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Thailand 201216
NZ 'A' Women Come From Behind To Top Thailand
by Jeremy Ruane
The New Zealand 'A' women's team scored a come-from-behind 3-1 win over Thailand at Fred Taylor Park on December 20 to clean-sweep the series against the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Finals contenders.
Thailand enjoyed the better of the early exchanges, and stunned the natives by taking a shock lead in the ninth minute. Latching onto a loose ball some thirty-five yards out from goal, the unmarked Silawan Intamee promptly unleashed a dipping effort which deceived Victoria Esson, the 'keeper retreating in vain as it arced over her flailing fingertips and under the bar, to the delight of Thailand's supporters.
Tony Readings' charges' responses were led by Martine Puketapu, who chased a powerful header from Abby Erceg in vain in the thirteenth minute - Waraporn Boonsing saved at her feet - then clattered into Natthakarn Chinwong three minutes later, forcing the defender's departure from the fray on a stretcher.
But all too often, New Zealand 'A' was guilty of overcooking the omelette - our passing quality must improve, while over-hit crosses were de rigeur, with Jasmine Pereira, in particular, off her game, in stark contrast to Malia Steinmetz, who was lion-like in midfield, getting through more than her fair share of work in a really impressive performance from the seventeen-year-old.
She it was who created a chance for Pereira, on the half-hour, but the striker's twenty-five yarder was grabbed by Boonsing, much like Esson had dealt with a twenty-yarder from Naphat Seesraum eight minutes earlier.
Thailand's Taneekarn Dangda was denied a second goal for her country by the offside flag in the 31st minute, while another long-range effort from Seesraum soon after - Esson dealt with it comfortably - suggested the visitors fancied their chances of doubling their lead before the interval.
This effort was sandwiched in between efforts from Pereira and Puketapu. The former's opportunity was engineered by Catherine Bott, who picked out Puketapu with a pass which allowed the number nine to set up her Three Kings United team-mate. But her first shot was blocked, and the second, when it was meant to curl, kept on "that strait old line", as Split Enz once sung.
Puketapu's effort, five minutes before half-time, was engineered by Steinmetz, and saw her muscle her way between two defenders to latch onto the pass and let fly. Boonsing saved at the second attempt.
How Thailand failed to double their lead in the 43rd minute beggars belief! A quite scintillating move, built around a smart one-two between Kanjana Sung-Ngoen and Dangda, culminated in the former fizzing in a low cross which the unmarked Seesraum somehow skied from eight yards, with Esson scrambling across her goal in an effort to cover the danger.
It was to prove a crucial miss, and they could have found themselves pegged back before the break. Jacqui Hand - she grew in confidence under Anna Green's guidance as the half wore on - worked her way past an opponent in the penalty area before slipping a pass into the stride of Puketapu.
Just as she was pulling the trigger, the retreating figure of Pikul Khueanpet's tackle diverted the ball upwards, and it eventually looped onto the crossbar. Puketapu was first to react to the rebound, but could only guide her header into the grateful hands of Boonsing, seconds before Anna-Marie Keighley - who let a lot go in this match, much to the frustration of Thailand coach Spencer Prior - blew for half-time.
The second spell saw both teams making changes, with the Kiwi duo of Meikayla Moore and Paige Satchell swiftly involved in proceedings, the former cleaning up five minutes into the half after Esson failed to cleanly catch Intamee's free-kick from the left as it dropped out of the setting sun.
Seconds later, Annalie Longo - a dominant display in midfield - set off on another charging run before feeding Rosie White, who had endured a quiet first half, but was a much more dangerous opponent for Thailand to cope with in the second spell.
White held the ball up well before bringing the pacy Satchell into play on the right. She burst past two opponents prior to delivering a cross to the near post for White to hit in her stride. Boonsing saved at her near post.
Eight minutes later, and after Aimee Phillips had taken over from Hand on the left, it was another right-flank raid which unhinged the Thais, and Satchell was a central figure in its execution.
It began with Erceg, who linked with Longo, Moore and White to bring the speedster into play. This time it was Puketapu who benefited from Satchell's cross, but Boonsing proved equal to it, and was untroubled when Puketapu fired another shot in anger, albeit tamely, seconds later, after Erceg's through ball had seen the striker burst between two opponents near the edge of the penalty area.
Erceg was back on defensive duties in the 61st minute. Sung-Ngoen raced down the right at pace, leaving Green trailing in her wake, and NZ 'A''s captain was also struggling to keep up with the speedy striker.
But her reading of the play got Erceg out of trouble on this occasion, the skipper positioning herself so that when Sung-Ngoen fired in her cross, she was
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perfectly placed to execute a lunging block, which averted the danger.
