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11May17
Ferns Fend Off Strongest Challenge So Far
by Jeremy Ruane
The Football Ferns Development Squad stared down their most challenging opponents so far in the U-17 Conference League on 11 May, overcoming Hibiscus Coast 3-0 in greasy, rain-slicked conditions on the QBE Stadium Oval.
Playing with the wind abaft them in the first half, the Ferns dominated possession and territory, but found "The Coasters" to be far more formidable opponents than those encountered in their previous Thursday night fixtures.
Set-pieces were the way of things for Owain Prosser's charges early doors, with Liz Milne's third minute free-kick being punched out by Gareth Lewis to Grace Jale, who instantly picked out Jane Barnett.
Her shot on the turn flew over the bar, while Jale's header, from a Milne corner nine minutes later, came within inches of striking that section of the goal frame. The game was up for Milne soon afterwards, however, a calf strain curtailing her evening's activity on the quarter hour.
After Lewis had smothered a long-range Barnett free-kick, Coast nearly capitalised on an untimely slip by Victoria Esson in the twentieth minute. Receiving a back-pass from Meikayla Moore, the 'keeper became the latest player to lose their footing on the greasy surface, but was able to recover and clear her lines before the hovering Mitchell Long could pounce.
Milne's replacement was Katie Rood, who set her sights with a 23rd minute effort following solid work by Malia Steinmetz. Five minutes later, Catherine Bott's fine through ball saw Aimee Phillips in on goal, but Lewis bravely blocked at her feet.
"The Coasters"' custodian was given no chance on the half-hour, however, as the Ferns took the lead. Barnett won possession, then played the ball to Rood, who worked a one-two with Phillips to get herself in on goal, from where she slid the ball under the advancing figure of Lewis to break the deadlock.
Within sixty seconds, they could have doubled their advantage. Paige Satchell's pursuit of a seemingly lost cause proved fruitful, and the subsequent cross by-passed Barnett at the near post, picking out Phillips on the far. Her shot on the turn ricocheted off a defender and was well saved by Lewis.
Four minutes later, Satchell was in the thick of things again, this time after Jale and Rood had combined, the latter beating two opponents before inviting Satchell to get the better of a third. She duly did, and picked out Phillips, whose shot on the turn this time fizzed narrowly past the far post.
Seven minutes before half-time, route one nearly worked for the Ferns. Esson sent the ball downfield, and Ryan Ajaz allowed it to bounce, which allowed Barnett to pounce. She swiftly sent the ball on to Rood, who swept past two opponents before letting fly, only to see Lewis produce a stunning one-handed save at full stretch to direct the ball over the bar - a terrific stop!
Barnett fired the resulting corner kick into the goalmouth. "The Coasters" failed to clear their lines, and were punished mercilessly by Moore, who prodded the ball home from close range to double the Ferns' lead - 2-0.
Now they had the bit between their teeth, the Ferns pressed for a third goal before half-time, and twice came desperately close to realising their objective. Rood was near the right-hand corner flag in the 44th minute, and did her opponent a treat before whipping in a cross which bisected Ollie Keuning and Lewis before fizzing across the bows of the incoming figure of Phillips - on another night, she'd have scored three!
She nearly set up what would have been a gem of a goal sixty seconds later, however. Latching onto the ball half-way inside the Hibiscus half, Phillips dashed inside before slipping a sumptuous pass into the stride of Barnett as she dashed through the inside left channel.
The speedy striker's pace and movement proved too much for the Coast defenders to contain on this occasion, and Barnett wasted little time in steering her shot past the advancing figure of Lewis, only to look on in despair as it shaved the upright with the goal yawning invitingly.
The Ferns carried their momentum into the second spell, in which they were now playing into the wind. Just two minutes after referee Bridget Baker had allowed play to resume, Malia Steinmetz outmuscled Jack Kelly before feeding Rood on the left.
She darted in between two defenders before combining with Satchell to present Phillips with a chance which struck the heel of the retreating figure of Ajaz, allowing Hibiscus to clear the danger.
Their opponents wouldn't go away, however. Two minutes later, they were prowling again, Bott fed Phillips, who engineered an opening for Satchell to unleash a fifteen yard drive which slammed into
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Lewis, ricocheting off the 'keeper back into the goalmouth.
