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Cook Islands
Football Ferns Confirm Canada 2015 Berth
by Jeremy Ruane
The Football Ferns are Canada-bound after confirming their qualification for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Finals in swashbuckling style at Kalabond Oval in Kokopo, Papua New Guinea, on 29 October.
Tony Readings' charges comfortably saw off the Cook Islands 11-0 to become the 22nd of 24 nations to be assured of a place in a December 6 draw which is already eagerly awaited, especially given the identities of the nations who will join New Zealand in the draw.
Africa will be represented by Cameroon, Ivory Coast and champions Nigeria, while reigning world champions Japan, the Asian champions, will be accompanied by Australia, China, Korea Republic and Thailand on their trans-Atlantic journey next year.
CONCACAF champions the USA head north, as do Costa Rica, Mexico, Columbia and CONMEBOL champions Brazil, with either Ecuador or Trinidad & Tobago joining this quintet in Canada next June - they contest a home-and-away play-off to decide the other representative from the Americas.
The European armada so far comprises seven nations, with England, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, France and Norway - the latter two being opponents the Football Ferns will play on a three-match European tour in late November - having already booked their places at Canada 2015, where they will be joined by one from Holland, Italy, Scotland and Ukraine.
So there's the potential for the Football Ferns to take on some hitherto unknown opponents in next year's Finals, following their qualification with a scoreline bigger than any previously recorded by any New Zealand team against the Cook Islands.
Right from the outset, the OFC Women's Nations Cup holders set up camp in their opponents' half, and began pounding away at their injury-hit Cook Islands opposition - five of their squad were ruled out of this match through injuries incurred in their clashes with Tonga and host nation Papua New Guinea earlier in the tournament.
The island nation's resistance lasted just seven minutes, only to receive a reprieve in the form of a raised offside flag, ruining Rosie White's goal celebrations. Five minutes later, however, there was no such let-off, Amber Hearn's deft control the highlight of a move crowned by a Helen Collins goal.
Within eight minutes, the Football Ferns had stormed to a four-goal lead, the first of them an Abby Erceg header, her first international goal since she scored against the Cook Islands in the 2010 OFC Women's Nations Cup tournament.
That fourteenth minute strike was supplemented five minutes later by a Hearn header, and straight from the kick-off the champions struck again, Collins picking up the pieces and putting them away after White had been denied in a one-on-one opening by Cook Islands goalkeeper Imelda Vakai.
A host of chances followed, all spurned, with the offside flag denying Ria Percival a 31st minute goal. She had but twelve minutes to wait to open her account for the match, however, the Football Ferns' fifth goal of the match being a particularly special one - the 500th scored in all matches played by New Zealand's national women's team since first kicking a ball in anger in 1975.
White must have been wondering if she was destined not to score at all in this match after squandering a glorious chance set up by Hearn as the first half moved into stoppage time, but "The Golazo Girl" was not to be denied, her final act of the match bringing about the 6-0 half-time score.
The Canada-bound combination had but two minutes to wait in the second half before they resumed their onslaught, Hearn hammering home her second goal of the game as her pursuit of successive OFC Women's Nations Cup Golden Boots continued apace.
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Percival saw Lee Maoate-Cox head her effort off the line soon after, but the fullback combined with Hearn in the 54th minute to set up Rebekah Stott for her second goal in as many matches for her country - 8-0.
Two minutes later, Hearn completed the fourth international hat-trick of her career - and first since netting a treble against the Cooks in 2010 - with Percival, her long-time team-mate for club and country, once more the supplier.
Jasmine Pereira was introduced to the fray for her Football Ferns debut, and enjoyed her fair share of chances as she bid to make it a goalscoring one, but 'twas not to be for the newcomer.
Instead, Hearn took centre stage, her bid for a 261st career goal superbly denied by Vakai before the scorer turned provider, with Betsy Hassett the beneficiary of Hearn's role in a one-two as the midfielder fired the Football Ferns into double figures fifteen minutes from time.
Numerous opportunities to add to that tally materialised in the time remaining, but only one was taken, with Hassett the architect of a fine move which featured Evie Millynn's flick-on, Hearn finishing it off on the far post to confirm back-to-back Golden Boot awards.
New Zealand's celebrations on reaching a third successive FIFA Women's World Cup Finals were further enhanced by White being named as the recipient of the Golden Ball as Player of the Tournament.
The Golden Gloves winner, Papua New Guinea's Fidelma Watpore, kept her second clean sheet of the tournament as her country saw off Tonga 3-0 in the final game of the tournament, a goal in each half from Marie Kaipu confirming a second-placed finish for the host nation, whose account for the match was opened from the penalty spot by Meagan Gunemba.
Football Ferns coach Tony Readings was understandably delighted with his charges' achievements, as he relayed to OFC Media. "We came here with one real reason and that was to win these qualifiers and book our tickets to Canada. We've done that now and we're always sort of looking ahead so we can't wait for the next part of the journey".
That journey next sees the Oceania champions taking on France in Laval on November 22, followed by two matches within the next five days in Stavanger against Norway, while during the tournament the March match-dates for New Zealand's annual pursuit of the Cyprus Cup were confirmed.
"We're going to be having regular games now almost every month from November all the way through to the World Cup", said Readings, "so we're going to be able to see the players a lot more than we're used which is going to be great.
"The team just keeps getting better and better which is great, and the thing is that there's a whole lot of potential yet to be realised. So we're just going to keep working hard on realising that - because when we do we're going to be even more of a force".
Details:
Cook Islands 0, Football Ferns 11 (H. Collins (12, 20), A. Erceg (14), A. Hearn (19, 47, 56, 86), R. Percival (43), R. White (45), R. Stott (54), B. Hassett (75)) HT 0-6
Papua New Guinea 3 (M. Gunemba (25 pen), M. Kaipu (32, 62)), Tonga 0 HT 2-0
F'ball Ferns: Rolls; Moore, Stott, Erceg, Percival; Longo (Millynn, 46), Cleverley, Hearn, Hassett; Collins (Pereira, 59), White (Riley, 46)
Cook Islands: Vakai; Piri, Nganu (Hetherington, 86), Matenga, Tiare; Maoate-Cox, Urarii, Akavi, Toka; Henry, Harmon
Referee: Finau Vulivuli (Fiji)
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