On her 31st birthday, New Zealand striker Amber Hearn scored her 46th goal for her country in the 35th minute, rifling home from inside the penalty area after a free-kick was played into her path by Rosie White.
The result is the second win for the 16th ranked Football Ferns over Brazil (7), the first coming in Switzerland in 2013 at the Valais Cup – also a 1-0 win provided by a Hearn goal. The New Zealand side are now unbeaten in their last four matches against Brazil, winning twice.
Football Ferns coach Tony Readings says Sunday’s win was especially pleasing after a year full of near-misses on the scoreboard.
“We’re obviously really happy with the team,” Readings said, “we’ve had a lot of disappointments this year with some really good performances without getting the result.
“But today we put in one and we got the rewards. It’s good to get that every now and again because it just keeps inspiring you to work harder and harder.
“We were happy with the performance but the exciting thing for us is that we can play a lot better than that. We can definitely be a lot more cohesive when we’ve got the ball. So it’s nice to say for once that we’ve played well but there’s room for improvement even though we got the win.”
New Zealand survived a scare in the fifth minute, as 2006-2010 FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year Marta carved out a great scoring chance for her side but the final shot was wide of Erin Nayler’s goal.
Jasmine Pereira, making her first start for the Football Ferns, had the visitors’ first chance – heading wide from a cross in the 10th minute before Hearn’s opener came after the half hour mark.
The New Zealand striker was fouled in midfield and following a delayed restart with Brazil players arguing with the referee, White stroked the ball to Hearn, who was free on the edge of the area and she made no mistake in firing across goal and into bottom corner.
From there the Kiwis dug deep with a strong effort both in and out of possession with goalkeeper Nayler also playing a key role, denying Brazil’s Cristiane mid-way through the second half with a superb save one-on-one.
Readings says his side delivered on their intent to play through the thirds of the pitch even when pressed by their opponents and the New Zealand coach was especially happy with the mental application of his players in trying conditions which saw two water-breaks taken during the 90 minutes.
“The most pleasing thing is the overall discipline of the team,” Readings says. “This is a really strong Brazil team which was on the cusp of beating America in the last month in a game away from home.
“So this is a really top team we’ve played today, but we kept really disciplined, kept our shape and showed them what we’re all about defensively.
“We’ve spoken a lot since the World Cup about remaining disciplined but someone stepping up and showing a little bit of quality is what’s required and that’s what wins games and today we had that.”
Aimee Phillips made her Football Ferns debut in the second half, coming into the game as an 81st minute substitute for White.
The second game of the two-match series is in Cuiaba on Wednesday (NZ time) with LIVE coverage on SKY Sport at 1pm.
Brazil 0-1 Football Ferns (half: 0-1)
BRA: –
NZL: Amber Hearn 35’
New Zealand (from): 1. Erin Nayler (GK), 2. Ria Percival, 4. Katie Duncan, 5. Abby Erceg (capt), 6. Rebekah Stott, 7. Ali Riley, 8. Jasmine Pereira (10. Sarah Gregorius 58’) 9. Amber Hearn, 11. Kirsty Yallop (12. Betsy Hassett 61’), 13. Rosie White (25. Aimee Phillips 81’), 16. Annalie Longo
Substitutes not used: 3. Anna Green, 18. CJ Bott, 22. Stephanie Skilton, 23. Cushla Lichtwark (GK), 24. Kate Loye, 26. Grace Jale
Coach: Tony Readings
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football

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