Soccer: Football Ferns make winning start

Amber Hearn. Photo / Supplied

A second half brace from Amber Hearn fired the Football Ferns to the top of Group C in the Cyprus Women's Cup as New Zealand accounted for Northern Ireland 2-0 in Paralimni this morning.

Hearn struck in the 53rd and 60th minutes as the Ferns took control of the match after battling into strong winds in the first half.

Fullback Ali Riley supplied the first goal, cutting inside her marker high up the field and picking out Hearn's backpost run with a perfectly angled ball through the defence, while the second was a powerful header from the striker off a Kirsty Yallop corner.

"We played some pretty good football in the first half," said New Zealand coach Tony Readings, "but it was hard to get up the pitch because the wind was that strong. We were still the better team in the first bar and we hit the bar through Wilkinson after just a few minutes, and went close a few times.

"The wind disappeared in the second half which helped the game. We were able to switch play a lot more and play through them down the middle as well. Having Annalie Longo on the pitch and bringing Betsy Hassett on meant we were able to play an expansive brand of football and keep the ball for long periods of time."

"We gathered some momentum from this game. We kept and moved the ball very well and that's something we will be focussed on for the rest of the tournament.

Next up for the Football Ferns is South Africa, who lost 2-1 to Korea this morning but will provide New Zealand with a valuable sighter as one of Africa's two qualified teams for the Olympics.

"Their game today had the worst of the conditions, the rain was coming in sideways, so it was hard to get an accurate gauge on both teams but our reports tell us South Africa have some really good technicians combined with a physical presence."

"For us though, we've got one eye on these games and one eye on London, but for London we need to become a better team than we are now if we plan to compete for that gold medal - and after all that's what you're aiming for going to an Olympics. Everything we do now is about striving for that end goal."