New Zealand's Junior Ferns have concluded the Four Nations Tournament in Melipilla, Chile, on a significant high, after demolishing Mexico 3-0 at the Estadio Roberto Bravo Santibanez on September 21. While not enough to clinch the top-two finish they coveted - Canada edged the previously unbeaten Chileans 1-0 to take out the title - it certainly confirmed to all present that the Junior Ferns will be quite a handful come the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Finals in November, when they will take on the host nation, England and Nigeria in first round action. The star turn in this most emphatic victory was fifteen-year-old Rosie White, who scored two minutes either side of half-time to conclude the tournament as its leading goalscorer, with three goals. Nineteen minutes from time, a New Zealand corner resulted in Ria Percival pouncing to punish a handling error by Mexican goalkeeper Selma Hernandez, after which the Junior Ferns were only denied a bigger victory by some dogged defending from the beaten team. John Herdman's charges' disciplined approach also earned them the tournament's Fair Play award, and the praise of their coach. “The girls were pretty sublime today. They put on a brilliant display, dominated the game from start to finish, and could have scored a lot more - it's quite exciting, really. “We were too strong for Mexico. They couldn't handle our physicality, despite our having just one 19- or 20-year-old on the pitch. We played some beautiful flowing football, too, attacking down both flanks through Ria Percival and Caitlin Campbell, and through the middle as well, with Betsy Hassett strongly supporting Rosie White and Renee Leota - who had a goal disallowed - in attack”. The impressive performance was a strong response from the team to a question Herdman posed them after the draw with Canada regarding their desire to win games.  “The beauty with this tournament is that it's realistic to say we could have won it. We should have beaten the Canadians, and it was most frustrating

Ria Percival - pounced to score Caitlin Campbell - a really good tour

for the players that they didn't. “But did we have the desire to win that game? Did we have the desire to win this one? Their response is our first-ever victory in a full U-20 international outside Oceania - we`re pretty pleased about that!” While disappointed not to have won the tournament, nor realised a top-two finish despite securing a four-point haul from the three matches, Herdman is generally “pretty happy with the outcome of the tournament overall. “We were able to put on some good performances and get some decent results while experimenting - this, remember, is the first time this group has played together ahead of the Finals in November. “It's been a real collective effort from the girls, with three stand-outs in Betsy Hassett, Rosie White and Hannah Wall. Our six Olympians - the senior players - contributed at the right times with experience and quality, while Caitlin Campbell has shown the benefits of adding a bit of maturity and experience to her game - she had a really good tour”. The squad returns home from Chile on Monday, and, supplemented by some members of the Football Ferns squad, will take on the Young Ferns (NZ U-17s) in a series of friendlies in October which will benefit both teams as they embark on their final preparations for their respective FIFA Women's World Cup Finals. Junior Ferns:     Victoria Esson (Charlotte Wood, 46); Ria Percival, Abby Erceg, Liz Milne, Bridgette Armstrong (Briony Fisher, 46); Caitlin Campbell, Betsy Hassett, Katie Hoyle (Grace Vincent, 46), Hannah Wall (Annalie Longo, 63); Rosie White, Renee Leota (Sarah McLaughlin, 34) Mexico:     Selma Hernandez; Wendoline Ortiz, Ana Lilia Gomez, Janet Mendez (Inglis Hernandez, 42), Susana Mendoza; Rosaura Gallegos (Nayeli Rangel, 53), Yalu Mondragon, Liliana Mercado (booked, 53) (Alina Garcia-Mendez, 64), Stephany Mayor; Charlyn Corral, Alejandra Torres Referee:     Pamela Gutierrez