A first half onslaught from the visitors – which had the 10th-ranked Australian side up 3-0 at the break – proved too much to overturn despite a brave rescue attempt from the Football Ferns with two second period goals from substitute Sarah Gregorius.
But the strength of the Westfield Matildas’ opening 45 minutes was rewarded with well-taken goals to Emily van Egmond, Michelle Heyman and Caitlin Foord which ultimately put the visitors just out of reach.
Readings said the sub-par first half effort left the team too much to do in the second period.
“We have really high standards for this team and we dropped them in the first half,” Readings said.
“We had individual players making mistakes and not quite playing at the pace they should be and you can’t do that against a team that is top 10 in the world.”
Addressing the team at halftime, Readings said the focus was more inward rather than needing to fix any glaring tactical issues or counter-act anything the Westfield Matildas were producing.
“You could see it in their faces at halftime that it hurt. We didn’t feel it was Australia who caused us problems, we caused ourselves problems. Normally you go in there and there is something tactical you can affect. In this game it wasn’t, it was just players looking at themselves and raising their standards.”
“The second half was a lot better because there was a lot more aggression in the way we pressed when they had the ball. That’s something we’re renowned for and it was lacking in the first half.
[In the second half] when we had the ball we were a lot more positive. We were playing forward when it was on, our centre-backs were being more positive and stepping into midfield and we had forward players running in behind their defence.
“In the first half we were waiting for things to happen and in the second half we made things happen but the mountain was that little bit too high to climb in the end.”
In finishing their New Zealand-based match preparation for June’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, Readings says his side still have things to work on ahead of upcoming matches against Spain, the United States and Japan.
“We’ve proved again that we can consistently compete with top 10 teams in the world but we’ve also seen that there are still gaps. We know we are edging closer but we want to overtake them. We’ll be content with this series but not happy because we know we’re capable of a lot more.”
Katie Hoyle almost had the Ferns in front in the fourth minute as the ball fell to the midfielder inside the area but her first time volley blazed over the crossbar. And the home side were made to pay for that miss soon after.
Five minutes later, van Egmond collected possession 35 metres out from goal and rifled her shot into the top corner leaving Erin Nayler in the New Zealand goal with no chance.
The visitors kicked up a gear after that boost and were 2-0 up three minutes later as Heyman volleyed in from the angle after the ball looped in behind New Zealand captain Abby Erceg.
The match continued at furious pace with both teams fighting hard in the physical moments but it was the Matildas who carved out the regular scoring chances via their strong midfield pressure and transition game with Nayler called on to make several saves before Katrina Gorry fired a rasping 25 metre free kick against the Football Ferns crossbar.
With the visitors in the ascendancy, they capitalised again in the 29th minute, Gorry heavily involved as the midfielder picked out Caitlin Foord in transition before the striker fired home clinically beyond Nayler for 3-0.
Readings made early changes in the second period as Katie Bowen replaced Kirsty Yallop and Gregorius entered for Rosie White.
And just four minutes after coming on, Gregorius pulled a goal back to a raucous cheer from the home fans, heading in Percival’s corner at the back post from close range.
The home side lifted from that point and spent the majority of the second half camped in the Westfield Matildas territory and several half chances came and went before Gregorius pulled another back in the 83rd minute, bundling the ball home after Percival’s free-kick.
But despite their spirited effort to get back on level terms the Football Ferns couldn’t find a third goal to cap the comeback and the visitors closed out the game to finish the tri-series with two wins after Tuesday’s 2-1 result over Korea DPR.
International Tri-Series
Thursday 12 February
Football Ferns 2-3 Westfield Matildas (half: 0-3)
NZL: Sarah Gregorius 56’, 83’
AUS: Emily van Egmond 9’, Michelle Heyman 12’, Caitlin Foord 29’
Football Ferns (from): 1. Erin Nayler (GK), 2. Ria Percival, 4. Katie Hoyle, 5. Abby Erceg (capt), 6. Rebekah Stott, 7. Ali Riley, 9. Amber Hearn, 11. Kirsty Yallop (14. Katie Bowen 46’), 13. Rosie White (10. Sarah Gregorius 52’), 16. Annalie Longo (12. Betsy Hassett 58’), 17. Hannah Wilkinson (24. Jasmine Pereira 82’)
Substitutes not used: 18. CJ Bott, 20. Helen Collins, 21. Rebecca Rolls (GK), 23. Cushla Lichtwark (GK)
Coach: Tony Readings
Courtesy NZF Media. For more on New Zealand football visit www.nzfootball.co.nz.

Share