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Holland
Delight For Dutch Debutants In Downing Junior Ferns
by Jeremy Ruane
Holland scored their maiden win at a FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Finals tournament on August 5, deservedly downing the Junior Ferns 2-1 at the Stade de la Rabine in Vannes, France, to realise the milestone.
The Dutch were swift to settle, and engineered the first opening of the game in the ninth minute when lively winger Ashleigh Weerden worked a one-two with the irrepressible Victoria Pelova before whipping in a cross which Anna Leat was at full stretch to prevent from reaching its intended targets.
Technically superior they may have been, but Holland struggled to deal with Aneka Mittendorff's long throw-ins, and when the sixteen-year-old - she turns seventeen in twenty-four hours - lobbed the ball forward on the quarter hour, Danique Ypema failed to deal with it, allowing Maggie Jenkins to let fly.
Aniek Nouwen blocked her shot for a corner, from which Hannah Blake was also denied by a defender laden with Dutch courage. The outcome from this corner was a counter-attack which nearly resulted in the opening goal.
Fullback Jasmijn Duppen picked out targetwoman Fenna Kalma with her raking ball forward, one which the striker laid off into the stride of all-action midfielder Pelova. Her pass invited Naomi Pattiwael to whip in a cross which bounced in front of then over the diving figure of Leat, who was mightily relieved to see Mittendorff clear the ball to safety from beneath the crossbar.
End-to-end action ensued, with Grace Jale releasing Paige Satchell down the right - her pace allowed her to torment Lisa Doorn all game long, including one memorable cameo in which she turned the fullback three different shades of orange, only to come up short where a corresponding accurate final delivery was concerned.
On this occasion, Nouwen stepped in to clear Satchell's cross, sparking a counter-attack which saw Weerden's run brought to an end by Claudia Bunge's perfectly timed sliding tackle.
Nouwen featured again in the 22nd minute, going desperately close with a header across the face of goal upon receipt of Weerden's corner, a feat she repeated eight minutes before half-time, this time with a header past the far upright.
Jenkins was at the pointy end where the Junior Ferns' attacks were concerned, but her long-range free-kick was capably dealt with by Dutch goalkeeper Lize Kop - with a surname like that, she simply has to be a Liverpool fan! - while her 26th minute headed attempt, after the Dutch defence allowed a Mittendorff throw-in to bounce in the goalmouth, lacked the power and direction to test the custodian.
Holland opened the scoring in the 27th minute, after Czech Republic referee Jana Adamkova ignored a clear foul on Junior Ferns striker Sammi Tawharu. Pattiwael led the charge downfield, ably supported by Eva van Deursen and Kalma, whose lay-off invited Pelova to feed Pattiwael, racing up on the right.
An untimely stumble by Sarah Morton at this point allowed the winger to get in behind the fullback and pull the ball back for Pelova, whose angled pass found the unmarked figure of Kalma lurking on the edge of the goal area … 1-0.
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The scorer should have had a second goal five minutes before half-time. A delightful move culminated in Pelova playing in Kalma, who skipped past the prone figure of Bunge before dragging a twenty-yarder well wide of the mark.
On the stroke of half-time, the Junior Ferns drew level with a finish of exceptional quality. Another Mittendorff long throw-in wasn't dealt with by the Dutch defence, and this time they paid the price.
Tawharu headed the ball square into the stride of Blake, who took the ball round a defender before swiveling to unleash a ferocious angled fifteen yard drive across Kop and into the far corner of the net - a fine way to bring about the 1-1 half-time scoreline.
Holland were quickly out of the blocks at the start of the second spell, with Doorn and Kalma combining with Pelova to play in Pattiwael, whose effort was foiled at close quarters by Leat in the 49th minute.
Pelova then went desperately close with a twenty yard drive after working a one-two with Kalma, who headed Weerden's 52nd minute corner narrowly past the far post - on another day, the Dutch could have had three headed goals from set-pieces.
The Junior Ferns suffered a blow soon after when Blake's lower back seized up on her, prompting Jacqui Hand's entry into the fray. Dayna Stevens and Tiana Hill, on debut, were the other substitutions made by coach Gareth Turnbull late in a contest played in 32C heat.
A marvelous inventive corner by the Kiwis just shy of the hour mark deserved better fate than to see Jale's drive blocked, Jenkins' corner having been dummied by two of her team-mates to completely bamboozle half the Dutch defence.
After Morton's timely interception prevented Weerden's cross from reaching its intended destination, another Mittendorff throw-in wasn't cleared by the Dutch, who recovered to block Tawharu's shot moments before substitute Bente Jansen dragged a shot well wide of the goal.
Twelve minutes from time, Holland took the lead for the second time in the contest. Weerden took on Morton once more before playing the ball inside to Caitlin Dijkstra. Her pass saw Kalma steer the sphere back into the stride of van Deursen, whose unerring twenty yard drive arrowed into the bottom right-hand corner of Leat's net, to the undisguised glee of the goalscorer.
The Junior Ferns sought another equaliser, and came close to being assisted in their quest by Kop, who went close to slicing a back-pass into her own net two minutes from time. But the Dutch stood firm, and come the final whistle were celebrating a first-up victory in their maiden FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Finals fixture.
Holland: Kop; Duppen, Ypema, Nouwen, Doorn; van Deursen, Pelova, Dijkstra; Pattiwael (Sabajo, 90), Kalma (Smits, 83), Weerden (Jansen, 68)
Jnr Ferns: Leat; Mittendorff (Hill, 87), Anton, Bunge, Morton (booked, 77); Satchell, Jale, Steinmetz, Blake (Hand, 53); Jenkins (Stevens, 85), Tawharu
Referee: Jana Adamkova (Czech Republic)
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