New Zealand’s Young Ferns trounced Tonga 18-0 at North Harbour Stadium on April 16 to claim the inaugural OFC U-17 Women’s Championship and confirm themselves as Oceania’s representatives at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Finals in Trinidad & Tobago in September. In doing so, they scored a record victory for all New Zealand teams at age-grade level, a result which is second only to the Football Ferns’ world record-equalling 21-0 rout of Samoa in the 1998 OFC Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament as New Zealand’s biggest win on the world stage. Solomon Islands substitute Joy Timo scored a last-gasp winner to clinch second place for her country as they edged Papua New Guinea 1-0 in the championship’s most evenly contested affair, an outcome which meant the Young Ferns took to the Tigerturf as champions in all but name. Sporting seven changes from their starting line-up two days prior, the tenth nation to qualify for Trinidad & Tobago produced a performance to be proud of, with the late introduction of Rebecca Burrows meaning all twenty Young Ferns played their part in qualifying for the finals. They set out their stall right from the kick-off, Hannah Wong rattling the side-netting just 85 seconds into the match after Rachel Head had stampeded down the left to the by-line, where Tongan goalkeeper Tangimausia Ma’afu blocked at the fullback’s feet near the edge of the penalty area. Five minutes later, Kate Loye, who donned the captain’s armband for this match, saw her corner cleared to Hannah Carlsen. She let rip a twenty-yard firecracker which was blocked on the line by Salote Kavea. Her clearance returned the ball to Loye, who picked out Wong, and her angled pass invited Evie Millynn to dash through on goal. Ma’afu saved at the midfielder’s feet, but was afforded no chance in the seventh minute as Brittany Dudley-Smith swooped on a defensive error and surged into the penalty area before thrashing the ball into the bottom far corner of the net. The Young Ferns were on their way, and within two minutes, Dudley-Smith had doubled her advantage with an acute-angled shot under Ma’afu, after Wong had slipped her fellow front-runner through the inside-right channel. 2-0 became 3-0 two minutes later, Kate Carlton and Millynn combining with Dudley-Smith on the right. The last-mentioned’s low cross was touched on by Wong into the stride of Ashleigh Ward, who gleefully tapped in from close range. That eleventh minute goal was supplemented by a fourth strike in the thirteenth minute, with Dudley-Smith again a significant contributor to the move. Her effort was hooked out by Malia Loto’aniu straight to Millynn, who unleashed a perfect dipping volley into the danger zone, where Wong was on hand to deftly turn the ball home past the deceived

Ma’afu. The ‘keeper made amends with a superb fingertip save from Loye seconds later, tipping the twenty-yard drive onto the crossbar, but after Dudley-Smith had missed a sitter - she skied the ball over from six yards after Head and Ward had prised open Tonga’s right flank - and Wong’s finish failed to do justice to the creativity of Carlton and Millynn, the Young Ferns went nap in the nineteenth minute. It was a nice move, too. Carlsen and Millynn combined to feed Dudley-Smith, who evaded a couple of challenges before crossing to Wong, who touched it into Ward’s stride - 5-0. Four minutes later, Loye, later to receive the Golden Ball as Player of the Tournament, sent a twenty-five yarder ripping into the roof of the net after Carlton and Carlsen had combined on the right. Millynn then volleyed a yard over the bar following Head’s hard work down the left, before Carlton was thwarted by Ma’afu after beating a couple of opponents upon working a neat one-two down the right with Millynn. Carlton was clearly relishing the chance to play her part in the Young Ferns’ campaign, and in the 28th minute, confirmed the fact by scoring arguably the goal of the tournament - an absolute snorter from fully thirty-five yards which fair screamed into the top far corner of the net! 7-0, and how!! Dudley-Smith hit the post and Millynn volleyed over