The Football Ferns came desperately close to snatching a dramatic draw in a thrilling Four Nations Cup encounter with the Korea Republic in Guangzhou on January 12, going down 4-3 after trailing 4-1 with twelve minutes to go. Had Kirsty Yallop not hit the crossbar with an 86th minute penalty, New Zealand's national women's team would have completed a comeback to rival “The Miracle In Istanbul”, just 45 hours after finding themselves on the wrong end of a 6-0 hiding from China. “That game was a bit of a misnomer”, said coach John Herdman this evening. “The scoreline didn't reflect what happened over the ninety minutes, which saw us in the faces of the Chinese team, and matching them stride for stride for a good hour. “But we paid the price for a goalkeeping error and a defensive error, and China ended up running away with it”. Three goals in the last twenty minutes blew out the scoreline in that match, after Yan Bi had netted a second minute free-kick, and a further set-piece strike after twenty minutes was supplemented by another Chinese goal ten minutes after half-time. The Korean encounter came hard on the heels of the clash with the host nation, and demanded a display of strong character from captain Hayley Moorwood and her colleagues, as they looked to bounce back from the team's heaviest defeat under Herdman's stewardship. They delivered in a big way. “I'm pretty pleased with what we saw tonight”, said the coach after the game. “We've just scored three goals against a team which beat Finland 4-0 the other night, and drew 0-0 with the USA before Christmas. “As well, we were good when in possession, with better movement up front and supporting runs in behind the strikers. And our youngsters did well tonight. Rosie White started, and had a strong second half, while the other three came off the bench. “Liz Milne made a number of good interceptions and runs, Sarah McLaughlin was really bright when she came on, and then there was Hannah Wall's display”.

Yes, indeed. Not many seventeen-year-olds have come off the bench and scored twice for their country in just their second full international, but that is the entry being added to the Western Springs' striker's footballing CV today. A lot happened prior to her introduction, however. The Football Ferns found themselves two goals down inside the first sixteen minutes of play, both a result of set-piece strikes from Lee Eun Mi. The first, in the eighth minute, was scored direct from a corner, while eight minutes later, a challenge out wide resulted in a free-kick. Betsy Hassett lost her opponent, who duly headed home. “It's not in our make-up to give away cheap goals like those”, groaned Herdman. “Very uncharacteristic”. The Football Ferns began to apply plenty of pressure, however, with Katie Hoyle, who was suspended for the China game following her sending-off in the Junior Ferns' final game at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Finals, adding some welcome steel to the midfield with her ability to break up play. That pressure eventually told, with Hassett atoning for her earlier error by firing in a cross on the hour. Amber Hearn rose to meet it, and sent a thumping header bulleting into the top corner of the net - 2-1. Soon after, Hoyle departed the fray injured, and while the Football Ferns adjusted to this setback, the Koreans struck on the counter-attack twice in five minutes, the first of this brace a very un-Korean-like strike from substitute Jeon Ga Eul. “They hit us with a `Route One' goal”, said Herdman, “just like one we conceded against the USA at the Olympics. A long ball over the top which the defender left for the `keeper, and the `keeper thought the defender was going to deal with. In nips the striker, who tucks it home past Jenny Bindon”. The Football Ferns were piling on the pressure in search of an equaliser when they were hit by this double-strike, the second of which was netted by another replacement, Go Tae Hwa. But despite finding themselves 4-1 down with twelve minutes to play, they kept pounding away. “The last ten minutes was like the Alamo!”,

exclaimed Herdman. “Hannah Wall came on for Hoyle, and with five minutes to go, a corner was cleared to her on the edge of the penalty area. She hit it with her left foot and it sailed into the top corner - one of the best goals I've seen scored by New Zealand”. Annalie Longo had also been introduced to the fray by this time, and straight from the kick-off, she stormed down the left, beating three opponents before she was brought down in the penalty area. Herdman describes what happened next. “Yallop stepped up to take the penalty, and her shot hit the crossbar and bounced down, seemingly over the line. The girls appealed, but the referee waved play on. That would have made it 4-3 with four minutes to go”. Instead, it was only 4-2, but the Football Ferns kept piling on the pressure. In stoppage time, Abby Erceg's chip picked out the blind-side run of Moorwood, and the captain's cross was headed home on the far post by Wall to score the final goal of a dramatic finale, which saw five goals scored in the last seventeen minutes of play. The Football Ferns' final game in the Four Nations Cup takes place at 10pm on Wednesday evening, against Euro 2009 hosts Finland in Guangzhou. The European nation, whose only previous clash with New Zealand saw a 2-2 draw ensue during the 1981 World Women's Invitational Football Tournament in Taiwan, restricted China to a Wang Dandan goal four minutes before half-time in the later encounter. That 1-0 outcome means New Zealand will need to defeat the Finns in their final game to avoid a fourth-placed finish in the Four Nations Cup, a competition which has become the traditional opening event of the women's footballing year. Football Ferns line-ups: 0-6 China Bindon; Percival, Hill, Erceg, Milne (Green, 55); Wall (Campbell, 60), Moorwood, Hassett (Longo, 60), Yallop; Hearn (McLaughlin, 65), Kete (White, 55) 3-4 Korea Republic (Hearn (60), Wall (85, 90)) Bindon; Percival (Milne, 75), Hill, Erceg, Green; Hassett (Longo, 72), Moorwood, Hoyle (Wall, 62), Yallop; Hearn (McLaughlin, 83), White (Kete, 65)