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Football Ferns "Fourtunate" Not To Concede More
by Jeremy Ruane
Team USA handed the Football Ferns a 4-0 drubbing in front of a record 35,817-strong crowd at Busch Stadium, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals' baseball team, on Easter Saturday, a result which flattered the visiting side.
Three fine saves by Erin Nayler, allied to as many interventions again by the woodwork, prevented the reigning Olympic Women's Football champions from dishing out a good old-fashioned hiding to the Oceania champions, who produced one of their most disappointing displays in many a month at a time they can ill afford to do so.
A behind-closed-doors friendly against Team USA on Easter Monday, and a clash with reigning FIFA Women's World Cup holders Japan next month, comprise New Zealand's remaining matches prior to taking on the world at Canada 2015, and this match has given them plenty of work to do to rectify the problems Team USA began to expose soon after the first whistle.
One of the issues came about prior to the match - a 29-hour travel delay in Sydney en route to the USA. Quite why this occurred in the first place defies logic, although one suspects fiscal matters may have influenced proceedings.
Here is an inescapable bottom line - when you are in the final stages of preparing for a World Cup Finals, and your national airline flies direct to the country in which you are playing, common sense suggests you do not penny-pinch, nor muck around with alternative routes, but instead spare no expense to ensure disruptions to the players' preparations are kept to an absolute minimum.
Put it another way. Do you think Team USA, when on the road, head to their opponents' home via the scenic route? Of course not. Yet here are our players, who aspire to reach the same heights as those regularly obtained by their latest opponents, having to take them on in their own backyard with their preparations for the match having been hampered by events which don't reflect the players' collective ambition.
On the park, those collective ambitions were sharply put into focus by a Team USA side which stormed out of the blocks and proceeded to dominate the opening fifteen minutes.
Rebekah Stott and Ali Riley combined to curtail the progress of Alex Morgan in the fifth minute, after Carli Lloyd's darting run had been rewarded by Meghan Klingenberg's pass.
Three minutes later, Megan Rapinoe, on the occasion of her one hundredth appearance for Team USA - the 31st player to reach the milestone, pinged in a cross towards Morgan which Nayler parried across goal. Christen Press badly skied a great chance to open the scoring.
Nayler then tipped an Amy Rodriguez snapshot onto the crossbar in the thirteenth minute, with the USA opening the scoring from Rapinoe's resulting corner. Neither it nor Ali Krieger's follow-up delivery were adequately dealt with by the Football Ferns' defence, Klingenberg mercilessly punishing the visitors with an unerring twenty-five yard screamer which careered via Nayler's flailing fingertips into the net beyond.
The goal was no more than Team USA deserved, and they looked to consolidate their advantage virtually straight away. Krieger picked out Press, who would have picked out a beauty had Nayler not been at her athletic best to tip the shot to safety.
Jill Ellis' charges eased off the throttle after this, allowing the Football Ferns the chance to gain a foothold in the contest. But what possession they enjoyed was squandered by poor option-taking when they looked to get into the attacking third of the pitch.
The Julie Johnston-marshalled defence comfortably kept their rivals at arm's length throughout the half, the only excitement for the visitors' fans coming about when the hitherto unoccupied Hope Solo made a hash of a steepling speculative effort from Sarah Gregorius at the expense of a corner, which Ria Percival delivered to the far post in vain nine minutes before half-time.
By this time, the USA had begun to flex their attacking muscles once more - hardly surprising given they've a player of Morgan's calibre to turn to in attack, not to mention the equally prolific figure of Lloyd racing forward from midfield at every opportunity.
She it was who led the charge in the 27th minute, ably supported by Rodriguez, whose delicious curling cross in behind the defence was tailor-made for Morgan to make the most of, had the retreating figure of Percival not anticipated the danger so well.
Five minutes later, Rapinoe turned Katie Duncan - nee Hoyle - in midfield before linking with Lloyd, whose one-touch lay-off set up Morgan for a twenty yard drive which she sent soaring over the bar.
Morgan turned provider seconds later, the Football Ferns having quickly turned over possession from the resulting goal-kick - the accuracy of their distribution in this match, particularly by the defensive unit, left a great deal to be desired.
