The Football Ferns will take on Holland for seventh place at the 2012 Cyprus Cup, after battling out a 1-1 draw with Korea Republic in Paralimni on March 4 in a match the Kiwis needed to win to finish top of the group and earn a spot in the fifth place play-off. The ankle injury Hannah Wilkinson picked up in the South African encounter saw Emma Kete introduced to the starting line-up for the Korean clash, one of two changes coach Tony Readings made to the team, the other seeing Kirsty Yallop return to the fray at the expense of Betsy Hassett. “We started the game well”, reflects Readings, “and were on top of things during the opening quarter hour. But the Koreans established their rhtyhm at that point, and dominated the game up to the point when they scored”. That was in the 38th minute, when Ria Percival, making her lone error of the match, under-hit a back-pass which allowed Korean striker Cha Yun-Hee to dash onto the loose ball and round Jenny Bindon before rolling it home into an empty net. “Their goal galvanised us, and we finished the first half strongly before carrying that into the second spell”, says Readings. “We were on top for much of the second half, but always had to be wary of the Koreans, who are a good team and put together some good attacks during the half”. Sarah Gregorius had the Football Ferns’ best chance of the half twenty minutes from time when, after controlling an Amber Hearn pass on her chest, steered the ball wide of the target. But with seven minutes remaining, she made amends, rounding the ‘keeper and tucking the ball home after intense pressure high up the pitch from the New Zealand team brought about an error in the Korean rearguard. “We had our tails up after equalising, and went all out for the winner, but the final whistle came too soon for us”, said Readings, who singled out the efforts of four players after a match from which he expects there will be some players with tired legs. “Amber Hearn was instrumental today. They were kicking lumps out of her, but she kept her poise and linked the play really well. Katie Hoyle was solid in midfield, while Rosie White made a big impact after coming off the bench. And Ria Percival, although her only error resulted in Korea’s goal, played very well also”. The Football Ferns now take on the Dutch with seventh place at stake on the final day of the Cyprus Cup tournament, and a bit of unfinished business to attend to after their clash this time last year saw Holland prevail 4-1. The match takes place at Dasaki Achna in Larnaca from 1am on Wednesday, NZ time. Football Ferns: Bindon; Percival, Smith, Erceg, Riley; Moorwood (Hassett, 55), Hoyle, Hearn, Yallop (Longo, 75); Kete (White, 46), Gregorius France and Canada will clash in the Cyprus Cup Final after scoring contrasting victories on Matchday Three. Emily Zurrer headed home Sophie Schmidt’s free-kick seven minutes from time to earn the Canadians a 1-0 win over Holland and maintain their record of playing in all five finals since the competition’s inception. Canada have won three of the previous four finals, but for France, this is a maiden appearance in the competition’s showpiece fixture, one earned thanks to an emphatic 3-0 victory over England. One of the stars of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals, Louisa Necib, opened the scoring in the eleventh minute, while Marie-Laure Delie doubled France’s advantage five minutes into the second half. Gaetane Thiney wrapped things up ten minutes from time to inflict upon England their heaviest defeat in eighteen months, and their first loss in a

ninety-minute contest since being beaten by Canada in last year’s Cyprus Cup Final. England and Italy will clash in the play-off for third, the Italians edging Scotland 2-1 to finish with the best record of the three teams which finished on three points in Group B. Alia Guagni’s goal two minutes before half-time for the Italians was cancelled out by Scottish substitute Leanne Ross half-way through the second spell. But while the Scots were still celebrating, Melania Gabbiadini restored Italy’s advantage twenty minutes from time, and this time they retained it to the end. Korea’s reward for topping Group C is a play-off for fifth place against Finland, whose 3-1 win over Switzerland was inspired by Linda Sallstrom’s 21-minute hat-trick. Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic scored a consolation goal for the Swiss just before the hour mark, while Vanessa Burki missed a penalty for the beaten team three minutes from time. South Africa’s 2-0 victory over Northern Ireland should have been by a bigger margin. Nomathemba Ntsibande bagged both goals for Banyana Banyana in the second spell, with the first coming from the penalty spot three minutes after half-time in a match which saw the Irish reduced to ten players during the final half-hour, following the tournament’s first red card. Meanwhile, in the final day of round-robin action at the OFC Olympic Women’s Qualifying Tournament, Papua New Guinea and Tonga recorded the biggest victories in the footballing history of the two countries to set up a final between them on Wednesday, the reward for the victors being a home-and-away tussle with the Football Ferns for the final qualifying place at the 2012 Olympics. Tonga trounced Samoa 6-1 at the Loto-Tonga Centre in ‘Atele, where all the goals were scored in the first half. Laite Si’i Manu opened the scoring in the fourth minute for the host nation, while a four-minute hat-trick just after the half-hour mark from Piuingi Feke effectively settled the contest. Hazel Peleti pulled one back for Samoa seven minutes before half-time, but Feke - her fourth of the game - and Kiana Mu’amoholeva brought up the half-dozen for Tonga prior to the interval, after which the only incident of note was the sending-off of both Samoa’s Henifa Bryce and Tonga’s Si’i Manu for violent conduct. Papua New Guinea, meanwhile, vanquished Vanuatu vanquished 11-1, with Georgina Kaikas and captain Deslyne Siniu, who struck twice in three minutes, putting the tournament favourites on track for a comfortable win inside the first quarter of the match, efforts which rendered Junane Ishmael’s goal for Vanuatu three minutes before half-time of consolation value only. The Papuans were rampant throughout the second spell, and once Esther Mutu scored in the 56th minute there was no stopping them. Kaikas struck again before the hour mark, while Siniu completed her hat-trick from the penalty spot soon after it. Barbra Muta and Fatima Rama both chimed in before PNG scored three goals in the final five minutes, Siniu’s fourth of the afternoon sandwiched by Daisy Winas’ double strike. Tonga and PNG will clash at 3.30pm in Wednesday’s final, with Samoa and Vanuatu playing off for third place from 1pm. OFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament details: Samoa 1 (H. Peleti (38)), Tonga 6 (L. Si’i Manu (4), P. Feni (30, 33, 34, 45), K. Mu’amoholeva (45)) HT 1-6 Vanuatu 1 (J. Ishmael (42)), Papua New Guinea 11 (G. Kaikas (6, 57), D. Siniu (19, 22, 63 pen, 89), E. Muta (56), B. Muta (73), F. Rama (79), D. Winas (85, 90)) HT 1-3