Nadia Pearl (13) and Betsy Hassett wonder what might have been as Sweden celebrate, led by two-goal heroine Antonia Goransson (15, in arms of unidentified player)             photo courtesy FIFA / Getty Images 14 July 2010 Dear Cherubs, Well, that wasn’t like it said it would be in the brochure, was it? I was quietly confident you’d get off to the ideal start this morning, and all that accumulated experience which, as a squad, you boast in abundance, would contribute to our recording a first-up win at a FIFA World Cup Finals for the first time ever. There was nothing to suggest that wouldn’t be the case in the opening minutes of the match, and again during a decent spell around the twenty-minute mark, during the last ten minutes of the half when we took the lead - magic stuff, Wilko! - and in the early stages of the second spell. After that, though, what went wrong? It looked at times as if you were trying to run through treacle! Everything appeared to happen in slow motion, a theory confirmed when I had another look at the game on video, and confirmed that only the tape was operating at normal speed … Was it lethargy? The heat? Jetlag catching up with you? A lack of match sharpness, perhaps - let’s be honest, not all of you have been playing for your clubs week in, week out, have you? As you know all too well, there’s nothing like playing regular competitive football to keep you at the peak of your prodigious footballing powers, individually and collectively. And I think we saw some evidence of that on the pitch in Bielefeld, where the Swedes, fresh from completing part one of their Damellsvenskan competition, were as sharp as tacks throughout. I’d love to say the same of all of you, cherubs, but there was some x-factor missing from your performance today, and I just can’t pinpoint precisely what it is. One thing’s for sure - you weren’t your usual bright, bouncy, buoyant selves out there, and the quality of your play at times reflected that perception. Needless to say, that outcome has left me and many others feeling more than a bit disappointed. Ah, now there’s a word I wish I had $100 for every time I’ve heard or read it in relation to your efforts today!! Given the number of times it’s been mentioned, I’d probably be able to pay the return airfare to Germany for next year’s Women’s World Cup Finals, which will certainly be the highlight of my 25th year in women’s football! But that’s for the future - let’s focus on the Junior Ferns at Germany 2010 for now. ‘Cause you’re there, right now, living your World Cup dream, albeit one which is once again showing some dark clouds on the weather map. (Young Toni didn‘t make mention of any such disturbances on the horizon on TV3 last night … must have a word! Not like her to get it wrong!) I’ve no doubt you’re feeling that disappointment more than any of your loyal supporters, if that’s possible, never mind those who only take an interest in the women’s game when it’s time for you to perform on the world stage (then proceed to roll out the old chestnuts decrying your efforts in comparison with the men’s game …). Incidentally, I wonder if Rory Fallon was among those watching? And if he noticed how you girls got up and got on with the game when you’d been fouled, never once carrying on like spoilt little boys by resorting to the amateur dramatics and histrionics which are so much a part of and do so much to besmirch the image of the men’s game today … I digress. One of the questions asked of me today was, "Are our expectations too high?" It’s an interesting one, given the general public are still savouring the unbeaten efforts of the All Whites in South Africa. Have we got swept along in the euphoria of that staggering achievement to a point where we’re perhaps biting off more than we can chew? Personally, given the way the NZ women’s game has developed exponentially over the last five years, I know we are well past the stage now where merely qualifying for FIFA Finals should satisfy our ambitions. We need to be - should be - setting our sights higher and pushing on to the next level, i.e. top eight minimum, something which, as a dozen of you know all too well, you were thirty seconds away from realising at these same U-20 Finals in Chile two years ago. With that experience in mind, it’s perfectly understandable that you girls, as a group, have set yourselves a minimum target of progressing to the quarter-finals at Germany 2010. I’m well pleased that that’s your objective - it would have disappointed me if you’d gone there with the sole intention of making up the numbers. You’re better than that - I know it, you know it - and I’m pleased the gaffer said as much after the match. Because you are better than you showed today, no question. Indeed, with an ounce of luck, you’d have won that game. Never mind all this goal-line technology talk - what is it with these damn goal-frames that keep getting in the way of your shots? One of these days, you’ll enjoy the rub of the green (no pun intended, Anna!), perhaps even as soon as your next match, against North Korea. Win that, and today’s display will be looked upon as a mere aberration - that is what it was, wasn’t it? Plus you’ll be right back on target to satisfy your pre-Finals objective - quarter-finals minimum. You haven’t become a bad team overnight, cherubs - let’s make that crystal clear! True, it wasn’t the ideal start by any stretch of the imagination, but you’re still right up there as far as we back home are concerned, and still in the frame to make the last eight. I guess it comes down to the fact that, having boldly declared you intend to go where no previous New Zealand team has gone before, and given how strong a squad you are, you’re basically expected to now walk the talk, and deliver on your ambitions. Over to you, gang. Go get ‘em! Lotsaluv, JR