowen, whose pressure forced Justine Vanhaevermaet into an under-hit twelfth minute back-pass which saw Hannah Wilkinson's eyes light up, swiftly followed by her after-burners.
She stormed onto the ball before charging into the penalty area, taking on Heleen Jaques in the process. The central defender did a splendid job in holding off the Football Ferns' front-runner, and featured again when the Oceania champions carved out their first opening of the game of their own volition six minutes later.
Bunge pinged a ball forward which Wilkinson, playing in the targetman role best suited to her powerful physique, raced after, beating advancing goalkeeper Nicky Evrard to the ball outside the penalty area then holding off the challenge of Tison while slipping the sphere into the stride of Olivia Chance's supporting run.
Tison recovered to get back and divert Chance's shot skywards, allowing Jaques, who had raced into the goalmouth to cover Evrard's absence, to head the ball off the line and to safety.
The Football Ferns were settling into their stride by now, and began to dominate proceedings against a team ranked six places higher than them in the most recent FIFA rankings.
They next threatened on the half-hour with two efforts on goal, the second of which saw Catherine Bott sting the gloves of Evrard from distance, seconds after the talented but temperamental wing-back won possession on the right, an opening which Betsy Hassett plundered mercilessly before setting up Wilkinson, whose fierce drive was deflected narrowly over the bar.
If a goal was going to be scored before half-time, the Football Ferns had to score it, such was their superiority, and in the 37th minute they gained due reward for their efforts.
A crunching tackle by Riley - an impressive display - on Dhont broke up a Belgian raid, the ball breaking kindly for Hassett to latch onto and send a delicious inch-perfect pass into the stride of Chance, who was careering through the inside left channel at a great rate of knots.
So fast, in fact, that nary a Belgian defender could get anywhere near her as she swept deep into the penalty area before beating Evrard all ends up from six yards, battering the ball over the 'keeper and into the roof of the net to spark joyous celebrations among the Football Ferns - as you do when it's the first goal scored by the team in seven internationals!
Buoyed by the goal, the black-clad Kiwis went on the prowl for a second in the early stages of the second half. Riley led the charge in the fiftieth minute, with Chance lashing her twenty yard effort narrowly over the bar.
Nine minutes later, Moore's interception thwarted a Belgian raid and instantly sparked a counter-attack, with Riley the outlet ball. The captain's turn and pass sent Wilkinson thundering through the inside left channel, where she got the better of Jaques before letting fly with a shot which Evrard pushed to safety. Had Chance or Hassett been following in …
By now, Belgium were beginning to become more prominent in attack. On the hour, Moore's timely intervention prevented Cayman from getting on the end of a Wullaert cross, while after Laura Deloose narrowly escaped getting caught in possession inside her own penalty area by Wilkinson, Bott showed both sides of her nature in a couple of key exchanges with Lola Wajnblum.
In the 66th minute, the substitute was closed down near the goal-line by both Bunge and Bott, who, with the ball now out of play, deliberately shoved her opponent off the pitch and into some athletics equipment located nearby, an action which quite rightly earned the ire of the Belgians, for it was
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completely unnecessary, but one well in keeping with the nasty streak in Bott's make-up which detracts from her game.
The more impressive side to it was in evidence within two minutes, a superb tackle on Wajnblum by Bott which stopped another Belgian attack in its tracks. Bunge looked to follow suit sixty seconds later, but felled Davinia Vanmecheln from behind with a scything challenge which saw the substitute depart the fray on a stretcher.
Worse was to come for Football Fern #186. Just three minutes later, in the 72nd minute, Bunge executed another ill-timed challenge, one which left Wullaert flat on her back, having been in full flight heading towards the penalty area. Czech Republic referee Olga Zadinova had no option but to brandish the yellow card to Bunge for the second time, followed by its red-coloured cousin.
That reduced the Football Ferns to ten women for the duration, and they fought like Trojans to repel Belgium's increasingly frequent thrusts. Four minutes after Bunge's departure, Wullaert whipped in a free-kick which Nayler - she had been a spectator for the bulk of the match - punched clear of the goal.
The ball broke to Dhont, whose cross was blocked by Bowen and ricocheted off Cayman towards the target. Nayler smothered this effort, then looked on with relief four minutes later as Chloe Van de Velde, Vanmechelen's replacement, headed a Laura De Neve corner narrowly past the far post.
Belgium were piling on the pressure now, but left the back door ajar in the 83rd minute, a defensive blunder made possible by Riley's relentless work on the left. The Football Ferns' skipper closed down Vanhaevermaet, the ball breaking kindly for Wilkinson, whose fierce drive flashed past Evrard, only to cannon to safety off the far post.
There would have been no way back for Belgium had they found themselves trailing by two goals with seven minutes remaining, but this miss meant the deficit was still one, a tally they went desperately close to cancelling out four minutes from time via a Cayman header, from a teasing Deloose cross, which flew between the flailing arms of Nayler but just past the post.
It was a let-off for the Football Ferns, but as the game headed into stoppage time, they were pegged back by a Belgian equaliser which largely stemmed from their one-woman advantage.
Sarah Wijnants' teasing cross from the right but Nayler under pressure beneath her crossbar, and she wasn't able to get much purchase on the ball. About six yards' worth, in fact, and right to the feet of Van de Velde, whose volleyed finish saw the Football Ferns once again fall foul of conceding a costly goal in the dying minutes of a match.
The Belgians had the ball in the net again in stoppage time, but it was rightly ruled out by referee Zadinova after the otherwise anonymous Tine De Caigny sent Nayler crashing into the post after she had grabbed Wajnblum's cross from the right.
One of the features of the Algarve Cup, which is in its 27th year and is the longest-running women's international football tournament, is that when matches are drawn at full-time, the winners are decided by a penalty shoot-out.
So with this match concluding in a 1-1 draw, to penalties we went to decide which team would advance to which semi-finals, given there is a top-four and bottom-four set-up for the Algarve Cup this year.
The first ten penalties found the net, despite the best efforts of Nayler and Evrard to thwart those they got near. Among them was a spot kick from Sarah Gregorius, whose late appearance as a substitute saw her become the tenth Football Ferns centurion, a tally which she won't add to, after announcing her retirement post-match.
So to sudden death, and Deloose's post rattler presented Bott with the chance to clinch the Football Ferns' place in the top four. Her effort was saved by Evrard, however, so on we went, with both De Neve and Annalie Longo converting their opportunities - 6-6.
Next up was Wijnants, whose effort was superbly saved by Nayler, the 'keeper plunging to her right to tip the shot round the post, and pave the way for Daisy Cleverley to clinch victory for the Football Ferns, a feat she accomplished stylishly by sending Evrard the wrong way.
Their 7-6 spot-kicks triumph means the Kiwis have reached the top four on the two occasions they have contested this prestigious event. On Sunday morning, NZ time, they'll take on FIFA Women's World Cup quarter-finalists Italy in Parchal, with the winner set to face Germany or trophy holders Norway in the Algarve Cup Final next week.
Belgium: Evrard; Tison (Deloose, 46), Jaques (Missipo, 62), Philtjens (Wajnblum, 46); Dhont, Vanhaevermaet, Minnaert (Vanmechelen, 46 (Van de Velde, 69), De Neve; Cayman, Wullaert, De Caigny
Football Ferns: Nayler; Bunge (booked, 68, 71 - sent off), Stott, Moore; Bott, Bowen, Percival (Cleverley, 75), Riley; Hassett (White, 75), Wilkinson (Gregorius, 90), Chance (Longo, 62)
Referee: Olga Zadinova (Czech Republic)
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