Defensive lapses in the dying minutes of the first half and early minutes of the second spell cost the Football Ferns dearly at the Estadio Enrique Roca de Murcia on 31 May, as they were downed 2-0 by Japan in the first of two international friendlies between the team in the Spanish city. The goals were disappointing to concede from the Football Ferns perspective because, in the first half particularly, they showed themselves to be a good match for Nadeshiko Japan, enjoying lengthy periods of play in possession and generally performing very encouragingly, albeit without providing a goal threat to supplement their time on the ball. Japan, as is their wont, were out of the starting blocks quickly, Hikaru Kitagawa lashing a third minute volley narrowly past the far post after being picked out by Miyabi Moriya's cross-field ball. Two minutes later, a vital Malia Steinmetz clearance prevented Liverpool midfield general Fuka Nagano from capitalising on Kiko Seike's pull-back from the by-line, as Nadeshiko sought an early goal. This was to be their last attack of note for fifteen minutes, as the Football Ferns grew into a match in which assistant coach Michael Mayne was on head coach duties, incumbent Jitka Klimkova having temporarily stepped aside from the role while an employment investigation is conducted. When Nadeshiko next threatened, captain Mina Tanaka was pulling the strings. She spread play wide to Kitagawa, whose first-time cross picked out Seike. She was denied a shot on goal by Ali Riley's timely intervention. Tanaka and Kitagawa combined again in the 23rd minute, but the latter's cross was diverted back to Anna Leat by Katie Bowen, after which New Zealand enjoyed their best spell of concerted pressure they've enjoyed in a number of internationals they've played against the former world champions, whose defenders were forced to head clear on a number of occasions as Grace Jale and company peppered them with a plethora of crosses and long throw-ins. But Japan always had that attacking threat about them, something New Zealand lack. Six minutes before half-time, Ali Riley intervened again to deny Seike after she'd been released through the inside right channel by Tanaka, to which the Football Ferns responded with a fine move, Rebekah Stott combining with Bowen to send Catherine Bott careering down the right, from where she delivered a cross just behind Indiah-Paige Riley. Had the delivery been accurate, the scoreboard would have read "1-0 New Zealand" heading into the half-time break. Instead, it read "1-0 Japan" after Moriya spotted the untracked run of Nagano to the by-line in first half stoppage time. She pulled the ball back to Seike, who touched it into the stride of Tanaka, and her fiercely struck drive left Leat clutching at thin air as it arrowed into the corner of the net to give Nadeshiko the lead. You could see the confidence within the Football Ferns visibly evaporating. And they very nearly conceded a second straight from the kick-off, Seike's shot being smothered by Leat being the last action of a half in which the Kiwis had largely performed above expectations. But that goal on the stroke of half-time was a setback they couldn't shake off, and two minutes after play resumed, they were dealt a killer blow, this time through a lack of marking at a set-piece.

Japan earned a corner straight from the kick-off, and Kitagawa's well-flighted delivery to the far post found Toko Koga as free as a bird to head home via the upright - a gift goal! Whoever was supposed to be marking her simply didn't, and their inaction killed off any hopes the Football Ferns harboured of getting back into the contest - at 2-0, they weren't coming back against a team as talented as Nadeshiko. But for a couple of rare Kiwi attacks, there was only one team in it in the second spell. Nagano and Seike combined on the right in the 51st minute, the latter's cross being gathered in front of both Tanaka and substitute Maika Hamano by Leat, who was nearly caught out by the latter two minutes later when Hamano spotted the goalkeeper well off her line. After the hour mark, Leat kept out efforts from Riko Ueki and Nagano, before Football Ferns substitutes Hannah Wilkinson, Grace Neville and Ally Green combined on the left, the last-mentioned delivering a cross which was inches too high for Gabrielle Rennie to head home, with Japanese goalkeeper Shu Chiba flapping like the proverbial windmill in trying to deal with the delivery. Sixteen minutes from time, slick first-time passing from Japan saw Yui Hasegawa and Tanaka open up the defence, much to the delight of Ueki, who strode through and should have at least fired a shot on target. That she didn't was due entirely to Bowen - a brilliant piece of defending which saw close down the striker but divert her attempt to make it 3-0 to safety. Soon after, a teasing cross from Honoka Hayashi saw Rion Ishikawa beat Bott in the air but direct a six-yard header straight at Bott - either side of her and it was a certain goal from that range. Leat was right behind a Kitagawa drive in the 83rd minute, before tipping a teasing cross-shot from Hayashi onto the bar, an action which saw the goalkeeper requiring treatment shortly afterwards. Bowen, too, endured a couple of setbacks in the dying minutes which saw concerned team-mates gathering around her while treatment was administered, while Japan twice threatened during the dying minutes, Ishikawa heading narrowly past the post after Leat produced a fine save to tip a rising drive from Seike over the bar, after Hamano had spotted her unmarked team-mate lurking with intent on the right flank. There was much to like about the Football Ferns' first half display, and the knowledge that they can employ a possession-based style of play against as prominent an opponent as Japan is something from which they'll take great heart. But those telling concentration lapses, and the lack of a cutting edge to do justice to their work when in possession, means they remain very much a work in progress, and some way off where they need to be if they are to be truly competitive at the upcoming Olympic Women's Football Tournament, for which this series against Japan is vital preparation. Japan:          Hirao (S. Chiba, 46); Ishikawa, Minami (Takahashi, 61), Koga; Moriya (Hamano, 46), Seike, Hayashi, Kitagawa, Nagano (Hasegawa, 73), Miyazawa (Ueki, 61); Tanaka (R. Chiba, 78) Football Ferns:     Leat; Bott, Bowen, Stott, A. Riley (Neville, 46); Jale (Clegg, 84), Steinmetz (Cleverley, 73), Kitching (booked, 59 (Taylor, 84)), Foster (Green, 58); I. Riley (Wilkinson, 46), Hand (Rennie, 58) Referee:     Jason Barcelo (Gibraltar)