Nadeshiko Japan narrowly edged out a plucky Football Ferns combination 2-1 at the Komaba Stadium in Saitama City on 14 November, the injury-hit Kiwi team matching the world number six-ranked team stride for stride in this one-off friendly. New Zealand went close to opening the scoring before Aya Miyama did just that on the stroke of half-time for the host nation, who doubled their advantage just shy of the hour mark through Shinobu Ono, much to the delight of coach Norio Sasaki. Caitlin Campbell’s maiden international goal, a blockbusting thirty-five yard free-kick, came too late for the courageous Kiwis to salvage something from the match result-wise, but the performance was one captain Hayley Moorwood  was very pleased with, the narrow defeat notwithstanding. "We played really well overall. The girls that stepped up played their hearts out, and we kept fighting right to the finish. "We just needed to keep it going a bit longer. Japan got in behind us a couple of times, and scored on each occasion, the first time being right on half-time. "The back four was solid throughout, while Jenny Bindon, in goal, had a great game. But it was the all-round team effort which pleased me most". Moorwood, who is now four caps away from making fifty appearances for her country, and relished the chance to play a competitive fixture for the first time since the conclusion of the North American W-League season in August, played in four different positions throughout the international as the Football Ferns employed their diamond midfield structure to good effect. "Our strongest aspect of the game was when we got the ball in midfield and were able to thread balls through to the strikers (Amber Hearn and Sarah McLaughlin) or to Annalie Longo at the tip of the diamond. "Japan pressed us quite high up the pitch, but we needed to keep playing to our strengths, and this tactic kept us well in contention throughout the match". New Zealand’s result is given more credence when one considers Japan’s most recent international performances. On a two-match European tour in July-August, they held Women‘s World Cup holders Germany to a goalless draw in Mannheim, before trouncing France 4-0 in Clarefontaine, a French team the Football Ferns held to a 1-1 draw at the Cyprus Cup in March. John Herdman’s charges went into this friendly international without the services of nine regular selections due to either injury or club commitments. One of those chosen for the tour, Sarah Gregorius, was also unable to make her international debut at senior level due to injury.

Hayley Moorwood - a happy captain performance-wise Caitlin Campbell - maiden international goal Jenny Bindon - "great game"

47-times-capped Maia Jackman, playing her first international in nineteen months, edged closer to becoming just the fourth New Zealand women’s international to be capped fifty times by her country. Meanwhile, Bridgette Armstrong, five days after her seventeenth birthday, and Ella Wiebe both came off the bench to make their international debuts on a day Melissa Ray made her first appearance in a New Zealand shirt since injury cut short her international ambitions in February 2007. The one-off international marked the start of Japan’s preparations for the Asian Women’s Cup Finals in May, an event which doubles as the Asian confederation’s Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament. It also concludes an impressive 2009 campaign for the Football Ferns, the highlight of which was a top-four finish at the Cyprus Cup in March, during which they defeated top-twenty opposition in Holland and drew with top-ten-ranked Canada and France. The Football Ferns will be at the vanguard of a busy year on the world stage for New Zealand’s international teams in 2010, which kicks off in January with the Junior Ferns’ qualifying campaign for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Finals, which take place in Germany in July. The Young Ferns are currently taking part in the Lion Foundation National Women’s League, the first stage of their preparations for April’s Oceania qualifying tournament and the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Finals in Trinidad & Tobago in September. Once that event has concluded, the prime objective of the Football Ferns’ year, qualifying for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals in Germany, is set down for October 7 - 17. All three Oceania qualifying tournaments will take place in Auckland. Details:      Japan 2 (A. Miyama (44), S. Ono (58)), New Zealand 1 (C. Campbell (90))  HT 1-0 Japan (from):     Goalkeepers—Nozomi Yamago, Ayumi Kaihori Defenders—Yukari Kinga, Kyoko Yano, Nayuha Toyota, Azusa Iwashimizu, Aya Sameshima Midfielders—Homare Sawa, Miwa Yonetsu, Maiko Nasu, Aya Miyama, Nahomi Kawasumi, Megumi Kamionobe, Rumi Utsugi, Asano Nagasato Forwards—Eriko Arakawa, Kozue Ando, Ayako Kitamoto, Shinobu Ohno, Yuki Nagasato Football Ferns:     Jenny Bindon; Liz Milne, Maia Jackman, Kristy Hill (Bridgette Armstrong, 66), Anna Green; Hayley Moorwood ©, Katie Hoyle, Annalie Longo (Ella Wiebe, 75), Kirsty Yallop (Melissa Ray, 89); Amber Hearn, Sarah McLaughlin (Caitlin Campbell, 46)      NB     Aroon Clansey was a non-playing substitute, while Sarah Gregorius was unavailable for selection due to injury