After Anna Leat, Kate Loye and Jane Barnett had entered the fray, Longo was at her enterprising best in the 66th minute. Brilliantly weaving her way twixt two opponents, she deserved better than to see her sizzling twenty-five yarder flash narrowly past Boonsing's right-hand post.
Five minutes later, New Zealand 'A' drew level with a gem of a goal, although it shouldn't have been allowed. A corner was cleared to the edge of the area, where Bott was lurking with intent. The fullback let fly, only to see her shot cannon off a defender and ricochet behind her.
Bott pursued the ball, and ploughed into Sung-Ngoen in rather haphazard fashion, leaving the striker prone on the deck as a result - more fuel for Mr Prior's fire where referee Keighley's judgement was concerned.
Bott swiftly got shot of the sphere, Satchell the recipient of a pass which allowed her to evade an opponent at pace before clipping a delightfully weighted cross onto the head of White, who guided a gorgeous glancing header across Boonsing and in by the far post - 1-1, the 135th goal of "The Golazo Girl"'s career to date.
Thailand responded to this setback by throwing on some fresh legs, and Warunee Phetwiset's first contribution to the match saw her scorch down the right flank straight from the kick-off and fire in a cross which fellow substitute Rattikan Thongsombut headed straight at Leat.
Two minutes later, New Zealand's goalkeeper put her team in all sorts of bother. Leat took too long to execute a clearance, allowing the charging figure of Orathai Srimanee to block her effort and latch onto the rebound, which she fired across to Intamee.
She side-stepped the challenge of Moore before letting fly at what appeared to be an open goal, with Leat not having yet recovered her ground. But Thailand's hopes of regaining the lead were thwarted by Erceg, who appeared from nowhere to clear off the line, then carried on running to charge down another shot and finally repel this Thai attack.
Saskia Vosper was introduced to the fray to shore up the back-line, and she did well in her time on the park. As did the industrious, whole-hearted figure of Phillips, despite picking up a booking for a studs-up challenge on Boonsing eleven minutes from time, as she looked to get on the end of a low cross from White, following Satchell's initial penetration.
Having been carried off the park in Saturday's match, lightning was to strike twice for the brave Thai goalkeeper three days later, her place being taken over by Nattaruja Muthtanawech, who pulled off a superb save when first called upon, in the 84th minute.
Satchell worked a one-two with Barnett on the right before delivering a delicious cross to the far post, where Phillips was arriving on cue. She unleashed a rocket which Muthtanawech reacted to brilliantly, saving low to her right. But unfortunately for the 'keeper, she could only parry Phillips' shot, and the striker wasn't to be denied - 2-1.
With the momentum now in their favour, the Kiwis looked to be home and dry, but in the 88th minute, the concentration of Moore, not for the first time in the half, was found badly wanting, the central defender completely missing a pass from Erceg which Thongsombut was swift to latch onto. Vosper got back to spare the Junior Ferns' captain's blushes - Moore's best forty-five minutes this was not!
Substitute Hannah Blake - both teams made eight substitutions in this encounter - featured in New Zealand 'A''s response to this scare, an enterprising left flank raid which culminated in a teasing cross from Green being punched off Barnett's head by Muthtanawech, who injured herself in the process, and had to soldier on for the duration.
Seven minutes was the minimum time still to be played when the board was raised at the ninety minute mark, time aplenty in which to score a goal, as Everton discovered to their horror - and Liverpool fans' undisguised delight - in the Merseyside Derby just hours earlier.
Sure enough, the white-clad 'A' team did just that, Satchell tucking the ball home two minutes from time to wrap up the come-from-behind 3-1 win in which her input was pivotal - having been guilty of far too often supplying no end-product after utilising her copious speed to great effect, it was very pleasing to see Satchell setting up two of the goals in this game with inch-perfect crosses.
The contributions of Steinmetz, Vosper and Phillips were also praiseworthy, while Longo, Erceg and, in the second half, White caught the eye, with the lure of Cyprus Cup 2017 places up for grabs one of the purposes served by this three-match series.
NZ 'A': Esson (Leat, 62); Bott (Vosper, 76), Anton (Moore, 46), Erceg, Green; Longo, Steinmetz (Loye, 62), White (Blake, 87); Pereira (Satchell, 46), Puketapu (Barnett, 62), Hand (Phillips, 53 (booked, 79))
Thailand: Boonsing (Muthtanawech, 80); Chinwong (Saenkhun, 18), Sornsai, Sritala (Saengchan, 90), Srangthaisong (Phetwiset, 72); Rukpinij (Thongsombut, 46), Seesraum (Srimanee, 62), Intamee, Cheapest (Panyosuk, 46); Sung-Ngoen, Dangda (Penghgam, 80)
Referee: Anna-Marie Keighley
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