NZ "A" v USA U19s

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NZ "A" v USA U19s

US U-19s Open Tour With Win Over NZ "A"

by Jeremy Ruane

The touring US U-19 women's team scored a come-from-behind victory over a New Zealand 'A' combination on June 14, in the first of three matches they'll be playing at QBE Stadium this week.

Virtually all of the American squad are eligible to play in November's FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Finals in Papua New Guinea, so these matches offer them an opportunity to stake a claim for that squad.

Meanwhile, the "A" team was effectively a shadow Football Ferns side, with all bar three of the starting line-up, not to mention a handful of those on the bench, having represented the full national team in recent times. And with this being potentially the last chance to claim a place in the Olympics squad … no pressure!

The game began in fairly cagey fashion, but the "A" team threw off the shackles in the eighth minute to produce the game's first noteworthy attack. Jasmine Pereira won possession in midfield and fed Catherine Bott, whose surging run down the right culminated in a pass inside to Jane Barnett.

Her shot stung the gloves of US goalkeeper Samantha Leshnak, whose resulting clearance wasn't the greatest thing since sliced bread! Indeed, she paid the price for it seconds later as the understanding Sarah Morton and Barnett have forged at Massey University and at National Women's League level with Central Football unhinged the US defence, Barnett darting in behind the defence to fire past the stranded Leshnak.

Within four minutes, the US carved out a chance to level the scores. Captain Jordan DiBiasi spread play wide to Cecilia Gee, who shrugged off the attentions of Bott before pulling the ball back into the stride of Shannon Simon, whose shot fizzed over the bar from the edge of the penalty area.

The generally cagey nature of the half continued, with the Americans making good progress until reaching the final third of the pitch, where a combination of over-hit through balls and the solid defending of Meikayla Moore, Katie Duncan and, in particular, Liz Anton, largely afforded Erin Nayler an armchair ride throughout the half.

The "A" team was generally solid, if a bit disjointed at times, but certainly weren't in the 22nd minute, when Barnett and Hannah Wilkinson teamed up to present Betsy Hassett with a twenty yard chance which she directed at Leshnak.

The US responded via a DiBiasi free-kick, delivered to the far post with Simon its target. New Zealand's defence scrambled this threat to safety, but looked on with relief on the half-hour as Shannon Horgan, Gee and Simon combined to play Marissa Everett in behind Morton on the right. She fired wide of the near post.

Eight minutes before half-time, Annalie Longo and Moore combined with Bott, whose teasing cross arced just beyond Barnett and left Wilkinson wrong-footed, much to Leshnak's relief as she gathered the ball to avert the danger.

That was Wilkinson's last act of note in the match, her withdrawal after 41 minutes - Paige Satchell took over - another sign that her battle to fully recover the explosive elements of her game following the ACL injury she suffered last year is an ongoing one.

With the eighteen-strong squad for the Olympics set to be named in the near future, her frustration in the immediate aftermath of her substitution was tangible. On this showing, and her two recent displays against Australia - her first matches following her return to full training, she is very much a 50-50 proposition selection-wise, although Wilkinson is not alone in that regard.

The Americans started the second spell in lively fashion, Everett and Simon teaming up well inside the first sixty seconds of the half. Moore's challenge saw the ball break for Nayler, who benefited from a ricochet off Gee before she could finally tidy things up.

When the US next mounted an attack of note, it was via breaking up a 55th minute New Zealand raid, for which Bott had surged forward down the right. Her absence was swiftly exploited by Cyera Hintzen, only for the striker to be brilliantly thwarted by Anton - a superb piece of defending from last season's Lotto Northern Premier Women's League Young Player of the Year.

But the visitors sensed the game was theirs for the taking, and over the course of the next five minutes, they turned things round completely.

Gee gathered the ball on the left in the 56th minute and raced down the flank before feeding Simon inside her. The attacking midfielder clipped the ball in behind the defence to reward the well-timed run of Everett, whose volleyed finish was exquisite.

