Little attacking intent from Football Ferns
There are two options when playing an international football friendly against a team ranked nine places higher than yourselves.
You could throw everything at them, set up with an aggressive formation and attack with all you have — it is only a friendly, after all.
Or you could line up in an ultradefensive formation, allow the opposition to control the tempo and possession and simply face the brunt of their attack.
Football Ferns coach Andreas Heraf opted for the latter in his side’s 3-1 loss against Japan in Wellington yesterday. Without a win in eight previous encounters against Japan, the Football Ferns didn’t look like breaking that duck at any point in the match, having only 27 per cent of possession. 3 1 the opening exchanges.
As a result, the visitors got on the board early after Mina Tanaka scored the first of her three first-half goals in the 17th minute.
The Kiwi side hit back immediately with their first real attacking possession, with Moore scoring her first international goal from a goalmouth scramble following a corner.
The score was level only momentarily as Tanaka got in behind the defence to tap home her second from close range.
She added another on the stroke of halftime, heading home a cross to seal her first international hat-trick.
There was a lot to be desired from both teams in the second half. Japan missed a few good opportunities, with Kiwi goalkeeper Erin Nayler doing a solid job. But the first-half damage was enough for the visitors to take a comfortable win.