New Zealand's "Three Ps" - Jasmine Pereira, Martine Puketapu and the brilliant Briar Palmer - led the Young Ferns to a very impressive 13-1 victory over New Caledonia at Mangere's Centre Park on April 11, a result which all but confirms the host nation's place at the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Finals in Azerbaijan in September. In contrast to their opening performance against Papua New Guinea, the Young Ferns started like the proverbial house on fire in this match, with Puketapu missing a sitter from four yards just fifty seconds into the contest after she'd been picked out by Palmer's splendid cross and taken the ball round New Caledonian goalkeeper Deborah Selefen. Just 47 seconds later, New Zealand opened the scoring, Pereira dashing through off the right flank to bury a shot beyond Selefen, who already looked like she was going to be in for a busy afternoon. The 'keeper was in action again in the ninth minute, after a delightful move from the Young Ferns which featured contributions from Megan Lee, Palmer and Laura Merrin, whose sumptuous angled ball in behind the defence allowed Puketapu to race through and shoot. Selefen parried this effort, but Pereira was on the scene in a flash and was desperately unlucky not to turn the rebound home. As was Puketapu three minutes later, having hit the upright upon meeting Palmer's cross to the near post. The Young Ferns then dropped the tempo a touch, the crispness and incisiveness of their passing not what it had been initially. It was enough to give the New Caledonians a sniff of a chance, one they took, albeit with more than a little assistance from Solomon Islands referee Gerald Oiaka in the nineteenth minute. Jadyela Hnangan's ball over the top forced Emily Jensen to beat a hasty retreat with Noe Valefakaaga breathing down her neck. Next thing, the defender was given a healthy shove which sent her sprawling, and with all present expecting a free-kick to be awarded, Valefakaaga raced on and smashed the ball home past Lily Alfeld. Remarkably, referee Oiaka saw nothing wrong with what had occurred, and despite being engulfed by black-clad Kiwis who were more than a tad irate, not to mention the fact Jensen required treatment following the foul on her, his mind was not for changing. The goal stood - 1-1. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, so what it's like when eleven of them have had their collective sense of justice impinged upon New Caledonia were about to find out! Within five minutes of the equaliser, Puketapu missed two chances to restore the Young Ferns' lead, the second of which - a chip which hit the crossbar - owed much to Palmer, who tormented three opponents before picking out her team-mate with a pass. The winger then unleashed a cross-shot which Selefen grabbed, but the 'keeper's distribution on this occasion was poor, and just ten seconds after shooting, Palmer had the ball again, this time in the penalty area. She dribbled through three challenges before setting up Emma Rolston to rattle home a ten-yarder in the 28th minute. Three minutes later, Daisy Cleverley's super through ball sent Pereira racing clear once more through the offside trap, and she confidently fired home into the far corner of the net to make it 3-1. Palmer and Lee were both denied by Selefen soon after, but in the 36th minute, the Young Ferns scored a fourth goal. Cleverley and Jensen combined to send Pereira haring through once more, and she unselfishly set up Puketapu for a tap-in. The chances continued to flow like fine wine. Rolston fired an indirect free-kick over the bar after Selefen had picked up a back-pass, while the 'keeper denied Pereira and Puketapu before the interval, either side of Cleverley hitting the post from a tight angle after Puketapu had spurned a shooting chance, and Palmer's subsequent shot had been blocked. The second half was just two minutes old when the Young Ferns went nap. Hannah Carlsen and Palmer - she was outstanding - worked an opening for

Merrin to whip in a cross which beat Selefen in the air and cannoned into the net off Pereira's back. Not quite how she would have expected to complete her hat-trick, but she certainly wasn't complaining! Puketapu then spurned a couple more chances before Palmer saw a thunderous drive tipped onto the angle of post and bar by Selefen, who was able to recover and gather in the rebound because no-one in a black shirt was following in - a cardinal sin for any striker to commit! Selefen then kept out a thumping twenty-five yarder from Carlsen before Palmer played in Rolston, who coolly slotted home number six on the hour, after which the chances came with even greater frequency as the New Caledonians wilted under an onslaught of black-clad pressure. Puketapu, Palmer and Rolston, twice, spurned chances in the next five minutes before Carlsen invited Cleverley to dart through and calmly steer home New Zealand's seventh goal in the 69th minute, nine minutes before Carlsen herself got on the scoresheet, her rasping twenty yarder careering through a crowded goalmouth into the net after Selefen had punched out Palmer's corner. Moments prior, Puketapu's unselfishness cost the Young Ferns a goal as she passed to the offside figure of Carlsen when she should have gone for goal herself - number nines need to be greedy in such situations, as scoring goals is their stock in trade, a lesson Puketapu will learn fairly quickly, one hopes. The final ten minutes of play saw the Young Ferns increase the scoreline from 8-1 to 13-1 - and to think the New Caledonians had been on level terms with them at one stage in the match! Palmer was in mesmeric form by now - the entire New Caledonian defence won't forget New Zealand's number ten in a hurry - and in the 82nd minute she set up substitute Jess Innes to smash home in unerring