The Football Ferns bounced back to the sort of form of which they are capable on the opening day of the Cyprus Women’s Cup on February 24, stunning Italy 1-0 at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia. After a disappointing home series against Australia, this result will come as a surprise to many in the New Zealand footballing community, but not half as much as it will to the Italians, who are the highest-ranked team the Football Ferns have defeated since the FIFA rankings system was introduced to the women’s game. Heading into this match, the Italians were on a four-match winning streak, with Women’s World Cup holders Germany the only team to have scored against them in their last six fixtures. So this result is a real feather in the cap for the Football Ferns, and what’s more, they deserved it. "It was a well fought game", commented captain Hayley Moorwood afterwards. "We went out knowing we needed to win, and dominated the individual battles. It was a great team effort, but two players in particular stood out. "Amber Hearn and Rosie White, up front, did really well as a combination. Their ability to secure the ball for us in the attacking third was very helpful from our perspective, and it was Rosie’s cross which Amber headed home for the only goal of the game". That came on the half-hour mark, with White beating a couple of opponents before picking out Hearn’s darting run in between defenders to leave Italian goalkeeper Anna-Maria Picarelli with the task of fishing the ball out of her net. Suffice to say, the world’s eleventh-ranked team didn’t take kindly to finding themselves behind on the scoreboard, and looked to unsettle the Football Ferns by adding some of the game’s darker arts to the equation. "We stood firm", said Moorwood, pride aplenty evident in her voice, "and the referee was really good, getting on top of the situations right away, particularly one in which one of our players ended up on the ground, and another in which the hair of one of our players was pulled by an opponent!" His comments translated from his post-match thoughts, Italian coach, Pietro Ghedin, had an interesting take on the match, and the ground itself. "I was pleased with our game, our intensity and our character. Everything was perfect, except for the result. I am satisfied, though displeased for my squad. "Unfortunately we failed on at least three occasions to score, and handed New Zealand the advantage through a mistake of ingenuousness! We surprised ourselves, and the angled header which went against us - a true and actual gift!" (One can almost hear the scorer’s derisive snort in response!) "As for the stadium in Nicosia, it is a wonderful structure, as are the installations where we train daily, and the organisation of the tournament - that is perfect". There’s a strong spirit in the Football Ferns camp after this famous win, "and it’s a good spirit, too", declares Moorwood. "We celebrated victory in the dressing rooms afterwards, and again at the hotel, but we also got our recovery in, too - we’ve got another big game coming up on Friday" (1am Saturday, NZ time). And that game is against a team who’ll be eager for revenge. "Holland are a tough side, whom we beat 2-0 here last year", recalls Moorwood fondly. "They’ll come out with everything blazing, for sure. But we’re coming off a win, and we’ll be looking to go out and battle for a second one".

Amber Hearn - another winning goal for NZ Rosie White - supplied the cross Hayley Moorwood - proud captain There are no injury concerns in the squad, and the handful of players who were suffering from a stomach bug appear to have fully recovered from the setback, meaning coach John Herdman should be able to call on all-comers against the Dutch at Larnaca’s Ammochostos Stadium. Line-up:     Bindon; Riley (booked), Smith, Erceg, Green; Wall (Longo, 78), Moorwood, Hoyle, Yallop (booked) (Hassett, 70); Hearn (Kete, 80), White (Wilkinson, 90)