New Zealand's Junior Ferns were denied strong late penalty claims in their scoreless draw with Australia's Young Matildas at Seddon Fields on July 29, a result which ensured the three-match series would be shared at one win apiece. Referee Anna-Marie Keighley, who, throughout the match, ignored a number of obvious calls to the detriment and frustration of both teams, can only have been unsighted when Chloe Knott was felled in the goalmouth by Young Matildas' 'keeper Mackenzie Arnold in the 89th minute, as the Junior Ferns' starlet looked to turn home the loose ball after the 'keeper had misjudged Briar Palmer's low free-kick. It was the closest either team came to scoring in a generally cagey encounter between two teams who were playing each other for the third time in five days - there were a lot of tired players on both teams come the final whistle of this clash, make no mistake! The Australians enjoyed the better of the early exchanges, but a rugged tenth minute challenge on Hannah Carlsen went unpunished in any way, forcing the Junior Ferns' playmaker to leave the park soon afterwards, suffering from concussion. A close call from Holly Patterson aside - Arnold saved at her feet in the eighteenth minute after the Football Fern had forced an error from Elizabeth Ralston deep inside Australia's penalty area - the visitors continued to hold sway, and went close to opening the scoring in the 25th minute. Chloe Logarzo broke down the right, and lured Megan Lee - one of five changes Junior Ferns coach Aaron McFarland made to his starting line-up after Saturday's drubbing - into a lunging tackle which was never going to be successful. That gave the Young Matildas captain space in which to drive in a cross from which an almighty scramble ensued. Tara Andrews, Alisha Bass and Brittany Whitfield all attempted to open the scoring, but New Zealand's defence, by hook or by crook, stood firm, and eventually managed to clear their lines. Not far, mind, for within thirty seconds, the ball was in their penalty area again. This time, Whitfield hooked it narrowly past Lily Alfeld's near post on the volley - it didn't miss by much. After this close call, the Junior Ferns began to make their presence felt, Knott and Hannah Hoeksema, Carlsen's replacement, combining to send Jasmine Pereira prowling down the right, from where she sent a 31st minute cross fizzing across the face of goal. Three minutes later, Patterson stung Arnold's gloves with a drive after drifting in off the left flank past two players. And another Patterson-led raid, after Emily Jensen had broken up an Australian attack and combined with Emma Rolston to launch a counter-thrust, culminated in Hoeksema's teasing cross-shot giving Arnold cause aplenty for concern as it crept narrowly past her right-hand post. Right on half-time, the Junior Ferns twice went close to breaking the deadlock. A slaloming run by Lee from half-way saw her take on and beat four opponents en route into the penalty area, from where she slammed a shot narrowly past Arnold's near post. Moments later, a jinking run from Knott through the Young Matildas' rearguard finally foundered on Ralston's timely tackle, but her clearance only went as far as Pereira, whose rasping drive was spectacularly tipped over the bar by Arnold. The Junior Ferns had ended the first half on top, and continued to press early in the second spell, but it was the Young Matildas who enjoyed the first opportunity of note, in the 54th minute. Logarzo slipped a pass into Amy Harrison's stride, her cross allowing Andrews to let fly. The ball struck Meikayla Moore's hand, prompting Australian cries for a penalty as Alfeld grabbed the loose ball. Referee Keighley ruled a case of ball striking hand, even though the Junior Ferns gained an advantage from it … The natives responded on the hour, Hoeksema and Moore combining with captain Katie Bowen, whose poor touch turned to her advantage courtesy a timely ricochet. It allowed her to bring Patterson into play, but her shot was blocked. Bowen, following up, sent Patterson's lay-back from the rebound, soaring well over the bar. In the 68th minute, Bass got the better of

Emily Jensen clears her lines before Chloe Logarzo can pounce Chloe Knott beats Natalie Tobin in an aerial duel Katie Bowen Emma Checker Meikayla Moore Emma Rolston gets her pass away under pressure

half-time substitute Laura Merrin - hers was a character-laden performance, a strong response to 48 hours prior - and unleashed a teasing chipped cross-shot which deceived Alfeld but drifted narrowly past the far post with substitute Meg McLaughlin racing in in vain. More Young Matildas pressure followed, Andrews combining with Harrison for McLaughlin to pick out Bass with a cross. Alfeld was right behind the resulting shot, and hoisted the ball downfield. Cue an incident which really raised the ire of the Junior Ferns squad - their captain being laid low. Not long after Lee had succumbed to cramp, Bowen went up for an aerial duel with substitute Natalie Wheeler, only to return to earth seeing stars and spinning lights, the sorts of images errant elbows tend to bring about when coming into contact with faces. Having just returned to the field after treatment for another knock, coach McFarland wasn't taking any chances, and signalled his captain's withdrawal from the fray. But a fair few minutes passed before Bowen departed, and it was on a stretcher rather than under her own steam, with an evening in the company of hospital staff her destiny. Wheeler was only shown a yellow card for her action, which was deemed reckless by referee Keighley rather than carried out with excessive force, which would have prompted the red card to be displayed. But that yellow card was akin to a red rag to the raging bull that was the Junior Ferns, who were not happy with the outcome of this episode. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and Australia were faced with eleven of them for the remaining ten minutes or so, Emily Stotter making a strong impact as Bowen's replacement. For the bulk of the time remaining, the Kiwis had their trans-tasman rivals on the back foot as they pounded away in search of what would have been a dramatic series-winning goal. Seconds prior to stoppage time, they thought they had found the way through, in the form of the penalty incident. Knott generally stays on her feet, so when she goes to ground, it's usually not of her own volition. It certainly wasn't on this occasion, but referee Keighley can't give what she didn't see, and the last hope of the deadlock being broken in both the game and the series foundered on her call. The Junior Ferns' showing was a marked improvement on their display 48 hours earlier, with the changes made seeing the squad's strongest starting eleven take to the field - the mouth waters at the prospect of the cream of this line-up being supplemented by the US college scholars who are eligible for selection at U-20 level. However, aspects of Saturday's effort were still evident - Catherine Bott's passing again all too often lacked precision, for instance, and when a passing game is being employed, such persistent inaccuracies adversely affect the team's performance in just the same manner as does not selecting your best available players, no matter where in the world they reside. Australia, for instance, have the likes of Caitlin Foord, Steph Catley and Brianna Davey to call upon to enhance the Young Matildas, as well as Hayley Raso, who was ruled out of this final series match with injury. Can you imagine a Junior Ferns team at Canada 2014 endeavouring to get by without the talent and impact which the likes of Steph Skilton, Rebecca Burrows, Tessa Berger, Emma Fletcher, Caitlin Smallfield and Ashleigh Ward - to mention a handful - would add to the mix? Our pool of talent isn't deep enough to omit such players at this level. Had those players been on deck for this series, be in no doubt that recent New Zealand series victories over Australia at Secondary Schoolgirls and U-17 levels would have been added to in Auckland in July 2013. Junior Ferns:     Alfeld; Bott, Moore, Jensen, Lee (Palmer, 71); Pereira (Merrin, 46), Carlsen (Hoeksema, 17), Bowen (Stotter, 80); Rolston (booked, 24), Knott, Patterson Australia:     Arnold; Checker, Ralston, Field, Harrison; Caceras (Price, 46), Tobin, Bass; Logarzo (Wheeler, 73 (booked, 79), Andrews, Whitfield (McLaughlin, 65) Referee:     Anna-Marie Keighley