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Football Ferns Target Victories On Vital Pre-Cup Tour
by Jeremy Ruane
New Zealand’s Football Ferns’ preparations for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals in Germany step up a number of notches over the next ten days, with three vital international fixtures certain to play a significant part in the decision-making processes of coach John Herdman.
His task at present is unenviable - determining the best mix of players whom he is confident will produce the goods in Germany and realise the Football Ferns’ minimum objective of progressing to the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.
"The boss has had to make some tough decisions going into this tour", says striker Emma Kete (left), "as there are some really good players who have been left behind. It’s going to be pretty competitive just to get on the field, but that shows we’re getting better, stronger and increasingly competitive as a whole".
There are going to be some highly delighted young women when Herdman names the final squad prior to the Queen’s Birthday weekend deadline, and some decidedly disappointed ones at the same time.
Those on this particular tour are playing for their places in Germany, with a couple of bolters - both Hannah Bromley and Sarah McLaughlin have been recalled, while Katie Bowen is poised to make her senior international debut - vying for spots alongside reappointed captain Rebecca Smith, who will become the latest Football Fern to make fifty appearances for her country when leading the team out against Australia on Sunday.
As well as playing for their places, this squad will be endeavouring to redeem the Football Ferns’ hard-won reputation as a team to overlook at your peril, after a Cyprus Cup showing in March which, it’s fair to say, was disappointing in light of prior results.
"Our strategy in Cyprus was one of trial and error", says Emma, "and to keep under the radar somewhat, given the presence of England and Mexico, two of our group rivals in Germany.
"This tour will provide a better indication of where we are at as a squad, and where I’m at personally, given we’ve only six weeks or so till we kick off our World Cup campaign against Japan".
When fully fit, Kete has been a fixture in Herdman’s squads from the day of his very first national appointment as coach of the 2006 Junior Ferns. But there are no guarantees the passionate 23-year-old will make the cut this time round.
"Training has been getting really competitive, I’m not going to lie. It’s getting tougher and tougher and so competitive. I’m at the point where I don’t know if I’m in the starting line-up or not.
"Usually going into a tour you could ask any player and they could probably name their starting eleven and it would be fairly consistent with that which took to the field. Going into this tour, though, no-one really knows - it’s that competitive and our bench is that strong. I think it’s a good thing".
Emma’s cause for selection hasn’t been helped by an Achilles tendon injury which came out of the blue and was a setback she certainly didn’t need in Women’s World Cup year.
"I had two surgeries in 2009 arising from the ankle injury I picked up that year, which sidelined me for about five months. Unbeknown to me, my lack of mobility during that period contributed to this Achilles injury, along with the increased training load I‘ve had ahead of the World Cup.
"It wasn’t really an injury which just happened - it gradually came on me", continues the Three Kings United star. "I didn’t know it was as bad as it was until I got told by the physio that I had to sit things out for two weeks. So I made the decision not to play any club football until after the World Cup to assist in managing the workload.
"For me, where the World Cup is concerned, every day counts, so in that regard it’s been disappointing. I’m not too concerned about my fitness levels, because I’ll get that back, but sitting things out has been tough.
"You go along to training and try to take in as much as you can, but it’s not the same as being on the field. It should be all right going into the World Cup. We’ve got a really good physio and medical team, so I should be OK".
The acid test for Kete will come when she gets the nod to take on opponents she relishes playing against. Few New Zealand players get in the faces of Australia’s Matildas like the feisty front-runner, and that passion, pride and Kiwi commitment mark this fixture down as one she greatly looks forward to at any time.
New Zealand’s recent record against Australia is nothing to write home about, however. Our last victory against the old enemy was recorded in October 1994, and there have been twenty clashes since, not one of which has even been drawn, let alone won by the Football Ferns, a statistic which irks Emma deeply.
"It kills me every time we lose to Australia. To be honest, I really want to smash them!! The last two games we played and lost at home against them, in February last year, were gutting! We just can’t lose another game against them. If we don’t beat them now, are we ever going to beat them?
"It’s almost becoming psychological. But rather than look at it as ‘I hope we don’t lose to Australia again’, I prefer to consider these matches as more of an opportunity to show New Zealand just how far we’ve come in the past year and show where we are ahead of the World Cup".
While Thursday’s encounter at Bluetongue Stadium
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is a behind-closed-doors affair, caps will be awarded for both games at the venue, with the second match being televised live in Australia and in delayed form here - Sunday at 8.30pm on Sky Sports 3.
"I’m stoked it’s being televised!" exclaims Emma. "I only found out a few days ago. It shows how much we’re progressing in New Zealand. It’s still not as good as it should be, but I think back to when we went to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Finals in 2006 - those games weren’t even televised! I had to get some family members in Australia to tape the Australian game, which is the only game I saw from that tournament!
"Now we’re getting to see a friendly international on TV, albeit delayed coverage. But at least my family and friends can cheer us on and get to see us play".
From Gosford, the Football Ferns head to Jinan, China, where they will take on the former women’s footballing superpower in another clash which presents the Kiwi team with the chance to end a winless run against Asian opposition. Needless to say, Kete is keen to tick that particular box this time round.
"It would be massive to come home with wins against both Australia and China. It would be great for our confidence. I remember playing China just before the last Olympics, and we lost 1-0 - it was so annoying, because even though they’re a good side, we played well.
"These full internationals will be two of our hardest games going into the World Cup, so it’s a real good opportunity to make a statement and prove that we can not only be competitive against the likes of Australia and China, but beat them as well.
"It would be a massive confidence boost for us to come home from this trip and go into training knowing we’ve defeated two of the biggest countries in Asian women’s football".
Another lies in wait in Germany, of course, in the form of Japan, New Zealand’s first opponents at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals. At the Olympic Games, the Football Ferns came desperately close to downing the Japanese - they were 2-0 up with twelve minutes left - so Kete and company know that they have it in them to realise their dream of reaching the second round, and perhaps going further still.
"Why go to the World Cup if you’re not going to try and win it?" bristles the 36-times-capped international. "I don’t want to come back to New Zealand if we don’t make the second round! I’ll be hiding somewhere in Europe!
"Seriously, it’s what we’ve been working towards, and if we make the second round it will change New Zealand women’s football for good. It will open up opportunities for the young players coming through which we’ve never had - it’s not just about this group of Football Ferns, but the Football Ferns of the future as well".
Emma Kete is quietly confident that the future of New Zealand women’s football will be well catered for sooner than most folk anticipate. "I think we’re such a good chance against both Australia and China. And we couldn’t have asked for a better World Cup pool than Japan, England and Mexico, to be fair. So yes, we’ve got a really good chance".
Tour details:
May 12, v. Australia, Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford, 4.30pm NZ time - non-cap-earning international
May 15, v. Australia, Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford, 5.00pm NZ time - delayed same-day coverage on Sky Sports 3 at 8.30pm
May 18, v. China, at Jinan, 7.30pm NZ time
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