Five-Star White Fires Junior Ferns To Germany
Story by Jeremy Ruane

New Zealand’s Junior Ferns qualified for July’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Finals in Germany in emphatic fashion on the North Harbour Stadium Tigerturf on January 25, trouncing Tonga 11-0 to retain the OFC U-20 Women’s Championship trophy.

The result was enough to ease the Tongans into third place in the four-team tournament, thanks to the Cook Islands scoring a 4-0 victory over American Samoa in the day’s earlier match, that country’s maiden win in international women’s football.

Regina Mustonen scored all four goals for the Cook Islands, including a thirteen-minute first half hat-trick, which temporarily saw her topping the Golden Boot charts going into the tournament’s final fixture, having scored all five of her country’s goals.

The Junior Ferns went into this tournament equipped with a fiery attacking arsenal. Their most lethal goalscoring weapon took one look at the updated records, and promptly set about making a statement which left all present in no doubt whatsoever of her prowess.

Rosie White matched Mustonen’s tournament haul in this match alone, a feat which, added to her brace of goals against both American Samoa and the Cook Islands, saw the reigning OFC Women’s Player of the Year claim the Golden Boot award with nine goals to her name, and the Golden Ball award as Player of the Tournament.

And to think she’s only sixteen … contemplating her full potential would give opposing defenders nightmares for weeks!

Barely two minutes had elapsed on the clock when White set her sights with a shot at Tongan goalkeeper Vaisioa Niukapu, after Elise Mamanu Gray and Hannah Wilkinson, both of whom took to the international stage like ducks to water during this tournament, had teamed up down the right.

Within sixty seconds, White opened the scoring. Anna Green’s deep corner was headed down by Chelsey Wood to Wilkinson, whose shot was blocked. White was onto the rebound in an instant, and swivelled expertly to volley home.

That set the ball rolling, and soon, all in white were joining in the fun, producing the most emphatic forty-five minute footballing statement seen at this tournament in doing so. Briony Fisher and Liz Milne combined with Sarah McLaughlin on the right in the seventh minute, with the last-mentioned’s cross being headed beyond the far post by Wilkinson.

Sixty seconds later, Lauren Mathis - a late replacement in the starting line-up for the injured Hannah Wall - picked out Mamanu Gray with a cross-field ball which she steered into Wilkinson’s path. The striker skipped past a challenge before seeing Niukapu tip her drive round the post.

The Junior Ferns doubled their lead in the tenth minute. Solidly performed midfield anchor Nadia Pearl slid a delicious pass through the inside right channel, and through surged White, who unleashed an explosive shot across Niukapu into the far corner of the net.

White and Wilkinson got in each other’s way in the thirteenth minute, after the latter had done all the hard work with a typically powerful run through three challenges, but Wilkinson made amends seconds later, getting in amongst the Tongan defence again before rolling the ball across goal for Pearl to slide home from close range - 3-0.

Wood, Milne and Mamanu Gray combined neatly down the right in the eighteenth minute, with the last-mentioned’s cross being deftly flicked goalwards by White. Niukapu saved this one, but was left without a prayer less than sixty seconds later as Mathis finished off Pearl’s hard work in emphatic fashion.

Fashion being the appropriate word, for it prompted the appearance of t-shirts celebrating New Zealand’s third successive qualification for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Finals - Russia 2006, Chile 2008, and now, Germany 2010.

The Junior Ferns weren’t satisfied, however - they wanted more goals, and over the course of the next seven minutes, they came desperately close to adding to their tally. White sent a shot sizzling across the face of goal following good work by Fisher, McLaughlin and Wilkinson, both of whom were denied by Niukapu in fine fashion soon afterwards.

The save which denied McLaughlin’s effort came at the expense of a 26th minute corner, which the shooter delivered onto the head of Wilkinson. The ball crashed against the far post, much to Tonga’s relief.

It was short-lived, for on the half-hour, White got in on the act again to complete her hat-trick. Mamanu Gray, Milne and Wilkinson dominated the right flank once more, the last-mentioned powering to the by-line before dinking a low cross to the near post, where White arrived on cue to crash the ball into the roof of the net - 5-0.

Only a timely tackle by Kiana Muamoholeva prevented Milne from rattling home number six within a minute of that strike, while Wilkinson headed wide after Mathis had begun this move with some much appreciated ball-winning work on half-way.

McLaughlin then tested the ‘keeper - Wilkinson was better placed to score - then rattled the hoardings, sending Wilkinson through in the 35th minute. She evaded Anne-Marie Taukapo’s challenge then rounded Niukapu, only to roll her shot across the face of goal.

White retrieved the situation, and turned the ball back to Green, whose angled cross found Wilkinson sliding in on the far post to finally get the goal she had been striving for.

Six minutes later, Wood slammed the ball into the roof of the net after Tonga had failed to clear a Green corner, and in doing so joined brother Chris in having scored for New Zealand, the West Bromwich Albion striker hitting the target during the U-17 squad’s trip to Japan in July 2007.

After Wilkinson had gone close once more - again, the promptings of Milne and Mamanu Gray were instrumental in proceedings, the Junior Ferns scored a superb team goal in the 43rd minute. White, fittingly, added the finishing touch to a flowing left flank raid which featured Wood, Pearl, Mathis, McLaughlin and Green - the goal of the match, and the eighth of the half.

