Football Ferns rue late miss
The Football Ferns were left rueing an attacking mixup as they had to settle for a 0-0 draw against Colombia in the first of two friendlies in Bogotá yesterday.
An Ally Green corner in the 77th minute went all the way to the unmarked back post, where two Ferns surged forward to meet it.
But instead of connecting with the ball, Katie Bowen and Ava Collins collided with each other, and the opportunity went begging.
Another corner from Green soon after went over the bar off Grace Jale’s back and while the Ferns continued to push for a winner, it ultimately never came.
They were the brighter of the two sides towards the end of the match, but were lucky not to have been behind at halftime.
Colombia reached the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia earlier this year, while the Ferns exited in the group stage. That showed in the early exchanges, with Rebekah Stott having to make a crucial block to deny Daniela Montoya from point-blank range just 10 minutes in.
Jorelyn Carabalí then sent a header wide of Anna Leat’s goal when she rose to meet a freekick from Catalina Usme on the right.
The Ferns’ best chance of the first half came when Malia Steinmetz won the ball high up, then fed Jacqui Hand, who in turn passed the ball to Jale. But not for the first time, the ball became stuck at Jale’s feet when it needed to be shifted swiftly.
Colombia’s best chance came in the 37th minute, when a header by Daniela Aris at a corner was allowed to bounce in the box onto the crossbar.
Hand had a penalty shout waved away in stoppage time when Aris took out her legs as she jumped to meet a curled ball in from Jale on the left.
There was a similar scene down the other end right before the whistle blew, when a shot from Leicy Santos hit Ava Collins right where her arm meets her chest, only for the handball calls to fall on deaf ears.
Having survived what was mostly oneway traffic in the first half, the Ferns began the second brightly, with Steinmetz winning the ball, then trying to play a one-two with Hand, only for the final pass to be intercepted just in time.
Colombia were quieter in the second half than the first, going closest when Marce Restre curled a shot just wide of the left post.
The Ferns’ best chance was the blown one in the 77th minute – a fairly inexcusable mix-up at international level, especially in a match where clearcut opportunities for either side were rare.
Wellington Phoenix defender Mackenzie Barry had a strong outing in her first start for the Ferns, playing at right back, rather than centre back as she has at club level this season, but it was disappointing not to see more fresh faces introduced.
Paige Satchell was the first sub called upon and while she had several strong runs down the right, her final balls left a lot to be desired, as has come to be expected. The others to receive significant time off the bench were Green and Daisy Cleverley.
There was no debut for Phoenix youngster Manaia Elliott, despite coach Jitka Klimková and Stott both talking her up during the week, while the extent of Sunderland midfielder Katie Kitching’s debut was a few minutes in second-half stoppage time.
The Football Ferns will play Colombia in Bogotá again on Wednesday.