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Rapinoe and Rodriguez were the beneficiaries of Morgan's interception, and worked a one-two before Team USA's latest centurion's bid to mark her milestone match with a goal saw her direct a shot straight at Nayler, who was beaten by a thumping volley from Rodriguez five minutes later, after the striker raced in to meet Rapinoe's searching cross. The post came to the Football Ferns' rescue this time round.
The Kiwi side began the second spell in a far more composed fashion than had been evident in the opening fifteen minutes of the contest, but it wasn't long before Team USA began to probe for openings once more.
A hanging Rapinoe cross caused concerns ten minutes into the second half - Nayler withstood a buffeting from Lloyd in her bid to deal with it, while Morgan should have at least got her shot on target three minutes later, after Lauren Holiday and freshly introduced substitute Sydney Leroux had combined down the left to play her in with just Nayler to beat.
Another substitute, Lori Chalupny, fired wide of the near post soon after, while on the hour, Nayler produced yet another vital save to stem the tide, tipping Rapinoe's rasping drive round the post after Holiday's driving run through from midfield had caught the Football Ferns on the hop.
Opportunities were scarce for Tony Readings' charges, and when they came, they were akin to crumbs from the rich man's table, and had to be capitalised upon. Their first opportunity to do any damage of an attacking nature in the half fell Amber Hearn's way in the 64th minute, but New Zealand's all-time-leading markswoman failed to direct her twenty-five yard effort on target.
Two minutes later, Hearn made amends by clearing Holiday's free-kick and releasing Hannah Wilkinson on one of her trademark lung-busting runs at pace down the right. She looked to pick out freshly arrived substitute Jasmine Pereira with her cross, but Johnston stepped in to avert the danger in impressive fashion.
Twenty minutes from time, Katie Bowen undid all her good work on a surging run forward by giving the ball away. Rapinoe rampaged forward on the counter-attack, and quickly linked with Morgan, whose cross for Leroux saw the striker denied by Nayler.
Sixty seconds later, Krieger and Holiday linked on the right, with the latter's cross seeking out Rapinoe. She was unable to connect on this occasion, but fifteen minutes from time was instrumental in the move which saw Team USA double their lead.
A short corner routine featuring the centurion saw her roll the ball back into the stride of the unmarked Chalupny, who fair battered a twenty-yarder home between Nayler and her near post to give the home team a 2-0 lead, to the undisguised delight of the biggest crowd to ever watch a Team USA stand-alone friendly on home soil.
They soon had plenty more to cheer about, for this was the first of three goals in six minutes. After Football Ferns captain Abby Erceg had produced a vital tackle to deny Team USA skipper Lloyd in the penalty area, a third USA goal materialised in the 78th minute.
Holiday's free-kick from the left flank picked out the unmarked figure of Johnston. She gleefully guided a twelve yard header over the head of Nayler, who would have struck down several of her team-mates in the immediate aftermath of this goal if looks could kill - she was livid with the lack of cover in front of her, and with justification.
Nine minutes from time came a goal which summed up the Football Ferns' afternoon. Erceg played a ball out of defence towards Duncan, despite the fact New Zealand's most recent centurion had substitute Morgan Brian snapping at her heels.
The newcomer duly caught her opponent in possession, but why Duncan was put in the situation in the first place by her captain defies logic. Brian gleefully took full advantage, promptly working a slick one-two with Leroux before unleashing an angled drive across Nayler and in off the far post.
4-0, and so nearly a fifth goal four minutes from time. Another free-kick from Holiday had the Football Ferns' defence in a state of confusion, so much so that freshly introduced substitute Abby Wambach - of all people - was allowed to direct an unchallenged header across goal.
How Johnston hit the post from point-blank range only she will know, but it spared the Football Ferns from copping a fourth nap hand defeat at the hands of the world's foremost women's football-playing nation, who should have won this game by more than the 4-0 margin they enjoyed when the final whistle sounded.
Team USA: Solo; Krieger (O'Hara, 72), Johnston, Sauerbrunn, Klingenberg (Chalupny, 56); Press (Heath, 56), Lloyd, Holiday, Rapinoe (Brian, 79); Morgan (Wambach, 73), Rodriguez (Lerouz, 56)
F'ball Ferns: Nayler; Percival, Stott, Erceg, Riley; Bowen (Yallop, 85), Hoyle, Hearn, Longo; Wilkinson (White, 73), Gregorius (Pereira, 65)
Referee: Carol Anne Chenard (Canada)
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