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Brazil No Match For Vibrant Football Ferns

by Jeremy Ruane

Amber Hearn's header finds the net to beat Brazil

New Zealand's Football Ferns scored a richly deserved 1-0 victory over Brazil at the Stade de Lussy in Chatel-St. Denis, Switzerland, on September 22 to advance to the final of the inaugural Valais Women's Cup.

In doing so, the nineteenth-ranked Kiwis gave their FIFA ranking a major boost, for this was their first-ever victory against a top ten-ranked nation since said rankings began.

Granted, it was very much an experimental Brazilian combination which took to the field soon after China had defeated Mexico 1-0 thanks to a Wang Li penalty in the earlier encounter.

Neither Marta nor Cristiane were present. Instead, a host of youngsters endeavoured to do justice to the famous yellow and blue colours of their country. But they lacked the experience and guile of a Football Ferns line-up which featured seven players who have made over fifty appearances for their country.

That extra nous was evident from the outset of this encounter, with Oceania's finest making a solid start to proceedings. In the seventh minute, Betsy Hassett sent Amber Hearn hurtling into the penalty area, from where she looked to pick out Helen Collins with a cross.

This was cleared to the edge of the penalty area, where Sarah Gregorius' challenge afforded Hassett the opportunity to pull the trigger. Sadly for the industrious midfielder, she dragged her shot wide of the near post.

After Erin Nayler had grabbed Thaisa's deflected shot, Hearn sent Hassett racing into the penalty area on the left in the fourteenth minute. This time, she was guilty of taking too many touches before shooting, which allowed Brazilian captain Bruna Benites to dive in and divert her effort to safety.

Ria Percival's resulting corner was punched out by Thais Picarte to Hearn, who saw two goalbound efforts blocked in the next few seconds as the Football Ferns looked to turn their early pressure into something tangible on the scoreboard.

That they needed to do so was emphasised in the nineteenth minute, when a splendid save by Nayler prevented Brazil from opening the scoring. Fran's free-kick picked out the head of Janaina, whose angled header prompted Nayler to plunge to her left and save the bouncing ball by the base of the upright.

The 'keeper wasted little time waiting for the cameras to capture the moment, instead sparking a counter-attack from which the Football Ferns should have taken the lead. Janaina, under pressure from Collins, handled the ball inside her penalty area, but Hearn was dismayed to see Thais Picarte turn her 21st minute spot-kick to safety.

The Football Ferns were forcing corners galore with their pressure, and Percival's deliveries often found their intended recipient. Hearn was the target in the 25th minute, and she duly rose to the occasion with a powerful header which deflected off her Brazilian marker to safety. As was seen later, this warning went unheeded …

On the half-hour, the Football Ferns came close to unintentionally aiding Brazil's cause. Rafinha's cross to the far post was met on the volley by Ali Riley, but she misdirected her clearance, the ball ricocheting off Gabi Zanotti and landing on the roof of Nayler's net.

It was a scare the Kiwi team didn't need, although they were guilty of a few other lapses of this ilk, most frequently through passes which lacked conviction in the defensive third, thereby putting players under unnecessary pressure when a delivery of quality would have afforded the receiver the time and space needed to keep the ball zipping around the park.

One such ill-considered pass saw Percival caught in possession in the 33rd minute. Fabiana - Brazil's most consistent attacking threat - and Giovania worked a one-two down the left which saw the former get to the by-line and fire in a cross which Nayler pawed away as Rafinha raced in to meet it. Abby Erceg completed the clearance.

Another such blunder materialised six minutes later, when Erceg allowed an under-hit Riley pass to roll on towards Nayler, despite the proximity of Giovania to the edge of the penalty area. The

striker looked to exploit the situation, but thankfully the Football Ferns' 'keeper was on her toes, and cleared the ball off those of her opponent.

Rebekah Stott headed over her own crossbar soon after to prevent a rising Poliana effort from reaching the target, after Rafinha and Gabi Zanotti had combined on the right to set up the marauding fullback's shot on the run.

Hearn, who had been thwarted by Fran's timely challenge after Percival's corner had been punched out by Thais Picarte nine minutes before the interval, was herself denied by the 'keeper six minutes into the second spell, following a move ignited by Annalie Longo.

The driving force of new training establishment Grasshopper Soccer sent Collins careering down the right in pursuit of a peach of a pass, one which the back-to-back Northern Premier Women's League Golden Boot winner gleefully latched onto.

Collins' low cross was cleared by the resilient Bruna Benites to the edge of her penalty area, where Hassett was lurking. She danced past two opponents before slipping the ball across to Hearn, whose shot on the turn was tipped away by Thais Picarte.

Hearn then saw her shot deflected to safety following Percival's resulting corner, while after Brazil failed to capitalise on another lapse in quality in New Zealand's defensive third - Nayler and Stott were equally culpable on this occasion, the Football Ferns' leading markswoman sent Riley racing into the penalty area with a gem of a slide-rule pass into her stride in the 56th minute.

Riley, who recently netted a rare goal for her Malmo club in Sweden, has only scored once in her 72 previous international appearances, and that lack of confidence in front of goal was instantly evident, the rampaging fullback opting to square the ball when hitting the target from ten yards appeared a far easier option.

To compound matters, her pass fell behind Gregorius, forcing the Liverpool striker to check and let fly while off-balance. The ball cleared the crossbar, much to the front-runner's disappointment.

Brazil bounced back from this scare by going desperately close to breaking the deadlock - only the well-positioned Percival prevented Gabi Zanotti from heading home Fran's corner with a goal-line clearance on the hour. Seconds later, a timely tackle from Riley foiled Fabiana's progress, as the South Americans appealed in vain for a penalty.

Back came the Football Ferns, with Percival's rasping near post drive forcing Thais Picarte to turn the ball round the post in the 67th minute for yet another corner. What happened next was a mirror image of their first half link-up, but this time when Percival sent her corner hurtling to the far post, Hearn's thumping ten yard header soared over all-comers and through the hands of the 'keeper - 1-0 Football Ferns.

And a well deserved lead it was, too, one Hearn looked to build upon moments later when catching Bruna Benites in possession just outside her penalty area. The scorer was at full stretch to get in a cross from the rebound, but Poliana edged Gregorius in the race to reach her delivery.

That averted the danger for a Brazilian side which introduced five newcomers inside the final twenty minutes of the match in an effort to engineer an equaliser. But Hearn was the only player who truly threatened to alter the scoreline in that time, her 76th minute strike from twenty yards being directed straight at Thais Picarte.

Hearn had already scored the goal which most mattered, however, one which earns the Football Ferns a shot at silverware from 3.30am on Thursday, NZ time, when they take on China at the Stade St. Germain in Saviese in the inaugural Valais Women's Cup Final.

Brazil: Thais Picarte; Poliana, Bruna Benites, Janaina (Gislaine, 71), Tamires (Danielli, 79); Thaisa, Fran (Maria, 79), Gabi Zanotti (Beatriz Vaz, 84); Fabiana, Giovania (Chu, 87), Rafinha (Debinha, 66)

F'ball Ferns: Nayler; Percival, Stott, Erceg, Riley; Longo (Yallop, 76), Hoyle, Hearn, Hassett; Collins (White, 69), Gregorius

Referee: Stephanie Grappart

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