Keeper’s penalty save earns Football Ferns exciting draw
Call it a captain’s knock: Football Ferns skipper and goalkeeper Vic Esson brilliantly saved a penalty to salvage a 1-1 draw in front of her Christchurch home crowd last night.
Esson had conceded a spotkick in the 82nd minute when she upended Lee Guem-min. But she atoned by diving to her right to beat away Son Hwa-yeon’s penalty attempt before being buried in bear hugs from her team-mates.
The Football Ferns missed a rare opportunity to celebrate a win over higher-ranked opposition when Liv Chance’s early goal was cancelled out by a South Korea equaliser.
Park Yee-un’s 56th-minute goal ultimately earned Korea a 1-1 draw after the visitors had won the first leg 1-0 on Saturday.
It was a heartbreak for the Kiwis – ranked 22nd in the world to Korea’s 18th – after Chance had fired them ahead in the first quarter. Chance had chatted in the leadup of the urgent need for the Ferns to be more ruthless in front of goal and hit the target.
And it wasn’t just korero. When her first opportunity came – in the 13th minute – the 29-year-old slammed home her second international goal – and first since 2020.
Korea coughed up the ball, presenting Gabi Rennie with a golden chance. The Canterbury striker – one of two changes to the starting lineup – took too long to tee it up, allowing Korean keeper Kim Jungmi to block.
But the rebound fell for Chance to lash a left-footed sizzler into the net to reinvigorate the Ferns after their tepid 1-0 loss to South Korea on Saturday.
Super saves from Esson kept the Ferns ahead until the 57th minute when Park Yee-un deflected Jang Sei-gi’s long-range shot home.
The Football Ferns were still guilty of giving away the ball needlessly at times, but they played more positively in possession and at times in the first half the Koreans had to rely on the consummate covering of skipper Kim Hye-ri and her centreback colleague Lim Seon-joo.
The Ferns’ left-sided defence had been skinned alive in the first game, but there was more resolve this time from Liz Anton, a central defender playing in the left-back role, while Chance offered more support tracking back.
They still needed the alertness of Esson, who pulled off a brilliant first-half save, thrusting up a hand to tip Son Hway-eon’s goalbound shot over the bar after excellent buildup down the left flank by Choe Yu-ri and Lee Min-a.
The Ferns rode their luck a little in the second spell.
Esson was almost embarrassed after being caught in possession on the hour mark but Saturday’s Korean goalscorer Lee Min-a fired her shot wide and Meikayla Moore almost sliced the ball into her own net.
But Esson sealed a deserved point with her heroics.