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Colombia

Red Card Controversy As Hearn Sinks Colombia

by Jeremy Ruane

New Zealand's Football Ferns scored a hard-earned 1-0 win over Colombia in front of 8,505 fans at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte on August 6 to maintain their hopes of securing a quarter-finals berth at the 2016 Olympic Women's Football Tournament.

Thanks to a controversial, bizarre and downright inept refereeing decision, however, those hopes are on a knife-edge, with New Zealand Football set to appeal the late and unjust dismissal of captain Abby Erceg, about which, more later.

Tony Readings' charges dominated proceedings from the outset, although it was the Colombians who fired the first two shots in anger in this contest, the first of which, a speculative volleyed cross-shot from wide on the left by Cataline Usme, landed on the roof of Erin Nayler's goal in the fourth minute.

Seven minutes later, birthday girl Sarah Gregorius inadvertently diverted the ball into the path of Colombian midfielder Leicy Santos, who delivered a delightfully weighted pass into the stride of Usme, only for the striker to guide a tame effort into the grateful gloves of New Zealand's number one.

While the Football Ferns were enjoying the lion's share of possession, what they were doing with it left a lot to be desired. At times, they were playing like a bog-standard men's team, playing aimless hit-and-hope balls forward which, needless to say, lacked accuracy and an end product.

When they got the mix right, however, the hit-and-hope habit was hit for six, and pass and move became the Football Ferns' groove. It was first in evidence in the eighteenth minute, when Rebekah Stott's precise pass picked out Amber Hearn, who slipped the ball wide into the stride of the overlapping Ria Percival.

The fullback fired in a cross for the flying figure of Hannah Wilkinson, who ended up in the back of the net herself, Sandra Sepulveda having come off her line to pluck the ball off the head of the bustling front-runner.

Thirteen minutes later, when the Football Ferns again employed a slick interchange of passes, their efforts gained far greater reward - the opening goal. Again it was Stott who sparked the attack, and again Hearn was the recipient of her pass.

This time, the striker combined with Wilkinson to reward the looping run of Betsy Hassett on the right. The energetic midfielder made brief progress before arrowing a low cross into the penalty area, beyond Wilkinson but made to measure from Hearn's perspective.

New Zealand's most prolific markswoman controlled the sphere in an instant, then touched it to her right to give herself an angle which, from ten yards, she exploited exquisitely, threading a precise drive between three defenders and the diving figure of Sepulveda into the net beyond - 1-0, Football Ferns, Hearn's 52nd goal for her country, and the 288th of her career.

Colombia were still reeling from the blow when Ali Riley released Gregorius down the left at pace. She scooted to the by-line, then pulled the ball back to the edge of the area, where Annalie Longo was arriving on cue to execute a perfectly timed and directed volley towards the far corner of the net, a target for which it was destined until Sepulveda sprung to her right to save well.

The South Americans looked to get back into the contest, all the time wary of the Football Ferns; counter-attacking threat. This was evident three minutes before half-time, when Longo intercepted a pass and promptly invited Hearn to let fly from twenty-five yards.

Sepulveda could only parry the effort, and was grateful that the hallmark of any striker worth their salt - following in - wasn't practiced by anyone in a black shirt on this occasion.

Ambitious efforts from both Orianica Velasquez and Santos concluded the half, with neither attempt giving Nayler cause for concern, unlike the effort Hearn unleashed twenty seconds into the second spell.

Longo won the ball in midfield and swiftly teamed up with her principle accomplice in crime of many years standing, Hassett, the dynamic duo combining to present Hearn with the ball some thirty yards out from goal.

One challenger later, she let rip with a vicious dipping twenty-five yarder which Sepulveda could only tip onto her crossbar, the 'keeper recovering quickly to grab the rebound before it spun over the line.

It was a reprieve from which the Colombians, who had lost both previous matches against the Football Ferns, took heart, and they proceeded to put their opponents on the back foot via a combination of probing balls forward and high-pressing.

These forced errors and presented the South Americans with chances, the most noteworthy of which was the free-kick which materialised on the hour, Usme's execution of which deceived Nayler but cannoned off the crossbar above her. Liana Salazar was unable to capitalise on the rebound.

That prompted a change of plan from Readings, who had already introduced Katie Bowen to the fray. Rosie White was next up, and she brought some much-needed vim and vigour to an attack which had lost its lustre since Hearn's crossbar rattler seconds after half-time.

