The Matildas, Australia's women's soccer team, maintained their recent dominance of their New Zealand counterparts at Brisbane's QE2 Stadium on February 18, scoring a comfortable 2-0 victory over their trans-tasman rivals in the opening game of the sixth Australia Cup tournament. The home team took just 35 seconds to unleash their first shot on goal, a tame effort from the pacy Lisa de Vanna which Jenny Bindon dealt with comfortably, as was the case nine minutes later, when an April Mann twenty-yarder flew in her direction. In between times, debutant referee Jacqui Melksham issued New Zealand midfielder Priscilla Duncan with a harsh yellow card after an uncompromising from the Kiwis' reigning International Young Player of the Year, following the first of a number of promising moves by the visitors which broke down near the edge of Australia's penalty area. The inexperience of some members of this young New Zealand side was exposed by their rivals in the eleventh minute, as Australian captain Joanne Peters threaded a pass through which left retreating defender Meisha Pyke and goalkeeper Bindon hesitating as to who should take charge of the situation. De Vanna made the decision for them, darting in between the pair and rounding the stranded Bindon, only to see her shot cleared off the line in spectacular fashion by New Zealand captain Rebecca Smith, who appeared from nowhere to ensure the scoreline didn't alter. The host nation continued to press, with Tal Karp firing over from twenty-five yards, Dianne Alagich heading a Kate McShea corner narrowly wide, and the troublesome de Vanna getting the better of Sarah Gibbs before cutting inside and curling a beauty over Bindon but against the crossbar, much to New Zealand's relief. Karla Reuter was next to chance her arm for the Matildas before Bindon saved at the feet of Sarah Walsh, after Peters' effort had been blocked by Maia Jackman, who produced a massive individual performance in a central defensive role she last occupied in the 2000 Pacific Cup, when she kept the legendary Mia Hamm scoreless during New Zealand's encounter with the USA. Two goals in five minutes broke the Kiwi resistance in this latest trans-tasman affair, to ensure the Australians of their tenth consecutive victory over their neighbours. The first, in the 25th minute, saw Peters lobbing the ball over the top of the advancing New Zealand rearguard for Mann. She timed her run perfectly to latch onto the opportunity and chip over the approaching Bindon to open the scoring. Five minutes later, the Matildas doubled their lead. Pyke's blunder on the right allowed Walsh the chance to cut inside on a strong run, and despite the approaching cover from Jackman and Smith, the striker crowned her debut in style with a rasping twenty-yard drive which seared the fingertips of Bindon en route to the back of the net. While the Kiwis were still reeling from this double whammy, the overlapping Reuter got to the byline and whipped in a near post cross targeting Mann. Jackman stepped in to avert the danger, and launch a counter-attack which saw the young New Zealand combination unleash their first shot on target, Naomi Clarke forcing Cassandra Kell into action with a stinging drive. A further flurry of opportunities at the other end of the park concluded the half, Bindon standing her ground well in saving with her legs from de Vanna, after she had outpaced Gibbs in the 39th minute. The same player then forced Bindon to produce her best save of the match four minutes later, diving low to her right to parry a twenty-yarder to safety. The resulting corner, from Karp, swung in viciously, but Jackman was to the fore again, leaving her opponent to get back and head the inswinging delivery off the line. The combined efforts of Smith, Jackman and Bindon forced the charging Katie Gill to shoot across the face of goal in stoppage time, while Peters ended the half by shooting at Bindon, after evading the clutches of Gibbs, who, with Pyke, had a torrid baptism of fire in their first starts at international level, the latter's previous two appearances for her country being as a substitute in the Pacific Cup. If the Matildas were expecting to build on their first half lead during the second spell, they copped a rude shock from their rivals, whose plucky defiance and determination to show their old foes no mercy saw the Kiwi combination emerge with a moral victory from a scoreless second spell, a forty-five minute display about which they should be decidedly proud. In the numerous women's soccer

Maia Jackman in action during the Australia encounter Rebecca Smith (6) looks on as Maia Jackman (5) thwarts Australia's Katie Gill (17) Rachel Howard Priscilla Duncan Simone Ferrara If looks could kill!! Hayley Moorwood with her "game face" on Pip Meo

