New Zealand's Junior Ferns began their quest to qualify for the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Finals in emphatic scoring fashion at Centre Park on February 18, but their 12-0 vanquishing of Vanuatu was nowhere near as convincing as the scoreline suggests. There were times - and many of them - in this OFC U-20 Women's Championship match in which the Junior Ferns' play was decidedly ordinary, lacking in quality, accuracy, precision and panache. Frankly, it struggled to reach the standard expected of teams in the ASB Women's League and the Lotto Northern Premier Women's League at times, never mind  international level. An early indication of what was to follow materialised in the fifth minute, when Daisy Cleverley skied a shot from the vicinity of the penalty spot after Briar Palmer had made in-roads on the left. Laura Merrin, one of very few Junior Ferns who performed close to the standards one has come to expect of her throughout proceedings, was instrumental in the opening goal two minutes later. Her corner to the far post was steered home by Martine Puketapu, who was to go on and score a hat-trick in this match. When Emma Rolston caught Monica Melteviel in possession on the edge of her penalty area three minutes later, a second goal looked odds-on. But overworked Vanuatu goalkeeper Samantha Paul raced out to block at the striker's feet, at the expense of another corner. Merrin delivered this one to the near post, where Megan Robertson was lurking. She had the misfortune to hit the bar with her hooked effort, seconds before Cleverley's splendid pass picked out Rolston in space in the penalty area. Why she opted to pass - inaccurately - when shooting was the only real option, only she will know. It was a lesson Rolston swiftly heeded, for she opened her account for the match on the quarter-hour. Merrin's delightfully flighted ball found the striker ghosting in behind a defender, and her deft glancing header afforded the stranded figure of Paul no chance - 2-0. That was the cue for a virtual avalanche of goals - three more followed in the next six minutes. Puketapu, on receipt of an Emily Stotter pass, started the cycle off, holding off a defender before letting rip from the edge of the penalty area in the eighteenth minute. The shot squirmed under the diving figure of Paul and in by her near post - not the sort of goal a 'keeper likes to admit conceding. But she was afforded little chance of stopping the next two, which came in a thirty-second spell either side of the twenty minute mark. Stotter and Palmer linked on the left, with the latter's ball in behind the defence inviting Rolston to beat two challengers before finishing confidently past Paul, who was fishing the ball out of her net again virtually straight from the kick-off. This time, the scorer turned provider, Rolston rewarding Lauren Dabner's rampaging run from deep with a pass which encouraged the midfielder to evade a couple of challenges before tucking the ball home beyond Paul. At this rate, the record scoreline for this qualifying tournament - the Junior Ferns' merciless18-0 mauling of Tonga in 2010 - was going to be under threat long before the final whistle, but when a shot in anger was next fired, it was by the Vanuatuans. Robertson was guilty of some sloppy defensive play in the 22nd minute which presented Nadine Kileteir with the chance to earn the biggest cheer of the day. Junior Ferns' captain, goalkeeper Lily Alfeld, wasn't having a bar of that prospect, and comfortably dealt with the only save she was called upon to make in the match. After Rolston had fired narrowly past Paul's right-hand post, Cleverley, Rolston and Stotter combined to play in Palmer in the 28th minute. She steered a shot past Paul, only to see it hit the inside of the far post and bounce out. Merrin then retrieved a wayward cross-field ball from Cleverley and turned it into a goalscoring opportunity, weighting a delightful ball into the stride of Rolston on the half-hour. Her looping header of Paul

drifted past the right-hand upright. Ten minutes before half-time, and interrupting a passage of play in which the Junior Ferns' sloppiness was becoming more noticeable, a Stotter cross was headed clear to Palmer, who let rip from twenty-five yards. Paul should have held the shot comfortably, but the winger wasn't complaining when the 'keeper inexplicably diverted it into the roof of her net - 6-0. A vital block by Vanuatu captain Junane Ishmael prevented Rolston from completing her hat-trick seconds later, before more sloppy play culminated in the striker squandering a gilt-edged chance, made for her by the combined efforts of Geena Gross and Dabner. Rolston dragged her shot across the face of goal from the inside-right channel, a position Puketapu found herself in seconds later when Cleverley and Dabner combined to prise open Vanuatu's defence. The Young Ferns' leading markswoman showed her older team-mate how to score in this situation, a precise, placed finish across Paul arrowing into the net by the far post to complete Puketapu's hat-trick in the 43rd minute. Two more goals followed in first half stoppage time, the first a result of Paul spilling a stinging drive from Cleverley. Palmer, following in as all good front-runners should, gained due reward for her anticipation - 8-0. And with the last kick of the half, Rolston completed her hat-trick with a thumping volleyed finish, mercilessly punishing an Ishmael error which left the Junior Ferns half-way towards equalling the existing record scoreline. Against a team with an average age of just over fifteen, many expected the host nation to kick on in the second spell and write themselves into the history books. That they didn't was in part due to the terrific resolve of the Vanuatuans - they really made a great fist of the second spell - as well as New Zealand's increasingly error-strewn display, which no amount of "spin" can explain away. The Junior Ferns' overall display simply wasn't good enough, and certainly nowhere near the standards expected of those charged with sporting a jersey with the silver fern on their chest in an international sporting fixture, code and comparative level of opposition regardless. In the period leading up to the hour mark, New Zealand fired two shots towards the target - Puketapu fired over, while Rolston pulled another effort wide of the mark. (She must have a fundamental technical flaw for this to be happening so frequently, something which a bit of video analysis could go a long way towards resolving and improving Rolston as a player - her goals per game return in particular, I'm sure). Jasmine Pereira was introduced to the fray at this point, in an effort to arrest the current trend, and but for a superb goal-line clearance by Paulieana Manwo, the substitute would have made an instant impact - her first touch was a shot which had 'goal' written all over it until the fullback's timely intervention. In the 66th minute, Stotter contrived to produce the miss of the match to date. Merrin picked out Palmer with a short corner which culminated in the winger picking out the unmarked midfielder with a measured pass to the near post. From six yards out, Stotter contrived to screw her shot across the face of goal and past the far post - the diving figure of Paul couldn't get near it, unlike the attempts by Pereira and Merrin which followed in the next few minutes - the former's effort was smothered, the latter's cross-shot plucked confidently under pressure from Rolston. If Stotter's miss was bad, worse was to follow. In the 69th minute, Rolston pounced on an error and promptly set up Palmer with an inviting pass which left the winger with Paul alone to beat. That Palmer failed to even control the ball, never mind fire a shot, just summed things up performance-wise, and certainly wasn't something this writer anticipated seeing one of this country's most talented left flank artists producing in the course of a match. Much better has come to be expected of this lass - this was very un-Palmer-like, make no mistake!