from twenty yards before the half-hour mark materialised, while five minutes later, Ma’afu made a splendid one-handed save to deny Wong’s piledriver, which was bound for the top near corner of the net. The ‘keeper got a hand to another Wong shot seconds later, but this time in vain, the Young Ferns striker wheeling away to celebrate capping off a delightful left-flank raid which was ignited by Tessa McPherson, and featured Head, Carlsen and Ward. 8-0 became 9-0 four minutes before half-time. Loye played the ball wide to Head, whose gorgeous cross demanded a goal. Dudley-Smith duly obliged, crowning her hat-trick with a stooping header. She could have had a couple more in the next two minutes, Ma’afu’s fingertip save thwarting the hat-trick heroine following the enterprise of Loye, Head and Ward, while the crossbar came to Tonga’s aid as Dudley-Smith directed a close-range header against it on receipt of a cross from Wong. The Tongans managed to reach half-time with the scoreboard still in single digits, but only just. A marvellous move on the stroke of the interval saw McPherson, Head, Loye, Carlsen and Ward all featuring, before Millynn undid all their precise play with a far from precise finish from the edge of the penalty area. The Young Ferns hit the ground running straight from the kick-off, with Ma’afu denying both Ward

and Dudley-Smith within forty seconds of the resumption. But double figures were inevitable, and in the 49th minute, Dudley-Smith’s cross was spilled by Ma’afu, straight into the path of Wong, whose close-range header completed her hat-trick. That was Dudley-Smith’s last contribution to the match, and it was her replacement, Grace Parkinson, who wasted little time in getting up to speed, linking with Wong to set up Ward for her hat-trick in the 51st minute. Just shy of the hour, Loye and Carlsen worked an opening for Wong, whose shot from the edge of the penalty area was pawed out by Ma’afu. Cook Islands referee Tupou Patia was well placed to see that the ball had crossed the line before the ‘keeper’s save, however, and suddenly Wong was in touching distance of Dudley-Smith’s seven-goal haul for the tournament - she was leading the Golden Boot stakes at this point in time. After Parkinson had hit the crossbar with a deft chipped effort, Wong drew level with her team-mate by netting her fifth goal of the game in the 65th minute. A right-flank raid featuring Carlton, substitute Stephanie Skilton and the scorer saw Wong cross to Parkinson, whose shot was blocked by Tongan captain Buccilea Ongolea. The rebound fell to Wong … 13-0. Cue another flurry of goals - three in the next seven minutes, two of which came from the penalty spot. Parkinson and Carlsen scored from the spot after handball offences, with Loye notching her second of the game prior to their efforts with another twenty-five yarder, which found the roof of the net despite Ma’afu’s desperate attempt to keep it out. Not all went according to plan for the Young Ferns - Parkinson’s premature departure on a stretcher due to injury took place as Loye was denied her hat-trick by Ma’afu eleven minutes from time. But they weren’t to be denied a couple more goals before the final whistle. Wong completed her double-hat-trick when bundling the ball home from close range following a Loye corner in stoppage time, while Skilton concluded the rout with the last kick of the game, a coolly taken strike rounding out an emphatic 18-0 triumph for the Young Ferns, the inaugural OFC U-17 women’s champions. And Fair Play winners, too, with the other individual award claimed by Solomon Islands’ goalkeeper Alice Patrick. She was the recipient of the Golden Glove trophy, while Young Ferns duo Hannah Wong (Golden Boot) and Kate Loye (Golden Ball) took out the other individual honours. Young Ferns:     Reddaway; Carlton, Boyce, McPherson, Head; Millynn, Loye, Carlsen; Dudley-Smith (Parkinson, 50 (Burrows, 77)), Wong, Ward (Skilton, 62) Tonga:          Ma’afu; Kolofale, Ongolea, Silakivai (Nonu, 63), Feke; Tahiti’s (Papani, 46), Tonga, Loto’aniu, Kofutu, Kavea (Minioneti, 56); Lelenga (booked, 72) Referee:     Tupou Patia (Cook Islands)