New Zealand's Football Ferns concluded their pre-Olympic Games preparations at Singapore's Queenstown Stadium on Saturday night by holding Canada to a 1-1 draw. That's right, the same Canada which, just on fourteen months ago, scored 3-0 and 5-0 victories over John Herdman's charges at North Harbour Stadium, and to whom New Zealand lost 2-0 at last month's Peace Queen Cup tournament in Korea. If ever there was a yardstick indicating just how far the Football Ferns have progressed since Herdman took charge of this squad, it's this series of results against a team ranked ninth in the world. A month ago, the Football Ferns scored their first win over top-thirty-ranked opposition in years when downing Argentina 1-0 at the Peace Queen Cup tournament. And after a series of narrow defeats against Canada, Australia and China, they've now secured a draw against top-ten-ranked opponents - the best result achieved by any senior NZ Football representative team in years. It's equivalent to the All Whites drawing with Portugal or France, the nations currently ranked ninth and tenth in the men's game. Our national men's team is lucky to get within four goals of teams of such calibre, as evidenced by New Zealand's most recent duels with top-ten-ranked opponents - a flattering 4-0 loss to Brazil in 2006, and a 5-0 mauling from the French at the 2003 Confederations Cup Finals. The only result truly comparable with the Football Ferns' effort so far this century is the goalless draw with eventual third-place-getters Brazil, recorded by the NZ U-20 women's squad at the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Finals. Herdman oversaw that outcome, and he's keen to play this one down as well. “It's a really proud moment tonight”, he said on a team bus which was absolutely buzzing with sound as this exciting young team celebrated their latest success. “We're delighted and, at the same time, disappointed, because this is as close as we've got to beating a top-ten team, and we certainly had the chances to do so. “We set out from the outset to win the game, and for ninety minutes, the girls gave it everything they had to try and do so - they never took their foot off the pedal. We had them right under the pump, with Canadian goalkeeper Erin McLeod denying both Kirsty Yallop and Emma Kete in one-on-one situations early on”. Nine minutes before half-time, the Canadians, who were at full strength in what was their penultimate hit-out before they tackle Argentina, China and Sweden at the Olympics, opened the scoring through Christine Sinclair. She took advantage of a vicious bobble which wrong-footed Rebecca Smith just inside the penalty area to finish first-time past Jenny Bindon, her 93rd goal for the Canucks on the world stage. “Within three minutes, Katie Hoyle set off on a

mazy run before letting fly from just outside the area”, recalls Herdman. “The ball hit the inside of the post and cannoned out, with Kete seeing her shot from the rebound deflected for a corner. “Two minutes later, Marlies Oostdam delivered a lovely cross from the left which Amber Hearn flicked on, and Kete broke through the defensive line before producing a very composed finish to beat McLeod one-on-one”. The Football Ferns had chances to win the game in the second spell, particularly early in the half. Ali Riley's deliveries from the right presented opportunities for Hearn and Kete, but Canada, who weren't without their chances in the half, held on for the draw. “The spirit in the squad is sky-high at present”, said Herdman. “We've no injury concerns, and we're starting to peak at precisely the right time”. An individual milestone achieved in the Canadian encounter saw Football Ferns captain Hayley Moorwood enter the ranks of New Zealand's top ten most capped female footballers. She joins Donna Baker in earning 35 caps for her country, with Viv Robertson (36) and Ali Grant (37) set to be overhauled by the midfield maestro during the Olympic Women's Football Tournament. The Football Ferns now go back to Qinhuangdao for a couple of days, “where the girls can have some well-earned relaxation time”, say Herdman. “We then go to Beijing, and savour the Olympic Village for a couple of days as part of the New Zealand Olympic Team, something which we're expecting will add another 10% to this squad. “Then it's back to Qinhuangdao for four days of mainly tactical preparation prior to hitting the ground running against Japan on the 6th. We're definitely looking forward to it, especially after this proud moment on our journey tonight”. Following on from the match against Nadeshiko Japan, the Football Ferns play Norway in Qinhuangdao on August 9, before heading to Shenyang to take on the reigning Olympic Women's Football champions, the USA, three days later. Should they progress, the quarter-finals take place on August 15, with the winners of New Zealand's group set to play in Shanghai, and the runners-up in Tianjin. The third place-getters in the group, should they be one of the two best-placed teams in that position, return to familiar territory, Qinhuangdao, for their last eight engagement. Canada:          Erin McLeod (Karina Le Blanc, 46); Robyn Gayle (Randee Hermus, 30), Candace Chapman, Martina Franko, Emily Zurrer (Clare Rustad, 60); Rhian Wilkinson, Diana Matheson, Sophie Schmidt, Amber Allen (Melissa Tancredi, 46); Kara Lang (Jonelle Filigno, 75), Christine Sinclair Football Ferns:     Jenny Bindon; Ria Percival, Abby Erceg, Rebecca Smith, Marlies Oostdam; Ali Riley, Katie Hoyle, Hayley Moorwood (Emily McColl, 87), Kirsty Yallop (Renee Leota, 80); Amber Hearn (Rebecca Tegg, 72), Emma Kete