Wilting Ferns concede high five

• Author: Michael Burgess at Eden Park
• Published date: 22 January 2023
• Publication title: Herald on Sunday

“Ref — give them a red card — make it interesting” he yelled from the terraces, as Football Ferns captain Ali Riley was bundled over in her own penalty area

His frustrations perfectly summed up the contest, as the United States prevailed in another one-sided procession, eventually winning 5-0 and only denied a few more by some fine goalkeeping.

The Ferns huffed and puffed, ran a lot, tackled when they could and hardly saw the ball. The Americans basically did what they wanted, lifting through the gears when required and producing typically flowing football.

American midfielder Rose Lavelle was again a point of difference with her vision and passing and scored twice with late runs into the penalty area.

The biggest disappointment from a New Zealand point of view were the goals conceded. Even if they were severely overmatched — and coming off an exhausting match on Wednesday — the defending was horribly loose and the kind of thing that could prove fatal at the World Cup.

It was that bad, with a couple of goals that schoolgirl teams would be disappointed to concede.

On the bright side, the Ferns managed to construct a little more going forward and showed more composure on the ball, especially in the first half, without threatening the American goal.

Coach Jitka Klimkova also got to see some young players, with debutants Deven Jackson and Tayla O’Brien getting time in the second half.

The United States had a reshuffled lineup, with seven changes to their starting XI. Star striker Alex Morgan was a late withdrawal, replaced by Ashley Hatch. Klimkova made three alterations, with Liv Chance switched to central midfield and Paige Satchell, Liz Anton and Ally Green brought in.

It was a festival atmosphere from the start, with the 12,721 crowd cheering every Ferns pass, every tackle, every little positive moment, no matter how significant it was. There was huge applause when they won an early corner, then for a great covering tackle by Green, after the United States...