Ollie Smith scrambled the ball away for a corner, which Barnett worked short with Satchell. The jet-heeled winger - who was matched stride for stride in this game by the hard-working Ben Brown - delivered an angled cross which ricocheted off a defender and hit the bar, with Jale just unable to turn home the rebound by the far post.
Hibiscus had rarely been sighted as an attacking force thus far, but that all changed in the 52nd minute, when Ajaz led a counter-attack. Eric Hodge was the ultimate beneficiary, but was prevented from directing a shot on target by Liz Anton, who jockeyed her opponent well before blocking his shot to safety - top defensive work.
Normal service soon resumed, with Anton and Steinmetz combining with Rood. Her slide-rule through ball invited Barnett to dash through once more, and she shrugged off a challenge before thrashing a shot narrowly over the bar from the edge of the area.
Still the pressure continued, this time via Moore's raking ball wide which released Bott at pace down the right. The fullback's cross had Phillips' name written all over it until Lewis punched the ball off her head to safety.
Steinmetz and Phillips then combined on the hour to feed the overlapping figure of Jacqui Hand, who dropped back to left-back after fifteen minutes of the contest to fill in for the injured Milne.
No stranger to an attacking role, Hand relished the chance to join in this particular surge forward, and checked inside before chipping the ball towards Barnett, but it was just too far in front of the striker for her to make anything of the opportunity.
Coast were enjoying a greater share of the territorial battle now they had the wind at their backs, but all too often they were over-hitting their passes and through balls, thus squandering possession cheaply, something the Ferns didn't do anywhere near as often.
In the 65th minute, they contrived another sharp raid which had Rood as its fulcrum. She whipped in a low free-kick which created a scramble, and culminated in Steinmetz seeing her shot blocked by a defender.
Coast cleared this threat, but sixty seconds later they were undone by a quite superb third Ferns goal - if you get the chance to see highlights footage of this game on the internet, it is worth watching for this goal alone!
It was all one-touch football, and Hibiscus Coast was powerless to prevent it. Satchell ignited the move, Sammi Tawharu maintained it with a through ball which released Phillips down the right. Her cross was measured to an area twelve yards out from the near post, where Rood was arriving on cue to execute a sumptuous first-time volley which crashed into the net behind Lewis - 3-0, and how!
"The Coasters" tried to find a way back into the match, but in the time remaining contrived just one genuine threat on goal in the time remaining. But after getting the better of Anton on receipt of Lewis' throw-out, Luke Cooper lost the courage of his convictions, and instead of going on to test Esson, sought the support of team-mates, thus squandering the chance of a consolation goal.
Lewis was easily the busier of the two 'keepers, and his Pat Jennings-like one-handed denial of Phillips' attempt, which concluded a move featuring Anton, Tawharu and Satchell, was executed with nonchalant ease.
Coast's number one then thwarted Hand on the edge of the penalty area as she dashed through onto Moore's lofted through ball, after which Alex Stevens endured a moment he won't be allowed to forget in a hurry, as he found himself being nutmegged by Rood at her impish best.
Two minutes from time, Anton intercepted a pass and sparked a move which featured Steinmetz and Tawharu before Barnett volleyed narrowly over the bar, while the final act of note in the match saw Moore, Steinmetz and Tawharu - a lovely touch - link up to play in Rood with just Lewis to beat, only for the 'keeper to block well at the feet of the hat-trick-hunting striker.
The win cemented the Ferns in a clear third place after four rounds of action in the 17th Grade Conference competition, with their next match to take place on Sunday week against Bucklands Beach on the North Harbour Stadium Tigerturf - this week's clash with Eastern Suburbs has been postponed.
Dev Squad: Esson; Bott, Anton, Moore, Milne (Rood, 15); Jale, Phillips (Barnett, 76), Steinmetz; Phillips, Barnett (Tawharu, 61), Hand
Hibiscus: Lewis; Smith, Keuning, Murphy, West; Ajaz, Hodge, Brown; Kunqard, Long, Hudson. Subs: Stevens, Kelly, Lunt, Cooper
Referee: Bridget Baker
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