The greater class and all-round technical prowess of the Korea Republic U17 women's squad proved too strong for their New Zealand counterparts, the Young Ferns, at Taharoto Park on Saturday, with the visiting team prevailing 2-1 over opponents who fought like Trojans to get to the half-time whistle on level terms. Paul Temple's young charges were good value for their first half display, firing the first shot in anger in the tenth minute when Sarah McLaughlin's thirty-five yard free-kick narrowly cleared the crossbar. The resulting goal-kick saw `keeper Shim Danbi play the ball short to Seo Hyunsook, the fullback picking out striker Lee Hyunyoung with her ball forward. Bridgette Armstrong homed in on her opponent, but by diving in she gave Lee all the space she needed to turn and skip round the defender before crossing to Mok Hyunsu. Her header was well gathered by Charlotte Wood, who was relieved to see Lee's twenty-five yarder fly wide five minutes later, after Megan Shea had sold team-mate Nadia Pearl short with a dreadfully under-hit pass, allowing Cho Sun Hwa to swoop and slip the ball through for the striker. Another twenty-five yarder, this time from Cho, warmed Lee's gloves in the 23rd minute, as the Koreans began to show their class. The Koreans were beginning to show the benefits of having been based in Auckland for a month by this time, while the Young Ferns were quickly discovering that it is better to stand your ground than dive in for a challenge against the fleet-footed Koreans. They were also being given an object lesson in running the show from midfield - Lee Young Joo was pulling all the strings most adeptly, and wasn't afraid to get stuck in to win possession back for her team when the need arose. Annalie Longo, meanwhile, was having to work a double shift in midfield, where the selection of striker Rosie White alongside New Zealand's captain for the day, rather than in her more accustomed attacking roles up front or on either flank (to where she was later relocated), meant Longo was often found playing as a defensive midfielder as well as an attack-minded one. If nothing else, it gave her the chance to live up to her nickname, “Flea”! The Young Ferns didn't aid their cause as the game wore on by giving the ball away. White's turnover in the 26th minute saw Cho set up Park Heeyoung for a twenty-yarder which sizzled feet past Wood's right-hand post, the `keeper diving in vain. On the half-hour, the Koreans came desperately close to breaking the deadlock. Cho fed Lee Hyunyoung, who danced around the lunging figure of Shea before picking out the unmarked figure of Park in the penalty area. Her angled shot flew across the diving figure of Wood and crashed against the far post, with the incoming Lee Young Joo unable to turn home the rebound. That let-off for the Young Ferns was followed by another three minutes later. Seo sparked this raid, her measured ball in behind the defence sending Lee Young Joo scampering through with just Wood to beat. As the playmaker shaped to volley home, Longo appeared on the scene and produced a goal-saving challenge to frustrate the visitors, who were unable to capitalise from the corner which resulted - Park's deep cross found Oh Hye Mi hovering on the far post, but New Zealand scrambled the threat to safety. Two minutes before half-time, Park and Lee Hyunyoung worked a neat one-two which culminated in a cross-shot from the former clipping the top of the crossbar. Cue a Kiwi riposte, led, inevitably by captain Longo. Catching Cho in possession on half-way, the second-youngest player to ever appear at the FIFA Women's World Cup Finals put the hammer down and raced into Korea's half, weaving past three challenges before working a neat one-two with McLaughlin. Longo's shot, from the edge of the penalty area, was blocked by Koh Kyung Yeon, who inadvertently used her hand to help in averting the danger. Referee Carmen Jones, for whom this match marked her international debut, gave the defender the benefit of the doubt, one of a number of curious decisions which punctuated her performance on a significant day in her officiating career. Korea made a change at half-time which lifted their display to another dimension. Their captain, Ji So Yun, is a class act, as she proved in a recent 1-1 draw with Auckland's National Women's League-winning “A Team”, and her introduction in this match changed the game. She was into the action instantly, sending Oh racing down the right past Shea inside the first ninety seconds of the half. Wood did well to paw her low cross to safety, but the Kiwi `keeper was about to have her work cut out for her in no uncertain terms. After Shim had gathered a McLaughlin cross intended for the hard-working Hannah Wall, Ji grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and almost single-handedly took it away from the Young Ferns.