There was still time for Niukapu to deny White before the interval, after which Caitlin Campbell and Emily Cooper both made their tournament debuts as half-time substitutes, with injured captain Green, one of those to make way, handing the armband to Wood for the second half.

Campbell’s first task saw her drive a 47th minute corner to the far post, where Fisher rose majestically to head home, only for the ball to ricochet to safety off the head of Tongan defender Mele Soakai.

Unperturbed, the Junior Ferns pressed again, and were rewarded two minutes later with another gem of a goal. Wood and Pearl combined to play Milne in down the left, and her cross was met superbly by White, the ball flashing past Niukapu into the back of the net for her fifth goal of the game, New Zealand’s ninth.

Straight from the kick-off, Tonga streaked downfield, with the Feke sisters leading the charge. Vasi laid the ball back to Penateti, whose teasing cross-shot had the hitherto unoccupied Victoria Esson scrambling.

The statuesque shot-stopper was called on twice more during the half, racing off her line to thwart Vasi Feke at one stage, then saving at the feet of the same player in stoppage time, the only time in the entire tournament she was called upon to make a save of note.

Otherwise, it was largely one-way traffic - at least, it should have been. Because the Junior Ferns went off the boil in a big way during the second spell - understandable in the circumstances, but not something of which the squad should be overly proud, as it meant they were guilty of lowering their standards.

Their play lacked the precision and urgency with which the first half had been graced, and it speaks volumes that they failed to create an opportunity of note between the time Wilkinson hit the bar with a twenty-five yarder in the 53rd minute and the same player rounded Niukapu but fired into the side-netting of a gaping goal twenty minutes later.

McLaughlin then hit the crossbar, and substitute Lauren Murray - her introduction meant everyone bar late replacement goalkeeper Erin Nayler enjoyed game-time for the Junior Ferns - brought a parried save out of Niukapu, who let a cross from Milne slip through her hands in the 79th minute, and looked round in horror to see Mamanu Gray ghosting in to head home New Zealand’s tenth goal of the game, one her tireless efforts fully merited.

After Murray had had a goal ruled out for offside - she had followed in after Niukapu had parried a Wilkinson header, Tonga’s goalkeeper produced a couple of superb stoppage time saves to deny White a double-hat-trick.

Murray was also thwarted by Niukapu, and Wood headed narrowly over the bar during the additional minutes on receipt of a corner from McLaughlin, who had completed the scoring in the ninetieth minute with a rasping angled drive into the top far corner of the net after working a short corner with Campbell.

New Zealand’s emphatic 11-0 victory concluded the first stage of their Germany 2010 campaign, having scored twenty-seven goals in total, and added the Fair Play award to their collection also.

More challenging obstacles now lie ahead, the Junior Ferns having joined England, France, Japan, Korea Republic, North Korea, Sweden and Switzerland in booking their tickets to Deutschland to date. (Three teams from CONCACAF, and two apiece from Africa and South America, will complete the line-up by mid-March).

There is also plenty of work ahead for the squad members, not all of whom are guaranteed to make coach Tony Readings’ final selection - the sub-standard second half showing in this match emphasised this in no uncertain terms.

With injury denying the participation in these qualifiers of Football Ferns duo Merissa Smith and Betsy Hassett, and the likes of Rebecca Brown, Leah Gallie, Katie Bowen, Katie Rood and Lisa Kemp on the outside looking in on this occasion, there will be no resting on laurels by anyone over the coming six months, of that you can be assured.

New Zealand: Esson; Milne, Fisher, Wood, Green (Campbell, 46); Mamanu Gray, Pearl (Murray, 67), McLaughlin, Mathis (Cooper, 46); Wilkinson, White

Tonga: Niukapu; Ongolea, Muamoholeva, Taukapo, Utaatu; Mamao (L. Loto’aniu, 25 (booked, 44)), Soakai, P. Feke, H. Loto’aniu; V. Feke, Tonga

Referee: Finau Vulivuli (Fiji)

In the day’s earlier encounter, Cook Islands created some history for themselves by winning their first women’s international at any level as they defeated American Samoa 4-0.

They dominated proceedings from the outset, with striker Regina Mustonen central to all their attempts on goal in the first twenty minutes. And three minutes after some fine wing play by Apii Nicholls had gone unrewarded, the Cook Islands’ striker opened the scoring with a volley on the turn from twelve yards.

That 25th minute effort was the first of three goals in thirteen minutes by the number ten, Mustonen’s cool finish seven minutes later supplemented by a 38th minute effort which saw her round luckless American Samoan goalkeeper Fiapa’ipa’i Saitu’u, whose niece, Fuataina Siatu’u, occupied the left-back role in this match.

The beaten team brought on the tournament’s Golden Gloves winner, Sancia Sopoaga, soon afterwards, and a player who took up the game less than a year ago kept the Cook Islands at bay throughout the second half until Mustonen found a way past her in the 89th minute.

Ten minutes beforehand, the American Samoans came desperately close to scoring a rare goal on the international stage when substitute Moaga Siauliaga spotted Cooks Islands ‘keeper Marjorie Toru off her line and fair battered the ball at the target.

The startled shot-stopper required four attempts and the assistance of the woodwork to keep out this twenty-five yarder, much to the dismay of the beaten team, who suffered far more significant setbacks when a tsunami last October interrupted their preparations for this tournament, prompting the Oceania Football Confederation to postpone it until now.