Colombia edged the Football Ferns 1-0 at the Estadio de Metropolitano Techo in Bogota on December 6, a disappointing note on which to end what has been a noteworthy year for the FIFA Women's World Cup Finals co-hosts. Both teams were guilty of misplaced passes aplenty early doors in this encounter, with "Las Cafeteras" squandering a decent chance inside the first ninety seconds. Mayra Ramirez - a thorn in the Football Ferns side throughout this encounter - pounced on a stray Ava Collins pass and surged into the penalty area, only to lose control of the ball at the vital moment. Anna Leat was first called into action in the tenth minute to deal with a twenty-five yarder from Maria Camila Reyes, to which Jitka Klimkova's charges responded through the enterprising Indiah-Paige Riley. She caught Manuela Vanegas in possession and exploited the space in behind the wingback before crossing for the benefit of Grace Jale, who got through a power of work in attack in this match, working right across the frontline as well as dropping back into midfield in order to link up play. In the challenging conditions - Bogota, remember, is 2600 feet above sea level - it was a heck of a shift, and one which, sadly, didn't enjoy the support Jale's efforts merited. Monica Ramos was wise to the danger and averted this twelfth minute threat, and was on hand again nine minutes later to head clear a Michaela Foster throw-in, only for Collins to pounce on the ball. Alas, her volley was a tame one, and didn't threaten the target. Back came the Colombians, a Catalina Usme-inspired attack which had Ramirez as its target, only for Katie Bowen, on the occasion of her 100th appearance for her country, to intervene in timely fashion for the Football Ferns. Leat then dealt with a long-range effort from Usme before Ramirez again lost control of the ball in the area, having done all the donkey work to engineer this 26th minute opportunity, as two opponents will testify. The Football Ferns should have been awarded a penalty on the half-hour, but the match officials missed the incident in which Ramos took out Jacqui Hand rugby tackle-style as Foster fired in a corner which resulted in Collins shooting at Perez. After Vanegas just failed to get on the end of an angled cross from Viviana Acosta following a short corner, a thrilling driving run by Betsy Hassett five minutes before half-time saw the tenacious midfielder carve up thirty yards of the pitch, only to see Perez smother her drive. The half concluded in a manner befitting of the forty-five minutes which had gone before, Ramirez taking the wrong option after working a one-two with Lady Andrade on the edge of the penalty area. It was an instantly forgettable half of football, strewn with far too many errors by both sides, for whom this was perhaps one game too many at the end of a challenging year. The second spell saw both teams making changes from the outset, the pace of Paige Satchell for New Zealand, the playmaking talents of Leicy Santos for the Colombians. But it was the visitors who threatened straight from the kick-off, Hand swooping on a stray pass and beating two opponents before pulling the ball back from the by-line, just beyond the incoming figure of Jale as she slid in looking to break the deadlock. Colombia counter-attacked instantly, Santos swiftly getting into the thick of the action, only to see Mackenzie Barry undo all her good work. Usme picked up the pieces but sent the ball soaring over the bar from twenty-five yards. Ramirez looked to make amends in the 52nd minute, her super angled pass in behind the Football Ferns' defence just too far in front of Usme, who was darting into the penalty area in a bid to meet it. Seconds later, Acosta's twenty yard effort flew narrowly past Leat's right-hand post. The Football Ferns responded with by far their best move of the match, a pass-laden raid in the 54th minute raid which broke down 25 yards out from goal when Katie Kitching - an early replacement for the ill Malia Steinmetz - was unable to control Satchell's pass.

This sparked an instant counter-attack from "Las Cafeteras", Marcela Restrepo raiding down the right before picking out Ramirez eight yards out from goal. Her volley was turned round the post by Leat, a save matched quality-wise on the hour by the hitherto untested Catalina Perez. Satchell scurried between two defenders before slipping a pass to Hand, who evaded a challenge before unleashing a twenty yarder which had "Goal" written all over it until Perez brilliantly tipped the attempt over the bar. Nineteen minutes from time, Colombia took the lead. A cleared corner found its way to Daniela Montoya, who hit an angled cross-shot towards goal. It flew past Bowen, who fully expected Leat to deal with the effort in the manner recent first-choice Football Ferns custodian Victoria Esson has tended to where commanding her area is concerned. Leat lacks Esson's air of authority at this stage of her goalkeeping development, however, and stood rooted to the spot as the ball flew past her and in by the far post, much to the delight of Montoya, whose initial reaction clearly suggested she hadn't expected to be celebrating a goal. It was a blow from which the Football Ferns never really recovered, and they could have ended up losing by a greater margin, despite the introduction of debutant Ruby Nathan, whose lone chance to level the scores saw her narrowly fail to exploit a Colombian defensive mix-up, Lorena Bedoya retrieving the situation for the home team five minutes from time. Prior to that, Usme had fired wildly over the target from distance, while after it, Santos weaved her way past two opponents before chipping Leat, the ball drifting narrowly over the bar. Bowen then cut out a Restrepo cross intended for Ramirez, who then got to the by-line in the 88th minute before setting up Usme - another wild finish earned her a glare from her industrious team-mate. In stoppage time, Leat launched a free-kick towards the Colombian goal which resulted in the home team storming downfield, Ramirez leading the charge, with Satchell in hot pursuit. The striker held her nerve before getting to the edge of the penalty area, where Leat was standing her ground. Ramirez slipped the ball past the 'keeper just before she fell over Leat, with both players looking around frantically to see the outcome. Much to Leat's relief, the ball rolled past the post, but there was no time to launch another Football Ferns attack, the final whistle ending a year in which New Zealand's shop window side had scored just five goals in sixteen matches, a statistic which accurately reflects their biggest problem, but not their only one. There's plenty for Jitka Klimkova to work on as we move into an Olympics year, with qualifying for Paris New Zealand's first priority - the OFC Women's Olympic qualifying tournament takes place in Samoa in February. A couple of home internationals in the first week of April are on the cards, while two further FIFA two-match fixture windows are scheduled before the Olympic Women's Football Tournament takes place between 25 July and 10 August, an event for which Brazil, Canada, Colombia, the USA and host nation France have already qualified. Seven more nations are set to join them, with the Football Ferns likely to be the next to book their tickets if, as expected, they win the Oceania qualifying tournament. Which leaves the representatives of Europe, Asia and Africa to be determined. By the end of February, two from Spain, Holland and Germany will join France in representing Europe, while in Asia, the winners of two-legged play-offs between DPR Korea and Japan, and between Uzbekistan and Australia, will be heading to France. The African contenders won't be known until April. Colombia:        Perez; Ramos (Carabali, 65), Huerta (Bedoya, 65), Vanegas; Caracas (C. Arias, 65), Usme, Reyes (Santos, 46), Andrade (Montoya, 58), Acosta; Restrepo, Ramirez Football Ferns:    Leat; Barry, Taylor, Bowen, Foster (Green, 67); I. Riley (Satchell, 46), Steinmetz (Kitching, 20), Hassett, Collins; Hand (Cleverley, 67), Jale (Nathan, 78) Referee:           Zulma Quinonez (Paraguay)