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AXI 16/06/06
Argentinian Selection Down NZ U-20s
by Jeremy Ruane
The New Zealand's Under-20 Women's Football team concluded their four-match tour of Argentina on a losing note on Saturday morning, as an Argentinian selection defeated the Kiwi team 2-1 in Ezeiza, Buenos Aires.
The result brought to an end the impressive nine-match unbeaten run of the NZ U-20 side against international opposition, but it was a victory achieved by a composite selection made up of players from both the senior and Under-20 Argentinian national teams.
It was also achieved against opponents who were again subjected to the obscure decision-making practices and interpretations of the Laws of the Game by local match officials, with Kiwi captain Kirsty Yallop being sent off for her second bookable offence seven minutes into the second half, following a tackle on Chansa Avber.
To add insult to injury where the three-times capped New Zealand international was concerned, the Argentinians scored from the resulting free-kick, Vanessa Beratz heading home a cross from Rosana Gomez.
That made the score 2-0 to the host nation, Celeste Barbitjannnto scrambling home the opening goal in the 36th minute of a keenly contested first half, one which New Zealand started sporting three changes from the starting line-up which drew 2-2 with a largely U-20 Argentinian line-up two days previously.
As in that match, the Kiwis were reduced to ten players, and their response when faced with adversity was just the same - the immediate intensifying of their resolve, which was borne out by a goal just minutes later.
Merissa Smith - how well this fifteen-year-old has taken her first opportunity to wear the silver fern! - motored clear of the Argentine defence in the 55th minute, only to be crudely felled by the goalkeeper, Minnig, outside the penalty area. A clear-cut professional foul, but in light of Yallop's dismissal moments earlier, where was the red card for the offender on this occasion?
Some semblance of justice was gained from the resulting free-kick, Ria Percival's delivery picking out Sarah Gregorius, who netted her third goal of the four-game tour with a well-taken strike.
The numerically superior Argentine Selection held out their under-manned Kiwi counterparts for the remainder of the match, meaning New Zealand arrive home in Auckland early on Sunday morning with a tour record comprising a 2-1 win over leading club side River Plate, a 1-1 draw with Argentina “A” - the full national team, a 2-2 draw with an Argentine U-20 line-up sporting a couple of senior players, and this result against a composite.
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 Kirsty Yallop
 Merissa Smith
 Ria Percival
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Interestingly, considering Argentina have also qualified for the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Finals in August, the host nation chose not to field a team which, like New Zealand, was made up solely of players in the U-20 age bracket. One suspects had they done so, John Herdman's charges would have emerged triumphant.
As it was, the NZ U-20 coach was well pleased with the efforts of his squad, both in this match and on the tour as a whole. “In summary, this has been a fantastic tour.
“In both matches in which we were scheduled to play their U-20s, we played combined senior and U-20 Argentina women's teams, and it was their best senior players who were playing.
“Our girls showed fantastic character to come back and score after going down to ten players and conceding a goal straight afterwards. They really epitomised the Kiwi spirit, and that has to be a good foundation with which to start our World Cup effort”.
The FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Finals take place in Russia in August, and New Zealand has been drawn in a tough group on which there will plenty of attention.
Their Finals campaign starts with a match against Australia in St. Petersburg on August 17 - the first-ever trans-tasman derby in a World Cup Finals.
Three days later, they play host nation Russia at the same venue, while in Moscow on August 23, it's Brazil whom the New Zealand girls encounter, a clash very bit as mouth-watering in the eyes of NZ's U-20 squad and the country's women's soccer fraternity as the All Whites' recent friendly against the world's foremost football-playing nation.
Match details:
Argentina Selection 2 (C. Barbitjannnto (36), V. Beratz (52)), New Zealand U-20s 1 (S. Gregorius (56)) HT 1-0
New Zealand line-up:
Bianca Mori; Ria Percival, Julia Baldwin, Abby Erceg, Emma Harrison (Hannah Bromley, 68); Katie Hoyle (Grace Vincent, 68)), Emma Humphries (Annalie Longo, 68), Kirsty Yallop (sent off, 51); Renee Leota (Ali Riley, 50), Sarah Gregorius (Helen Collins, 75), Merissa Smith (Emma Kete, 83)
Non-playing substitutes: Caitlin Campbell, Maggie Lankshear
Unavailable: Aroon Clansey, Hannah Rishworth
Argentina Selection:
E. Minnig, C. Barbitjannnto, C. Perez, C. Avbar, F. Quinones (M. Svanez), M. Farina, V. Beratz, F. Mandozile, F. Hirmbruchner (V. Bediori), M. Carouel, R. Gomez
Non-playing substitutes: G. Lopez, B. Lezcano, J. Bracamoutz, C. Brusca
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