Moore’s maiden goal memory
For many of the Football Ferns, their loss to Japan on June 10 was a game to forget.
In the wake of that 3-1 defeat in Wellington, a dozen players complained about the conduct of their coach, Andreas Heraf, who resigned at the end of July, and was later found to have engaged in bullying behaviour during his time in charge by an independent reviewer.
This week in Auckland, the team began to move on from that era, working to rebuild a culture that was broken, and turning their focus to next year’s World Cup, an event they need to qualify for by winning the Oceania Women’s Nations Cup, which starts on Monday.
But for defender Meikayla Moore, there was a moment from the Japan game she’ll remember forever.
In the 18th minute, the 22-year-old defender smashed the ball into the back of the net at a corner, temporarily levelling the scores with her first goal for her country.
A snapshot of her celebrating now hangs on her wall – and some of her family’s walls – marking a milestone in a career that likely has more than a decade still to run.
‘‘Being a defender it’s never really been on my checklist, but to do that in front of a home crowd and my family was just amazing,’’
Moore said.
‘‘Hopefully, I can add a few more as the years go on.’’
Photos of her celebrating certainly prompt happier memories than the ones of her sat alongside Heraf in the post-game press conference, where he faced a grilling from reporters about his ultra-negative approach.
‘‘I guess you’re going to have experiences like that as a player and I’ve grown from it,’’ Moore said.
‘‘Having that experience has made me more aware of who I am and as I go through my career I’m going to face things like that. Now I’m looking forward and everything’s good.’’
Moore made the leap from amateur to professional football at the start of the year, joining FC Ko¨ln in Germany, where she had veteran Ferns striker Amber Hearn – currently injured – as a team-mate.
In the off-season, she moved to MSV Duisburg, where she was joined by midfielder Emma Rolston, who made her Ferns debut in March.
Moore said it had been valuable having international team-mates around her.
‘‘I loved having Amber in Cologne. ‘‘She’s given me such a wealth of knowledge over the years and to have her there was amazing, especially as she had been [in Germany] for seven years or so, her help with translations was amazing and we grew quite close over there.
‘‘Now to have ‘Rollo’ as well, I can offload some of that German knowledge and experience I’ve gained. To have someone else who’s a Kiwi and speaks the same language helps.
‘‘We’ve grown up together through 17s and 20s so to be experiencing this journey together is pretty amazing.’’
In the current Ferns squad, there are five players with 100 caps or more, and five with between 50 and 99. Then there’s Moore and her 27 caps, followed by the other 11 members, none of whom have more than 10.
That leaves her perfectly poised to help some of her less-experienced teammates find their feet on the international stage, a task she’s eager to take on.
‘‘I like to see myself as the sort of player who can do that,’’ Moore said.
‘‘I’ve obviously experienced 20s with a few of the girls as well. That’s one of my personal goals, to take a leadership role, and if they need any help or advice, I’d like to be someone they can come to.’’
The Football Ferns leave for the Nations Cup in New Caledonia today, with their first match against Tonga on Monday.