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Aussie Tour
Under-20s Enjoy Mixed Fortunes On Australian Tour
by Jeremy Ruane
The New Zealand Under-20 Women's squad remain undefeated following the conclusion of the Sydney leg of their four-match tour of Australia, but it was a different story for John Herdman's young charges once they came up against the Young Matildas in Canberra.
Two matches against the New South Wales Institute of Sport resulted in a 1-1 draw and a 2-1 win for the Kiwi team, but the host nation's Under-20 women's squad recorded 3-1 and 4-0 victories over their trans-tasman counterparts in the Australian capital.
NSWIS fielded three Matildas and five Young Matildas in their starting line-up for the opening game, but it was the visitors who adapted better to the climatic and physical challenges they faced, and took the lead through Kirsty Yallop on the hour.
The hosts levelled matters six minutes later, and an even game ensued, with both teams hitting the woodwork in a match in which New Zealand's performance was described by coach John Herdman as "workmanlike, with the exception of the outstanding Ali Riley and a twenty-five minute display from fearless fifteen-year-old Caitlin Campbell".
US-born Riley is eligible to play for New Zealand through her father's Kiwi heritage, and the Stanford University recruit has been creating and scoring goals like they're going out of fashion for her Harvard-Westlake School senior women's team, prior to joining the NZ squad in Sydney for this tour.
Two nights later, the Kiwi girls clinched a hard-earned 2-1 victory over their experienced opponents at the Valentines Sports Complex, but it came at a price.
Yallop, the captain of the squad, was taken to hospital with a broken wrist in the late stages of the first half. While the loss of the three-times-capped New Zealand international was undoubtedly a blow for the team, at the same time it presented them with a test of character, and to their credit, the squad came through it well to win the match.
Up until Yallop's premature departure, the Kiwis had been dominant, hitting the post once, the crossbar twice, and having a goal disallowed due to a dubious offside decision. They had also scored - Emma Humphries doing the damage on the quarter-hour to crown a "wonderful game" by her in coach Herdman's eyes.
"The girls can be proud of themselves tonight. We looked like a professional team at times in the first half-hour", enthused Herdman afterwards. "But the break in play prompted by Kirsty's injury, allied to the loss of their on-field leader, saw a change in the team's mood following her departure".
From here on, the Kiwis looked to grind out a result, but when the natives equalised on the hour, past history in clashes with Australian teams suggested that the visitors would be gallant in defeat.
This squad is clearly made of sterner stuff than past combinations, however, with the "machine-like" Katie Hoyle driving the team forward throughout the last quarter hour. They were rewarded five minutes from time, when Julia Baldwin pounced to net the winner for the New Zealand squad.
So to Canberra, and their first meeting with the Young Matildas, who produced a clinical display in winning
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 Helen Collins
 Abby Erceg
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3-1, two of their goals coming inside the first twelve minutes, soon after which they hit the post.
The New Zealanders enjoyed their best spell of the match from the start of the second half, with Caitlin Campbell hitting the crossbar after coming off the bench, before Renee Leota's scrambled 70th minute effort reduced the deficit.
The Australians restored their two-goal advantage thirteen minutes from time, but coach John Herdman was far from disappointed with New Zealand's display in decidedly humid conditions.
"We produced quite a strong performance, to be honest, and showed plenty of character to come back into the game when two goals down. But the Australians were very clinical, and played with a tremendous intensity. There wasn't much we could do about their opening goal, but we gifted them the other two".
The final game of the tour saw the Kiwis reach the interval having performed highly creditably in a scoreless first half. But they "hit the wall" during the second spell, during which the Young Matildas scored all four goals, and it could have been more - another was disallowed, while the woodwork saved New Zealand on another occasion.
New Zealand's first half showing was "unbelievable", in the words of coach John Herdman. "If we'd taken our chances, it could have been a different game entirely. Their coach was going nuts at the break!
"But the Australians brought on two quick forwards in the second half, and while we found them very hard to cope with, we also ran out of steam, with cramp and fatigue prompting some of our second half substitutions".
The difference in experience between the teams shows that New Zealand has a rosy future ahead of it, despite this second defeat at the hands of their Australian counterparts in three days. In their starting line were fourteen-year-old Annalie Longo, fifteen-year-olds Caitlin Campbell and Renee Leota, and sixteen-year-olds Abby Erceg and Ria Percival.
Compare that with the Young Matildas, one of whom - captain Sally Shipard - played at the 2004 Women's Olympic Football Tournament. Later that year, at the FIFA Under-19 Women's World Cup Finals in Thailand, she was joined by a further six team-mates who played in this match, a key part of both teams' preparations for their respective Under-20 Women's World Cup qualifying tournaments.
"I'm very proud of these girls", said Herdman of his young charges. "The squad as a whole has set themselves a great foundation on which to build. Their first half showing indicated that, once we get these girls a bit fitter and stronger, we'll be a match for anyone".
In March, at North Harbour Stadium, the Under-20s will play the first internationals on home turf by any New Zealand women's team, other than the Secondary Schoolgirls, since October 1998. They will take on their counterparts from Tonga in two matches, on the Wednesday evenings of March 15 and 22, before heading to Samoa for the Oceania qualifying tournament the following week.
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