1-1 became 2-1 four minutes later. This time, Gee charged down Anton's attempted clearance and surged forward on the counter-attack before picking

out Hintzen with a cross. She turned the ball onto Everett, whose unerring finish arrowed across the diving figure of Nayler into the bottom far corner of the net.

New Zealand soon rang the changes, but not before half-time substitute Aimee Phillips had shown her attacking instincts by powering past three opponents before letting rip from twenty-five yards. Leshnak did well to parry her effort to safety.

Daisy Cleverley and Kate Loye were introduced to the fray in the 63rd minute, and nearly made the ideal impact within sixty seconds of coming on. The former's first act was to deliver a corner, which was cleared to Loye, whose booming twenty-five yard rocket was brilliantly saved by Leshnak, plunging to her right.

Back came the USA - the second half was a far livelier affair. Everett led the charge this time, sweeping past two opponents in the 69th minute before setting up Simon, whose twenty-yarder flashed past Nayler's right-hand post.

From the resulting goal-kick, the ball was swiftly back in US possession, specifically that of Hintzen, who surprised Nayler with a rasping long-range effort which the 'keeper kept out, but not without drawing a gasp from the 100-strong crowd - after what she's experienced in recent times, this was child's play by comparison!

Cue a concerted spell of "A" team pressure, Cleverley and Longo sparking it by combining with Phillips, who did her Olympics chances no harm with this display. Down the left she dashed before looking to pick out Pereira with a cross.

Ally Prisock and Tierna Davidson combined to thwart her on this occasion, but when New Zealand next raided, in the 74th minute, the opportunity arose from a stray pass, onto which Loye latched and promptly sent Pereira powering to the by-line.

Her cross picked out the head of Longo, whose looping header crashed against the crossbar. Phillips moved in for the kill, but the reach advantage Leshnak enjoyed meant that the striker wasn't afforded a sniff of the rebound.

Phillips featured again thirteen minutes from time, another mazy run past three opponents culminating in a pass into the stride of Satchell, whose pace had given the US defence plenty to contemplate, even though very little tended to result from her forays.

This was another such occasion. Closed down, Satchell sought support, and it came in the form of Bott - a passion-laden performance. Her cross had Longo as its target, but was too near Leshnak for the gifted attacker to exploit.

A by now rare US raid soon afterwards saw Simon benefiting from a throw-in to splendidly turn two opponents in the penalty before lashing a rising ten yard drive narrowly over Nayler's near post.

This scare sparked further "A" team pressure, the locals all too well aware that they were trailing on the scoreboard. And despite their best efforts as time ticked away, that remained the case.

Pereira controlled a Cleverley pass on her chest before swivelling to send a vicious volley veering past Leshnak's left-hand upright, the same post towards which Satchell delivered a devilish cross soon afterwards, following another entertaining escapade down the right.

Leshnak parried the ball away from Pereira, prompting a scrambled clearance by the US defence, which was now hanging on for dear life. Their cause was aided somewhat by Cleverley soon after, the midfielder going for a dribble in the box when a Bob Paisley maxim should have been applied …

"If you've got the ball in the penalty area, and you don't know what to do with it, stick it in the net and we'll discuss the other options afterwards".

A left-foot shot was on, but Cleverley opted to carry on dribbling into a cul-de-sac of US defenders before laying the ball back into the stride of Katie Rood, who promptly rattled the side-netting with the last kick of an entertaining second half, one which probably should have seen the match finish all-square.

The young US team will be well pleased with this victory over more senior opponents, however. They now take on the Junior Ferns in two matches, on Friday and Sunday, both of which kick off at 2pm at QBE Stadium.

NZ "A": Nayler; Bott (booked, 89), Moore, Anton, Morton (Stewart-Hobbs, 68); Hassett (Loye, 63), Duncan (Cleverley, 63), Longo (Rood, 78); Pereira, Barnett (Phillips, 46), Wilkinson (Satchell, 41)

US U19s: Leshnak; Daugirda, Prisock, Davidson, Horgan; DiBiasi, Simon (Doyle, 90), Stevens (Hill, 78); Everett (Braby, 89), Hintzen, Gee (Eubanks, 68)

Referee: Anna-Marie Keighley

Rio 2016