The hard-working figure of Gross deserved better than to see her cross-shot arc over Paul and crash back into play off the far post twenty minutes from time, while the fullback combined with Pereira soon after to present Rolston with a cross which she met with a glancing header. While she guided this effort across the face of goal, she was gifted possession from the resulting goal-kick, and at last, the net bulged once more - 10-0 New Zealand after 73 minutes, Rolston's fourth strike of the contest. The plucky figure of Paul prevented Palmer, Stotter and Rolston from adding to that tally in dealing with a cross three minutes later, while after Pereira rattled the post from a near-impossible angle, Dabner dragged a shot past the near post before linking with Rolston to play in substitute Tayla O'Brien. Paul raced out swiftly to block her effort, but was beaten all ends up ten minutes from time by Merrin's delicious cross-shot which left the 'keeper completely flummoxed. Pereira was following in, and gleefully headed home from two yards - 11-0. Inside a minute, the tally increased again, Issy Coombes and Rolston combining to present O'Brien with a chance which she thrashed home under the diving Vanuatu goalkeeper, who thwarted another Rolston effort soon after. Paul smothered a Dabner drive three minutes from time, and was relieved to see Jasmina Takaro denying O'Brien in the act of shooting seconds later, after Pereira had prised open Vanuatu's rearguard once more. Rolston sent a looping header over the bar and pulled another shot past the post in stoppage time, but prior to this came another contender for miss of the match - this particular side-show was becoming quite a contest! Joining Stotter and Palmer as a nominee for this most coveted title was Pereira, who was the recipient of the cross of the match from Merrin - this was real 'buffet ball' material, with Paul again rendered a spectator by the quality of the fullback's delivery. Not even the raising of the flag for offside could spare the substitute from coming up with the winning effort where miss of the match was concerned - four yards out, open goal, over the bar … Un. Be. Lieve. A. Ble!!!!! Needless to say, better, far far better, is expected from the Junior Ferns when they take on Tonga from 4pm on Thursday at the same venue. One hopes that the likes of Emily Jensen, Chloe Knott, Catherine Bott and Meikayla Moore will be unleashed in this match - expect an immediate improvement in standards and performance if they are. Junior Ferns:     Alfeld; Gross, Anton, Robertson, Merrin; Stotter, Cleverley (Coombes, 46), Dabner; Puketapu (Pereira, 61), Rolston, Palmer (O'Brien, 77) Vanuatu:     Paul; Rory, Rahuban, Melteviel, Manwo (Takaro, 74); Kileteir, Alatoa (Wilbur, 46), Ishmael, Wakaret (Wanemut, 56); Bihu, Kaltapiri Referee:     Finau Vulivuli (Fiji) In the earlier Matchday One encounter, four second half goals earned Papua New Guinea a 4-0 win over Tonga, who survived two woodwork rattlers from Meagan Gunemba and Georgina Kaikas inside the first twenty-five minutes of the contest. The Tongans proved plucky opponents, none more so than Ofa La'akulu, who was simply immense in defence for a side which had just ten players on the park - due to injury - when the Papuans opened the scoring six minutes into the second half. Nicolla Niaman edged out Dinna Awele in the race to open her country's account for the match, with Talitha Irakau capping off a fine personal display with a deserved second goal fifteen minutes later. Two more goals followed in the next nine minutes, with substitute Yvonne Gabong capitalising on a mistake by Tongan goalkeeper Tangimausia Ma'afu - La'akulu's attempt to clear off the line was in vain - before Niaman wrapped up the scoring fifteen minutes from time. The Papuans, who would have won by a far greater margin but for profligate finishing, take on Vanuatu in the 1pm game on Matchday Two of the OFC U-20 Women's Championship at Mangere's Centre Park on Thursday.