The Young Matildas drew level in their three-match series against the Junior Ferns at Kiwitea Street on July 27 by handing their decidedly disappointingly performed hosts a 4-0 hiding in front of around 900 spectators. The Junior Ferns, 2-1 winners in the behind-closed-doors clash two days prior, were on the back foot right from the outset, and a fifth minute stumble by Laura Merrin allowed Hayley Raso to rampage down the right towards the by-line, from where she drilled a low cross into the goalmouth which was too hot for Lily Alfeld to handle. Melissa Caceras prodded home the opener from close range. Four minutes later, further misfortune befell Merrin. A stray Hannah Carlsen pass was pounced on by Young Matildas captain Emma Checker, one of three full Australian internationals in her team's starting line-up. Checker swiftly sent Raso racing through the middle, but while Merrin was just as quick to step in and avert the threat while facing her own goal, she could only watch in horror as her clearance careered past the stranded figure of Alfeld and into the net via the far post - 2-0, though you'll go a long way to see a better-struck twenty-five yard "oggie"! Those goals set the tone for the match - it would need something special from the Junior Ferns to recover from this double blow. Sadly, too few in black showed the poise, precision and passing prowess necessary to engineer a way back into the contest. Occasional attacking forays down the flanks too often found the resulting crosses being comfortably gathered by Young Matildas' 'keeper Mackenzie Arnold, whose only true test in the first half came at the end of the Junior Ferns' best attack, on the half-hour. Football Ferns duo Holly Patterson and Katie Bowen combined with Catherine Bott, one of those most guilty of passing inaccurately throughout proceedings. On this occasion, she worked a one-two with industrious early substitute Chloe Knott before feeding Briar Palmer on the left. She took on a couple of opponents before unleashing an angled twenty-five yard chip which had Arnold back-pedalling before she grabbed the ball directly under the bar, and promptly started a counter-attack using the pace of the indefatigable Raso, who ran New Zealand ragged down the right throughout the match. Australia's best chance of adding to their early goals came in the 25th minute, when yet another stray pass by a black-clad player was gleefully pounced on by Checker, who promptly sent Meg McLaughlin galloping through the inside-left channel, only to be thwarted by a superbly timed tackle from Patterson in the penalty area. Generally, however, the Young Matildas kept the Junior Ferns at arm's length throughout the remainder of the half and on into the second spell, when the visitors came close to increasing their advantage just thirty seconds after the resumption of play. Bowen's stray pass was pounced on by Raso, who surged forward before shooting. Alfeld blocked her effort, but the ball broke into the stride of Tara Andrews, who skied her shot from twelve yards under pressure from Meikayla Moore. Half-time substitute Grace MacIntyre was next to threaten for the visitors, Chloe Logarzo and Andrews combining to present her with a 53rd minute shooting chance which she directed straight at Alfeld, who promptly sparked a counter-attack featuring the enterprising play of Carlsen and Knott, and a twenty-five yard strike from Moore which wasn't too far away from its intended destination. Sadly for the Junior Ferns, their hopes of getting back on level terms were dealt a mortal blow in the 61st minute when Raso was played through by

substitute Alicia Bass, the beneficiary of yet another stray pass in New Zealand's defensive third. The goal the speedster's performance fully merited escaped her, thanks to Alfeld's parried save, but Andrews was following in, and delightedly tapped home to make it 3-0 to the Young Matildas. Young Ferns half-time substitute Jasmine Pereira gave her opponents something to think about throughout her determined second half display, most notably in the 69th minute, when linking up with fellow replacement Emma Rolston. Pereira's drive was grabbed by Arnold, the first time she had been called into action in the second spell. If only Alfeld had been so inactive. She looked on with relief when Andrews headed Checker's 71st minute corner over the bar, a barrier Logarzo's long-range effort cleared by an ever-decreasing margin five minutes later. The same player then fired a free-kick at Alfeld four minutes from time, before the Junior Ferns finally fired a shot in anger which brought Arnold's best to the fore two minutes later. Substitute Megan Lee let rip with a thunderous twenty-five yard free-kick which the Young Matildas' 'keeper splendidly tipped over her bar as the ball zoomed towards the top near corner of her net. She had to tip a Carlsen piledriver to safety in stoppage time, after a corner from Lee was cleared to the midfielder, but by then, the Young Matildas were four goals to the good, Bass tapping home from close-range past the wrong-footed figure of Alfeld after substitute Brittany Whitfield had made in-roads down the left flank. That goal wrapped up a well-deserved 4-0 win for the Young Matildas over their Junior Ferns' counterparts, the vast majority of whom should be extremely dissatisfied with their personal displays during the first women's international to be played at one of New Zealand's foremost footballing venues - only substitutes Knott, Pereira and Lee met this writer's individual performance expectations. Referee Nadia Browning did herself no favours either, frustrating players of both sides with her penchant for playing on, even when it was plainly obvious to all and sundry that the offence committed fully merited a free-kick, and there was no obvious advantage to the impeded party. There are occasions when this seeming desire to avoid controversy has precisely the opposite effect, particularly on the international stage, where the need for decisive decision-making is paramount, and expected. Just as far better is expected from the Junior Ferns when they take on the Young Matildas in the final game of the series, at Western Springs' Seddon Fields home from 2.30pm on Monday, July 29. With it being a 1-1 tie at present, there's all to play for. Junior Ferns:     Alfeld; Patterson (Jensen, 66), Moore, Bott, Merrin (Lee, 55); Bowen (Stotter, 66), Carlsen, Palmer (Pereira, 46); O'Brien, McNamara (Rolston, 55), Dabner (Knott, 18) Australia:     Arnold; Harrison, Ralston, Field, Logarzo; Caceras (Bass, 58), Checker (Wheeler, 81), Tobin, McLaughlin (MacIntyre, 46 (Price, 84)); Raso, Andrews (Whitfield, 63) Referee:     Nadia Browning NB  The absence of any form of official post-match function was disappointing, to say the least. When hosting a visiting team, such things are a given - part of the whole aspect of travelling to another country and experiencing their footballing culture. Mind, given the infrequency with which NZ Football entertains international teams on home turf, perhaps such basic protocols have simply been forgotten over the course of time - God forbid!