Junior Ferns captain Rosie White added yet another “golazo” to her bulging portfolio of wonder-strikes on 19 August, her thirty yard thunderbolt firing New Zealand to a 2-1 victory over Switzerland in their opening FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Finals fixture at Japan’s Miyagi Stadium. The 99th goal of her career added yet another milestone to the teenager’s footballing CV, as this is the third successive FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Finals tournament in which she has scored. It capped off a dominant display by the Junior Ferns, although the performance wasn’t reflected in the scoreline - New Zealand were a good three goals better than their young Swiss opponents, five of whose starting line-up was made of players aged no more than seventeen. The Junior Ferns came desperately close to opening the scoring in just the third minute, after the first of a series of powerful breaks down the right by Hannah Wilkinson. Kate Loye’s corner picked out the head of the impressively-performed Bridgette Armstrong, whose downward header was only denied by the outstretched leg of Swiss goalkeeper Pascale Kueffer. It set the tone for a dominant opening half-hour by the Kiwis, who took the game to their opponents and confidently knocked the ball around the park when in possession, and closed down the Swiss with vigour when out of it, often forcing errors and pinning their European rivals back inside their own half. The first occasion Switzerland managed to stave off New Zealand’s pressure saw them engineer their first chance of the match, a thirty yarder from Carmen Pulver which flew narrowly past the left-hand upright of the diving Erin Nayler in the twentieth minute. It was the cue for the Junior Ferns to re-double their efforts, and in the 26th minute a slick one-two on the right between Holly Patterson and Wilkinson saw the latter surge down the flank past three players en route to the by-line, from where she pulled the ball back behind the incoming figure of White, who tried in vain to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear on this occasion. Kate Loye then gave Kueffer some catching practice before Pulver went close with another effort, this time from just outside the penalty area after Nayler and Katie Bowen had combined to clear a Cinzia Joerg corner in the 31st minute. The Swiss pressed again seconds later, a stray pass from Loye pounced on by the well-performed Mirnije Selimi, who slipped Cora Canetta through. Patterson hurtled back to deny the striker as she entered the danger zone. Six minutes before half-time, the Junior Ferns took a deserved lead. Evie Millynn won the ball in midfield and gave it to White, who spread play wide to the left flank as Millynn continued to run forward. The recipient of White’s pass was Olivia Chance, who finally got the chance to unleash her wing wizardry on an unsuspecting Swiss opponent. Fullback Natasha Gensetter was the unwitting soul in question, and by the time she’d recovered from being teased and tormented by Chance, the winger had skipped past her to the byline and pulled the ball back. It duly arrived in the stride of Millynn, who timed her run to perfection and gleefully swept home past the stunned figure of Kueffer, the ‘keeper’s expression contrasting starkly with that of the scorer, the youngest member of the Junior Ferns’ squad. Straight from the kick-off, the Swiss sought an equaliser via the boot of the promising Selimi, but Nayler was right behind the shot. Another attempt to level the scores was mustered in first half stoppage time, when Canetta got the better of Armstrong before looking to pick out Karin Bernet on the far post. Ashleigh Ward’s recovering tackle frustrated the Swiss miss on this occasion, and ensured the Junior Ferns went to the dressing rooms a goal to the good at half-

"The Golazo Girl" strikes again! Hannah Wilkinson - right flank raider Bridgette Armstrong - rock solid in defence Olivia Chance - wing wizardry Evie Millynn - super goal

time, and what’s more, good value for it. The second half was just seven minutes old when White gathered the ball just outside the centre circle. Lia Waelti and Swiss captain Carina Gerber dived in to deny her, but there was no stopping New Zealand’s skipper on this occasion, as she weaved past one opponent before side-stepping another before looking up to see Kueffer out of position off her line. How the ‘keeper’s error was punished! “The Golazo Girl” instantly let fly from fully thirty yards and left the flailing custodian clutching at air as the ball bounced once en route to the far corner of the net to give the Junior Ferns a 2-0 lead. It put New Zealand firmly in command of the match, and to emphasise the fact, they uncorked a delightful spell of one-touch passing and possession play on the hour mark, the move only coming unstuck when Armstrong directed a pass to Selimi, who sent Canetta careering through. Her finish was of the high, wide and far from handsome variety. Eight minutes later, Loye linked with Chance, who evaded an opponent before slipping the ball through to White, lurking beyond her. New Zealand’s captain got to the byline before parting Wilkinson’s hair with a cross she came within inches of converting. The Swiss were, by now, getting decidedly frustrated at being denied at every turn by the colonial upstarts, and started indulging in some of those niggly fouls which are the bane of many a match. They were certainly the bane of Bowen, who found herself on the wrong end of a few of them, not all of which Singaporean referee Abirami Apbai opted to crack down upon, much to the Kiwi playmaker’s chagrin. In the final ten minutes, the Junior Ferns visibly began to tire, and elements of sloppiness and inaccuracy crept into their play. Twice inside sixty seconds, Nayler was forced to save from Audrey Wuichet and substitute Eseosa Aigbogun after Rebecca Burrows and Armstrong had both carelessly conceded possession just outside their penalty area. Three minutes from time, Joerg pulled a shot across the face of goal after determined substitute Egzona Seljimi forced her way through three challenges before going down under the challenge of Loye, for which the Swiss had strong penalty claims, only for referee Apbai to wave play on. Encouraged by this Seljimi worked her way in from the right again and managed to get a cross into the near post area ahead of the retreating figure of Ward. Aigbogun was her intended target, but Nayler saved at the feet of the substitute. In stoppage time, Switzerland pulled a goal back to give the Junior Ferns some late palpitations prior to the final whistle. Joerg fed Pulver, whose angled ball in between defenders left Canetta one-on-one with Nayler, who narrowed the angle well, only to be undone by a square pass which allowed Aigbogun to tap into an empty net - 2-1. The Junior Ferns kept their nerve in the minutes which remained, before celebrating a famous victory - only the second opening group match triumph by any New Zealand team at a senior or age-grade World Cup Finals tournament, and the perfect 40th birthday present for coach Aaron McFarland. They now take on Japan from 10.20pm NZ time on Wednesday evening in Miyagi. The host nation comfortably accounted for Mexico 4-1 in their opening encounter, so the Junior Ferns will have their work cut out to contain Young Nadeshiko, who are looking to emulate their senior counterparts in winning the U-20 World Cup Finals. Switzerland: Kueffer; Gensetter, Gerber, Waelti, Maritz; Bernet (Seljimi, 61), Joerg, Selimi (Aigbogun, 75), Pulver, Wuichet (Faessler, 84); Canetta Junior Ferns: Nayler; Patterson (booked, 84), Burrows, Armstrong, Ward; Millynn, Bowen, Loye (Pearl, 89); Wilkinson, White, Chance (Skilton, 79) Referee: Abirami Apbai (Singapore)