encounters between the giants of the game in Oceania which this writer has witnessed over the years, the Australians have never performed to anything like their much-vaunted reputation when their Kiwi counterparts have stood up to them, got in their faces and generally made life decidedly difficult for the three-time Women's World Cup Finals contenders. The second half of this match saw New Zealand do exactly that, and no-one epitomised this unyielding attitude more than Jackman. Having been handed the captain's armband after Smith was withdrawn at half-time with a hamstring strain, the acting skipper proceeded to lead her less experienced team-mates by example, producing a string of interceptions, clearances and timely tackles to thwart Australian raids, and continuing to do so despite suffering from outbreaks of cramp in the last twenty minutes. Half-time substitutes and fellow defenders Rebecca Simpson, Brooke Rangi and Zarnia Cogle, along with the players further forward, were quick to follow Jackman's lead, and on the occasions when their efforts weren't enough, second half goalkeeper Rachel Howard was like the proverbial brick wall between the sticks, as she cast aside a personal demon of her own in style - she was in goal when the Matildas downed the team then known as the SWANZ 3-1 in the Oceania Women's World Cup qualifying play-off in Auckland in October 1998. Indeed, Howard was first called into action when de Vanna pounced on a Simpson error in the 52nd minute, the goalkeeper saving low to her right to thwart the danger, before releasing Simone Ferrara down the right at pace. Her cross picked out Amber Hearn, who let fly with a shot which cannoned skywards off Amy Taylor, and exposed the frailty of Kell under the high ball. The 'keeper could only punch when catching appeared the easier option, and Ferrara was quick to latch onto the ball. She whipped in a superb cross which had the Matildas at sixes and sevens, so much so that a corner was forced. While this was cleared, the incident visibly bolstered the inexperienced side's self-belief. The clearance of the aforementioned corner culminated in de Vanna shooting straight at Howard, but not before the Matildas had been prevented from making the most of their counter-attack by Duncan, who harried her opponents at every turn while her team-mates retreated at pace. On the hour, Rangi misplaced a pass behind Jackman, upon which de Vanna pounced. With Simpson and Rangi closing fast, the striker got to the edge of the penalty area, only to shoot at the advancing Howard, the goalkeeper having narrowed the angle to perfection. Cogle was next to defy de Vanna, producing a fine recovering tackle after the speedster had darted in behind her opponent to latch onto a Tarp pass, while Howard was again in action soon after, denying Peters after the Australian captain had drifted into space beyond Rangi. Nineteen minutes from time, Cogle and Hayley Moorwood got their wires crossed on the left flank, allowing Australia to launch a right-wing raid. Selia Kuralay charged towards goal, but simply could not shake off Jackman. The subsequent shot from de Vanna was comfortably dealt with by Howard, who then saved well at the feet of Kuralay, after she had ridden the despairing tackle of Jackman. Lana Harch rattled the sidenetting ten minutes from time, after sweeping past the cramp-stricken Jackman and bulldozing her way through Rangi's challenge. Three minutes later, the offside flag came to New Zealand's rescue, much to de Vanna's annoyance, the speedster's reaction earning her a yellow card. Before the end, Cogle fired a free-kick over the bar as the Kiwis continued to defy the odds, while Howard tipped a Harch shot over the bar, then looked on as Leah Blayney's chip from the edge of the penalty area hit the crossbar in the final minute. Australia's deserved 2-0 victory went very much with the formbook, and on another day, they may have beaten their inexperienced rivals by a larger margin. But that would have been hard on a plucky New Zealand side which performed commendably and feistily, their comparative inexperience notwithstanding. Australia:  Kell (Barbieri, 61); Davies (Grant, 76), Alagich, Taylor, Reuter (Foster, 46); Walsh (Kuralay, 61), Karp (Harch, 70), McShea (Gill, 35), Peters; Mann (Blayney, 35), de Vanna (booked, 83) New Zealand; Bindon (Howard, 46); Pyke (Simpson, 46), Jackman, Smith (Rangi, 46), Gibbs (Cogle, 46); Ferrara (Thompson, 65), Duncan (booked, 5), Moorwood, Meo (Sowden, 46); Hearn, Clarke (Clapham, 76) Referee:  Jacqui Melksham