U17s off to a stunning start
Kelli Brown reached for her phone as soon as she got to the changing room.
The scorer of New Zealand’s sole goal in an impressive 1-0 win over Finland wanted to watch the replay of her spectacular longrange strike that decided their opening game of the Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup yesterday.
‘‘It’s pretty crazy. I’m pretty humbled to be able to put one away for the team,’’ said Brown, a left winger who has just finished secondary school and plays in the National Women’s League for Waikato-bay of Plenty.
‘‘It’s still sinking in that we scored. Tonight I’m sure it will definitely hit but it’s just unreal.’’
Despite this being her first game at a World Cup, Brown said she wanted to play with an ‘‘all-or-nothing’’ approach. And that is why she decided to let rip in the 41st minute when opposition defenders gave her ample time to line up an ambitious shot from well outside the 18-yard box.
New Zealand created six genuine chances throughout an encouraging 90-minute performance at Estadio Charru´ a in Montevideo where they had the edge on the opposition, but Brown was the only one who beat Finland’s standout goalkeeper, Anna Koivunen.
‘‘[Koivunen] did amazing. She pulled off some amazing saves and her team should be proud of her,’’ Brown said.
‘‘But you’ve got to take opportunities when you’re at a World Cup whether you will get it or not, so it was just one of those moments where I thought I’d just see what happens.’’
It was a big goal too. Not only did Brown have the honour of scoring the first goal of the tournament but it proved to be the decisive moment in what was just New Zealand’s third win at an Under-17 Women’s World Cup.
It has also provided the team with the belief that they can reach the knockout stage for the first time, with a win in their next match, against hosts Uruguay, likely to secure progression out of the group.
‘‘I’m proud of all the girls. We put in so much work, we’ve been putting in so much work back home behind the scenes,’’ she said.
‘‘We’ve got to take everything as it comes but I reckon if we keep pushing it and playing well then I don’t see why we won’t [progress].
‘‘I’m buzzing to play [Uruguay]. It’s going to be a big environment as they’re all backing one country and we’ll definitely be the underdogs, but it’ll be amazing to experience it.’’