fashion with her first touch. Two minutes later, the tenacious Carlsen created an opening through her sheer will to win. Cleverley benefited from her team-mate's industry, and promptly played in Puketapu, who rounded both Selefen and Oceane Perez-Gonzalez before bringing up double figures for her country. A further two minutes elapsed before New Zealand's eleventh goal materialised, and it was an absolute belter - in a game boasting so many goals, this was the best by some margin! Innes picked up the ball in midfield and played it to Lee. The central defender has a keen eye for a quality pass, and delivered a gem inside Gwenhaelle Wadrenges on this occasion, the ball weighted perfectly for Merrin to stride onto at pace. The overlapping fullback's measured cross to the far post found Pereira arriving on cue, and she unleashed a stunning volley back across Selefen and into the roof of the net - 11-1, via a technically superb strike, both in creation and execution. Cleverley clattered a thirty yard screamer goalwards seconds later, but Selefen was equal to the task, although the 'keeper wouldn't have been pleased at the sight of four minutes of additional time being signalled soon after - time enough for a couple of goals at least. Sure enough, the Young Ferns delivered. Lee pinged one through for Palmer to chase, and the winger's pursuit paid off. With the advancing Selefen having checked her approach in anticipation of the sphere going out for a goal-kick, she found herself in no-man's land when Palmer beat the ball to the by-line and crossed it to the far post for Puketapu to slide in her hat-trick goal, two minutes into stoppage time. Straight from the kick-off, 12-1 swiftly became 13-1, and there wasn't a player on the park who was more deserving of adding her name to the scoresheet. Palmer dashed through from the whistle, secured possession then swept past three opponents before adding the cherry to the iced cake which the Young Ferns had concocted while serving up a baker's dozen to whet the appetite on their road to Azerbaijan. Young Ferns:          Alfeld; Moore (Van Lieshout,

63), Jensen (Molloy, 70), Lee, Merrin; Carlsen, Cleverley, Rolston (Innes, 76); Pereira, Puketapu, Palmer New Caledonia:    Selefen; Wadrenges, Gohoupe (Usike, 56), Perez-Gonzalez, Ayawa; Gorendiawe, Hnangan, Bruireu, Sio (Oniary, 53), Valefakaaga; Dieuma Referee:    Gerald Oiaka (Solomon Islands) In the day's other encounter, a couple of bizarre refereeing decisions went hand-in-hand with a keenly contested encounter between the Cook Islands and Papua New Guinea, which the latter edged 3-2 to record their second win from as many matches to maintain their prospects of advancing to Azerbaijan. They'll have to beat the similarly unbeaten Young Ferns to realise that dream, however, but while there's life there's hope, and Ramona Lorenz certainly gave the Papuans that with a brace of goals in seven minutes just shy of the half-hour mark. The Cook Islands reduced the deficit in the 34th minute when Tepaeru Toka headed home from a corner, and they should have been handed a huge advantage just before half-time, only for Solomon Islands referee George Time to make a right howler! Papuan goalkeeper Esther Metlem had already handled the ball outside her penalty area during the half, but when she prevented a goalscoring opportunity for Toka by repeating the action on the stroke of half-time, the leaders on the scoreboard looked like they would be playing at least half the match with ten players on the park. Not so! Incredibly, referee Time didn't even book the 'keeper, never mind brandish a red card! And to add insult to injury, Metlem saved the resulting free-kick from Aketuke Unuka. But wait - it gets worse! Five minutes into the second half, Cooks goalkeeper Moeroa Nootai was outfoxed by Georgina Kaikas and promptly dragged the striker back inside the area. Penalty, plus a red card for a professional foul? You must be joking! Mr Time had another interpretation up his sleeve which bamboozled all-comers - a yellow card for Nootai, and a free-kick to PNG two yards outside the eighteen-yard box!! Thankfully, justice was served in the 53rd minute when Kaikas restored the Papuans' two-goal advantage, but it was reduced again by Toka twenty minutes from time to set up a grandstand finish. Straight from the kick-off, Lorenz raced downfield, only to be denied by the crossbar as she sought her hat-trick goal. Nootai then saved superbly at the feet of Kaikas as the Papuans looked to finish the game off. Their hopes of doing so were reduced five minutes from time when defender Talitha Irakau injured herself while making a last-ditch tackle and had to be stretchered off, leaving her team-mates to see out the match with ten players on the park, PNG having used all their substitutes. Cue the Alamo, with the Cook Islands throwing everything but the kitchen sink at their numerically challenged rivals in an effort to snatch a late equaliser. Toka slipped on the rain-slicked surface just as she was poised to claim her hat-trick goal, while substitutes Rai Nganu and Louana Trego were both denied by one of PNG's replacements, goalkeeper Biangka Gubag, deep in stoppage time, saves which clinched a 3-2 win. Matchday Three action at the OFC U-17 Women's Championship takes place on Friday, but before then, second round action at the U-20 tournament commences on Tuesday, with the 1pm clash of New Caledonia and New Zealand's Junior Ferns preceding that between Samoa and Papua New Guinea. Matchday Two details: Cook Islands 2 (T. Toka (34, 70)), Papua New Guinea 3 (R. Lorenz (21, 28), G. Kaikas (53))  HT 1-2 New Zealand 13 (J. Pereira (2, 31, 47, 86), E. Rolston (28, 60), M. Puketapu (36, 84, 90), D. Cleverley (69), H. Carlsen (78), J. Innes (82), B. Palmer (90)), New Caledonia 1 (N. Valefakaaga (19))  HT 4-1