Ferns reach final after ‘crazy’ day
A ‘‘crazy’’ day of football has not stopped the Football Ferns from moving one step closer to World Cup qualification.
The Ferns easily accounted for tournament hosts New Caledonia in their OFC Nations Cup semifinal, winning 8-0 on the island of Lifou yesterday.
Such was the remoteness of their venue for the match, there was not enough accommodation for both teams, so they took the same 40-minute flight to and from Noumea on matchday, which New Zealand captain Ali Riley before the match said would be a unique experience.
‘‘We knew that being in this group, the first seed from our group would be playing on a different island, but it kind of seemed like in the distant future before and now that it is here, it is pretty crazy and pretty exciting,’’ Riley said.
‘‘It is nothing that I have done before and I have asked around a little bit and no one has done this before. We are nervous and excited and it goes along with how this trip has gone so far, a lot of new experiences and fun.’’
There were a few selection surprises from coach Tom Sermanni as he continued to rotate his squad, despite this being a knockout semifinal. The 30 degrees Celsius heat and challenging matchday experience may have played a part in those decisions.
Nadia Olla made her Ferns debut in goal, while Paige Satchell earned her second start of the tournament down the right flank.
The 19-year-old set up the first goal for Betsy Hassett in sensational fashion in just the first minute, running 75 metres, beating four defenders before squaring to her team-mate to slot her finish into the bottom corner.
Emma Rolston got the second with a similar finish in the seventh minute, effectively ending the match as a contest, if there was ever going to be one.
It became a case of how many the Ferns would win by. It was 7-0 by halftime with Rolston already grabbing a hat-trick.
New Zealand added just one more goal in the second half via Rosie White as the heat sapped their energy.
The winner qualifies for next June’s World Cup in France. New Zealand beat Fiji 10-0 earlier in the tournament.