New Zealand’s U-17s stunned their more senior opponents, the NZ Secondary Schoolgirls, on the North Harbour Stadium Tigerturf on December 14, coming from behind to prevail 4-2 in the first of three matches between these representative squads this week. The Young Ferns got off to a firecracker start, opening the scoring after just 43 seconds. Brittany Dudley-Smith swooped on a stray Lucy Carter pass and sent Grace Parkinson surging through. From the edge of the penalty area, she sent the ball soaring beyond the flailing arm of Erin Nayler high into the net. The schoolgirls swiftly got into their stride despite this setback, with Rosie White putting herself about with gusto in a twenty-minute cameo as she made a welcome but softly softly return to action after spending the last three months sidelined by a stress fracture in her foot. But it was the Young Ferns who were next to fire a shot in anger, Dudley-Smith thrashing a shot past the post on the quarter-hour on receipt of a delightfully weighted ball from Jane Barnett. The schoolgirls responded with their first raid of note, an eighteenth minute attack which featured Lauren Mathis and Emily Cooper. The latter checked inside before unleashing a twenty-five yarder narrowly past the right-hand post of the Young Ferns’ debutant goalkeeper, Jessica Reddaway. After Sivitha Boyce had blocked a Stephanie Skilton shot, Sarah McLaughlin and Mathis combined to present substitute Hannah Wilkinson with a headed chance. The tall striker didn’t connect cleanly, meaning Reddaway had some catching practice in the 24th minute. Barely sixty seconds later, she was indulging in that practice all goalkeepers hate - picking the ball out of the back of their net! A stray pass from Boyce was pounced on by McLaughlin, who fed Skilton. She held off Eloise Morris’ challenge before squaring the ball to Cooper, some twenty-five yards out from goal. The ball was a blur as it screamed into the roof of the net - a cracking equaliser. The Young Ferns came close to regaining the lead eleven minutes before half-time. Morris outmuscled Mathis in a tussle for the ball before feeding Dudley-Smith, who shrugged off the attentions of Evie Millynn prior to unleashing a shot which Nayler grabbed greedily. Reddaway had no such opportunity four minutes later as the Secondary Schoolgirls took the lead. McLaughlin gathered the ball on half-way and evaded the challenges of Morris and the hard-working Rachel Head before angling a pass into the penalty area to reward Wilkinson’s run. It was a gem, the striker darting from right to left on a diagonal raid across the defence to latch onto McLaughlin’s pass and turn inside Boyce before battering a bullet beyond Reddaway’s dive and in off the far post from fifteen yards - quality. Thanks to Nayler, the schoolgirls retained their 2-1 lead through to half-time. The ‘keeper produced a fine flying save to her left to thwart a rasping Olivia Chance drive in the 42nd minute, then produced a fine save at the feet of Parkinson just inside the penalty area, after Kate Loye had split the schoolgirls’ defence with a peach of a pass.

Lauren Mathis holds off Rachel Head (obscured) Sarah McLaughlin controls, watched by Katie Bowen Kate Loye lays the ball off as Elise Mamanu-Gray closes in Katie Bowen does Danielle Hareb a treat

Straight after half-time, Mathis smashed a warning shot across the Young Ferns’ bows, only for Katie Bowen - she dominated midfield throughout proceedings - to get the better of McLaughlin on the right before curling in a near post cross which saw Dudley-Smith beat Nayler in the air but head wide of the mark. The game was turned on its head by a three-goal burst in eight minutes, as the Young Ferns, driven on by the central midfield partnership of Bowen and Loye, turned the half-time deficit into a match-winning lead in the minutes leading up to the hour mark. Bowen sparked the 53rd minute move which brought about the equaliser, an outcome which was due reward for the effervescent Evie Millynn, although Nayler should have done far better than to appear to dive over the lively midfielder’s shot as it crept into the far corner of the net. Nayler’s goal survived another scare two minutes later, the ‘keeper looking on as Chance got the better of Elise Mamanu-Gray on the edge of the penalty area before lashing a low fifteen yarder narrowly wide. The Young Ferns regained the lead in the 57th minute. Loye took charge of the ball in midfield and fed Dudley-Smith, who wriggled through a challenge before seeing Nayler blocking a shot at point-blank range. Unofrtunately for the ‘keeper, the rebound landed perfectly for Parkinson - 3-2. But not for long. After Nayler had tipped over a Bowen free-kick destined for the top corner of the net, the youngsters made it 4-2 in the 61st minute. Chance fed Loye, who turned an opponent then rode a challenge in the penalty area before angling a pass back to Parkinson, who controlled the ball neatly before completing her hat-trick in unerring fashion. Straight from the kick-off, a clearly frustrated McLaughlin set sail for goal and launched a thirty-yarder which Reddaway grabbed to her right. And after Mathis had sent a shot zooming across the face of goal - Mamanu-Gray pounced on a stray Boyce pass to create the chance, a McLaughlin corner wasn’t dealt with by the Young Ferns defece. Up stepped Schoolgirls substitute Erina Wong, whose sizzling deflected twenty yard volley was heading for the net at pace. Reddaway’s reflex save diverted the ball to safety - a top stop! The sight of this saw a few heads in the schoolgirls squad drop, seemingly resigned to defeat. They made very little impact in the final twenty minutes, save for Reddaway saving at the feer ot Mathis, and the goalkeeper teaming up with Michelle Windsor to contain McLaughlin in stoppage time. A long-range penalty effort Bowen, which Nayler grabbed under her crossbar, was all the Young Ferns had to show for their contribution to proceedings. But in scoring this come-from-behind 4-2 triumph, they’ve set up this three-match series, the second of which takes place at the same venue on Wednesday. U-17s:          Reddaway; Head, Boyce, Windsor, Lee; Barnett (Loye, 30), Bowen, Millynn (Paterson, 90), Chance (Innes, 73); Dudley-Smith (H. Wong, 74), Parkinson (Patterson, 88) Schoolgirls:     Nayler; Carter (E. Wong, 68), Hareb, Morris (Gottgtroy, 63), Brown; Skilton, Cooper (Mathews, 78), Mathis; Rood, White (Wilkinson, 23) (Mamanu-Gray, 51) Referee:     William Nam