Hannah Wall finds a way past both Lee Eunkyung and Cho Sun Hwa Claudia Crasborn, moments before she was struck down by injury Briony Fisher Rosie White keeps her eye on the ball, almost literally! Bridgette Armstrong NZ's starting line-up, and Annalie Longo's last-minute penalty

Park played the ball wide to Oh, who steered the ball inside to Ji in the 49th minute. Her drive was well saved by Wood, who, seconds later, denied both Park and Lee Hyunyoung at close quarters. But the `keeper was powerless to prevent Ji opening the scoring five minutes into the second spell. A wayward Rebecca Brown clearance saw Lee Hyunyoung play the ball inside to Ji, who was completely unmarked some twenty-five yards from goal. The Korean captain moved forward before unleashing a crisply struck twenty-yarder hard and low past Wood into the bottom right-hand corner of the net - 1-0 to the visitors. As the Young Ferns reeled from this setback, Ji swooped again, three minutes later. Having worked an opening with Lee Hyunyoung, she found herself in the penalty area with both Wood and the fast-closing Armstrong to beat, and duly did so, poking a shot in between the pair of them. The post saved New Zealand on this occasion. A free-kick from Ji two minutes later was partially cleared, allowing Oh to steer the ball into the path of Cho. Her twenty yarder curled over the crossbar in the 55th minute, while sixty seconds later, Lee Eunkyung's cross from the left was headed out by Briony Fisher to Lee Hyunyoung, who set up Ji for a shot which fizzed through a crowded penalty area and barely a yard past the post. The onslaught continued, Park leading the charge in the 57th minute. She cut in from the left, weaved her way past three opponents then played a one-two with Ji before setting up the captain once more. Wood, advancing off her line in anticipation of something unusual, was startled by a shot struck straight at her, but the `keeper reacted superbly to snaffle the rebound before Ji could pounce on it. After Ji had had a headed goal disallowed for what was, at best, a marginal offside decision, the Koreans doubled their advantage in the 63rd minute. Seo fired a free-kick across field to Lee Eunkyung, whose first-time angled through ball found Lee Hyunyoung hurtling through the heart of the New Zealand rearguard. She coolly slotted home past the exposed figure of Wood - 2-0. New Zealand regrouped, with Caitlin Campbell - her substitute role was a surprise to many - entering the fray for the final twenty minutes or so, during which the Young Ferns suffered a couple of injuries which they could ill afford. The first befell Wood, fifteen minutes from time. Seconds after tipping a Ji drive over the crossbar, the goalkeeper was clattered knee-high by Korean substitute Lee Minsun as both went for the ball. Both players required treatment following their collision, but the goalkeeper was clearly the worse for wear following the incident, even though she soldiered on. Mere moments after play had resumed, it stopped again, this time following an ankle injury sustained by Claudia Crasborn. The substitute landed awkwardly and promptly crumpled to the ground in agony, a stretcher required to remove her from the beautifully manicured pitch before play could continue. The remaining minutes saw Campbell and White, with an overhead kick, go close to pulling a goal back for the Young Ferns, while both Ji, with a free-kick, and Park were thwarted by Wood as the Koreans sought the game's third goal. When it came, it was despatched into the visitors' net by Longo, who thumped home a stoppage time penalty after a Campbell free-kick had seen referee Jones instantly pointing to the spot upon sighting numerous Korean players using foul means rather than fair to prevent their Kiwi counterparts from getting on the end of the set-piece. 2-1 to the Koreans, then, a scoreline which offers the Kiwis plenty of encouragement, despite the fact the visitors hit the woodwork three times and had a goal disallowed on a day when Shim, Korea's goalkeeper, scarcely had a save to make. Young Ferns coach, Paul Temple, was pretty happy with the outcome. “2-1 is a decent benchmark for us. We competed very well in the first half, and while the fitness levels need to be worked on, the girls have given everything they had out there today. “Yes, there were some lapses of concentration, but there were some good passages of play here and there as well. Charlotte Wood kept us in the game for a spell, and made some good saves, while Annalie Longo worked hard, and did well. But the Korean captain changed the game - now we've seen her play, we'll work on some strategies to counter her in the other two matches”. Those matches in this three-match series between these 2008 FIFA U17 Women's World Cup finalists, also take place at Takapuna's Taharoto Park, at 5pm on Monday, and 4pm on Wednesday. Young Ferns:          Wood; Brown (Fullerton, 68), Fisher, Armstrong, Shea (Crasborn, 54) (Vink, 82); Rollings (Gallie, 46), Longo (booked, 72), Pearl, White; Wall (Campbell, 68), McLaughlin Korea Republic:     Shim; Seo, Koh (Shin, 46), Song, E. Lee (Kim, 85); Oh (Yeo, 68), Y. Lee, Cho, Mok (Ji, 46); Park, H. Lee (M. Lee, 68) Referee:          Carmen Jones