Within two minutes of her introduction, the Liverpool striker had brought the hard-charging figure of Riley into play down the left, and raced forward in anticipation of an angled cross. White was just a stride or two away from reaching it on this occasion.

Seconds later, Longo and Hassett linked with the new arrival, White's drive forcing Sepulveda to smother at her near post, where she was once more six minutes later, this time to deny a rare shot from Riley, for whom goals are genuine collectors' items - rarely seen, and never to be forgotten when they materialise.

Fifteen minutes from time, Katie Duncan - she had a strong game, to such an extent that you'd never have known she'd picked up a nasty looking knock just three days prior - picked out Bowen with a free-kick which saw the substitute combine with White, one of six Football Ferns in the Colombian penalty area.

Nataly Arias' vital block thwarted a golden opportunity for New Zealand to double their advantage and put the game to bed. It also prompted a Colombian counter-attack, with Abby Erceg's splendidly timed challenge on Tatiana Ariza denying the substitute as she threatened to break clear on the left.

Hearn was just a stride away from getting on the end of another Duncan free-kick soon after, before fine work by Bowen on the right saw her engineer the space from which to deliver a cross which was plucked off White's toes by Sepulveda.

Back came Colombia, their desperation for an equaliser increasing by the minute. With eleven of them remaining, Velasquez landed another thirty yarder on the roof of Nayler's net, while the Kiwi 'keeper smothered another effort from Usme five minutes from time, after the striker had taken advantage of an Erceg stumble.

White fired wildly wide four minutes from time, but sixty seconds later New Zealand's world was turned upside down by a bewildering refereeing decision which saw Zambian official Gladys Lengwe grabbing the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

Erceg had Ariza covered when the substitute pursued a through ball which the defender was always favourite to reach first, and duly did. The chasing striker looked to grab hold of Erceg's trailing arm, and went to ground after failing to do so - there wasn't even the merest hint of a foul having taken place.

Referee Lengwe, who was some distance behind play when Colombia began their counter-attack, was still out of camera shot when she blew her whistle to bring play to a halt, signalling a free-kick just outside New Zealand's penalty area.

As if that wasn't bad enough, what followed next defied logic - out came the red card, and it was goodnight Miss Erceg, much to the disbelief of all-comers of a black-shirted persuasion, the offended party most of all.

Harsh doesn't even begin to do justice to the official's decision - wrong does. And badly wrong at that. Not only did the incident not even warrant a booking, never mind a dismissal, it wasn't even a foul, and certainly wasn't a goalscoring opportunity, as Erceg had played the ball away before there had even been contact between herself and the pursuing figure of Ariza.

Nonetheless, Miss Lengwe's mind wasn't for changing. Erceg's day was done, and her ten team-mates, including Meikayla Moore, who came on for White to replenish the defensive numbers, had to deal with the resulting free-kick and the time still to be played.

This was Colombia's best chance of an equaliser, and, as it panned out, their last one. That they didn't realise their objective was the result of a superb save by Nayler, who flew to her right to turn Usme's free-kick to safety and ensure that the Football Ferns would record their first win at these Olympics, and still have their fate in their own hands where progression to the quarter-finals was concerned.

Whether or not they embark upon their final conquest in group action - a clash with France in Salvador at 10am on Wednesday, NZ time - with their captain leading them into battle is dependent on an appeal NZ Football will be making to the appropriate parties regarding Erceg's sending-off.

Regardless of the outcome, this is the second time in thirteen months in which the Football Ferns have been victims of on-field injustice administered by match officials when the eyes of the world are focused on the women's game, with at least three such incidents occurring at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Finals in Canada, each of which adversely impacted on the team's progression at that event.

One sincerely hopes that history isn't repeating itself at Rio 2016.

Football Ferns: Nayler; Percival, Stott, Erceg (sent off, 87), Riley; Hassett, Duncan (booked, 45), Longo; Wilkinson (booked, 26) (White, 62 (Moore, 89)), Hearn, Gregorius (Bowen, 57)

Colombia: Sepulveda; C. Arias, N. Arias, Clavijo, Velasquez; Ospina (Vidal, 78), Santos, Salazar (booked, 21) (Regnier, 89), Gaitan; Andrade (Ariza, 73), Usme

Referee: Gladys Lengwe (Zambia)

Rio 2016