A vastly improved New Zealand effort left the Matildas rattled at the Australian Institute of Sport on Waitangi Day, the Australians getting up with a 79th minute winner to prevail 1-0 over opponents who hit the post late in the first half, and twice came close to breaking the deadlock with twenty minutes left. Compared to their display just forty-eight hours previously, this was a colossal improvement - where on Sunday there was a general lack of hunger, desire and will to win, today these attributes and more were present in abundance, as Allan Jones' charges, to a woman, stood up and showed they were deserving of the chance to represent their country, something which could not be said of the vast majority two days ago. The Matildas looked to strike straight from the off, Danielle Small exploiting the space behind the out-of-position Abby Erceg to put debutant Jenna Tristram in on goal. Rachel Howard blocked her effort, however, and Rebecca Simpson cleared the danger. New Zealand responded with a third minute corner, which Kirsty Yallop delivered to the near post. Tristram headed over her own crossbar as the Matildas quickly realised that they were facing a very different Kiwi animal to the meek-mannered one which disappointed all and sundry on Sunday. A vital tackle by Erceg thwarted the troublesome Tristram in the fifth minute, a challenge which referee Lorenzo Veracini deemed illegal. Lauren Colthorp's free-kick drifted narrowly past the far post, sparking a spell in which the SWANZ gave as good as they got to the Australians. As they had been for the "A Team" during the Lion Foundation National Women's League, Kirsty Yallop and Marlies Oostdam were a dynamic combination at the heart of the Kiwi midfield, and the Matildas struggled with their uncompromising approach. Behind this pair, Simpson and Erceg were imposing themselves in central defence, and with Ria Percival - one of the few plus-points from Sunday - carrying on from where she left off in that match, this was quickly becoming a performance which the few Kiwi fans present could be proud of. In the midst of this improvement came a setback, and a serious one. As Melissa Ray turned on half-way on the quarter-hour, there was an audible snap, and the defender's day was done - medial ligament damage at best was the initial diagnosis. It meant a reshuffled back-line, with Percival switching to left-back and Priscilla Duncan taking her spot on the opposite flank. Thankfully, the Kiwis' momentum wasn't disturbed by Ray's premature departure. Instead, they kept right on trucking. In the 21st minute, Simone Carmichael, Oostdam and Ali Riley teamed up in midfield to allow Yallop to send Michele Clarke careering through the Matildas' rearguard in pursuit of a defence-splitting pass. Lydia Williams reacted quickly to the danger, racing off her line to save at the feet of the Kiwi front-runner. Four minutes later, Caitlin Munoz burst between a couple of defenders on the left and let fly. Howard proved up to the task, parrying the effort before Oostdam and Erceg combined to clear. Three minutes later, a mistake by Percival let in Tristram, who instantly fed the unmarked Lara Harch. Her first-time twenty-five yarder arced past the far post. After Carmichael had succumbed to injury seven minutes before half-time, the Matildas earned another free-kick, this time overseen by Joanne Peters. Her delivery picked out Small, who sent a cross curling across the face of goal and beyond all-comers as it drifted out of play. Back came New Zealand, and on the stroke of half-time they came desperately close to taking the lead. Oostdam fired in an angled free-kick from the vicinity of the dug-outs to a point level with the far post, some four yards out from goal. Leaping salmon-like amidst gold-shirted defenders was the figure of Erceg, who came within the width of a post from bringing to an end the scoreless streak which the SWANZ are currently enduring. Having Kiwis in their face is not something Australians like at any time of day or night, and they loathed it even more in the second spell as the SWANZ continued to press straight from the kick-off. Dianne Alagich earned a yellow card for her challenge on Riley, and referee Veracini could easily have flourished more as those sporting green and gold started losing their discipline, unlike their plucky opponents. So flustered did the Matildas get that those present were treated to the rare sight of coach Tom Sermanni growling at them in the second spell - that in itself is a measure of how well New Zealand played. Australia had a great chance to break the deadlock in the 62nd minute, when captain Cheryl Salisbury surged upfield and slipped the ball through for half-time substitute Sarah Walsh to swoop. She slipped her shot under the advancing figure of Howard, but Percival raced back to clear off the line. Nine minutes later, it was the SWANZ turn to come

