Ferns close in on Olympic qualification
The Football Ferns are one step away from the Paris Olympics.
New Zealand progressed to the final of the Oceania Olympic qualifying tournament in Samoa after a resounding 7-1 win over Fiji in their semifinal yesterday.
They will face the Solomons Islands in the decider on Monday at 5pm, needing a victory to ensure their fifth consecutive Games appearance.
The Ferns will be overwhelming favourites against Solomon Islands, who are ranked 109th in the world and beat Samoa 2-0 in their semifinal.
Apart from a couple of early scares, the Ferns never had to get out of second gear.
Fiji fell apart in first-half stoppage time, conceding three soft goals in six minutes with some awful defending.
New Zealand did well to maintain possession in the humid conditions and controlled the match effectively, though were wasteful at times in the final third and will be disappointed at conceding their first goal of the tournament, with Cema Nasau’s consolation in added time.
But the performance was a step up from the group matches, with Grace Jale scoring a hat-trick and Indiah-Paige Riley and Jacqui Hand grabbing doubles for New Zealand.
The opening goal was all about Hand. Receiving the ball just past halfway, Hand skipped past her marker, then beat another player before cutting back to an unmarked Riley, who swept the ball into the far corner.
Regardless of the quality of the opposition, the second goal was impressive.
Neat passing and movement — among several players — carved open the defence before Hand’s decisive first-time finish from Gabi Rennie’s cross. From there, Fijian heads began to drop.
Grace Neville found the woodwork, before the third, off Jale’s shoulder after the Fijian keeper missed Michaela Foster’s cross.
The chaotic defending continued, allowing Hand and Riley simple finishes before the break.
The second half was about conserving energy, though Jale completed her-hat trick, in the right place for two close-range headers, after the ball had been directed back across goal.
Nasau took advantage of some defensive hesitation to slot past Anna Leat, only the second time Fiji have found the net against New Zealand in women’s football.
Football Ferns 7 (Indiah-Paige Riley 6, 45+6, Jacqui Hand 24, 45+4, Grace Jale 45+2, 67, 83)
Fiji 1 (Cema Nasau 90+3) Halftime 5-0