Melissa Ray, moments before her knee injury Ali Riley Kirsty Yallop ... isn't the ball supposed to be inside the quadrant for a corner, KY? :-)) Rebecca Simpson Rebecca Smith shadows Sasha McDonnell Ria Percival forces Lana Harch to back-track

close, twice in a minute. Oostdam was the architect in both instances, her twenty-five yard free-kick being well held by Melissa Barbieri as Wendi Henderson hovered for any spills. Then the midfielder let fly with a thirty yard right-footed volley which sizzled a yard over the crossbar. Sixteen minutes from time, Heather Garriock got the better of Percival and fired a cross towards the far post. But Rebecca Smith rose high to head clear, Zoe Thompson completing the clearance moments before succumbing to injury. Moments after she left the park, the Matildas struck. Walsh played the ball across to Joanne Burgess, who took advantage of a tiring central midfield to race twenty yards before thrashing the ball across Howard and into the far corner of the net from fifteen yards, eleven minutes from time. It was a blow the SWANZ scarcely deserved - to a woman, they had performed immensely to this point, but there was still time for them to level. Try they did, but it was the Matildas who engineered the chances in the final stages. Four minutes from time, Walsh volleyed over following a Garriock cross, while after Howard had been impeded in their eagerness to score, Walsh lifted the ball over the advancing SWANZ goalkeeper but past the far post in the final minute, playing on as Duncan lay prone with a game-ending ankle injury. Her replacement, Percival, who had herself gone off five minutes earlier, then denied Burgess at the death with a super covering tackle, as the Matildas looked to double their advantage. The one goal proved suffice for them, however, but they knew full well they had been in a battle royal, one from which the Kiwis deserved parity at least, and not defeat. But a twelfth consecutive reversal it was, although there were far more positives to take from this match than that played forty-eight hours ago, much to coach Allan Jones' pleasure. "The big difference was the players' approach to the game", he declared. "When you go out prepared to compete from the first whistle, and to the game plan, anything's possible. We didn't change anything tactically - it was all down to the players. The performance was a massive improvement. "They now have to build on this performance and take confidence from it in order to get results at this level. It was a top-class improvement from Sunday's game, one in which the stand-out players were, again, Abby Erceg and Ria Percival, who were ably supported by Marlies Oostdam and Kirsty Yallop". Matildas' coach, Tom Sermanni, declared the matches perfect preparation for his team's upcoming Olympic qualifying encounters in Taiwan, which commence in fifteen days' time. "New Zealand competed extremely well and played very well. They were well fired up for this game, and were determined to put Sunday's result behind them, consequently making it very difficult for us. "They showed a low of energy in closing us down, and kept that momentum up for the entire ninety minutes. They didn't allow us any time or space, and kept right on top of us. As a result, we're pleased we have got away with the win and a clean sheet - both were hard-earned today". New Zealand's next scheduled action involves qualifying for the Women's World Cup Finals. To do this, they must see off the challenges of Samoa and host nation Papua New Guinea in the week after Easter. Based on the evidence of this two-match series, it would be prudent for NZ Soccer to have the squad play a mentally-challenging practice match prior to their departure for Lae, one which will ensure they are ready to hit the ground running come Easter Monday. That lack of mental readiness was arguably the biggest factor in Sunday's display, because the girls showed they were far more focused for this second encounter as a result of the wake-up call to the harsh realities of international football which Sunday's fixture undoubtedly was. The SWANZ failed to do justice to the shirt in that game - rare indeed are the occasions when this writer levels that charge at New Zealand women's soccer's finest! And while they are rightly disappointed in defeat again after this Waitangi Day encounter, they can at least hold their heads high, because there was, amongst numerous other attributes, pride aplenty in this shirt-justifying display, one from which they deserved at least a draw. Matildas:  Williams (Barbieri, 46); Davies (Alagich, 46 (booked, 48)) (Polkinghorne, 77), Salisbury, Slatyer (McShea, 46), Reuter (Garriock, 46); Harch (McCallum, 60), Colthorp (Gill, 78), Peters (Beaumont, 67), Small (Burgess, 60); Munoz (McDonnell, 67), Tristram (Walsh, 46) SWANZ:  Howard; Percival (Moorwood, 85), Erceg, Simpson (R. Smith, 59), Ray (Duncan, 15) (Percival, 90); Carmichael (Thompson, 38) (Hoyle, 77),  Yallop, Oostdam (Humphries, 81), Riley; Clarke (N. Smith, 72), Henderson (Kete, 82) Referee:  Lorenzo Veracini