Ferns fall to GB in Olympic opener

The Football Ferns’ plan to crash Great Britain’s Olympic party are on ice after losing 0-1 to the hosts in the first act of the 2012 Olympic at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium overnight.

Stephanie Houghton celebrates her wining goal. Getty Images.

July 25, 2012

CARDIFF, UNITED KINGDOM – The Football Ferns’ plan to crash Great Britain’s Olympic party are on ice after losing 0-1 to the hosts in the first act of the 2012 Olympic at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium overnight.

A 64th minute free kick from fullback Stephanie Houghton which blazed past the kiwi defensive wall was the only goal of a game in which New Zealand’s best moments came in the first 25 or final 15 minutes.

The Football Ferns dominated the opening exchanges with Sarah Gregorius and Ali Riley both getting in behind the fullback down New Zealand’s left hand side to create chances for Hannah Wilkinson and Amber Hearn respectively.

But after camping inside Great Britain’s half without reward, New Zealand were slowly forced back as the hosts began to assert themselves, growing stronger as the crowd lifted.

Jenny Bindon batted away a Houghton free kick in the 22nd minute then made a superb save off the deck a minute later from Anita Asante after punching clear a corner.

Alex Scott also spurned a good opportunity as New Zealand’s defence was tested but stood firm.

Chasing the game in the closing stages, New Zealand once again began to claim their share of possession and after a mix up between Britain's centre backs Sarah Gregorius looked odds on to score but underhit her shot one on one with Karen Bardsley with 19 miuntes to play.

The introduction of fresh legs in midfield added new energy but Amber Hearn’s lobbed shot that Bardsley tipped over the bar in the last ten minutes was as close as the came to a late equaliser.

With Brazil beating Cameroon 5-0 in the group’s late kick off, New Zealand lie third in the group. The Ferns face Brazil in their next match on Sunday morning (NZT) and coach Tony Readings believes he saw enough positives to believe his side can rise to the challenge and keep in the hunt for a quarterfinal place which they would claim by finishing second, or potential even third, in the group.

“We went out there with a strategy and a plan that we felt could defeat Great Britain and for large portion of the game we executed that,” Readings said.

“When you look at the quality of the Great Britain squad we felt our performance across the 90 plus minutes was enough to get something out of the game. We had a few chances there as well.

“That’s one game down and we’ve got two more to get six points which we’re aiming for. The players are disappointed and it shows how far we’ve come that we run a team like that so close and et players are devastated in the changing room. We’ve shown time and time again that when we get these defeats it sparks new life into the players and they’re even more determined.”

“We just move forward to the Brazil match and start prepping and planning for that and I’m sure the players just want to get back out on the pitch and put things right.”

Meanwhile, Annalie Longo carved out a small piece of history when entering the game in the 74th minute becoming the first female player in the world to complete the set of FIFA tournaments having already played in an U-17 World Cup, an U-20 World Cup (three times) and a Women’s World Cup (twice).

The men’s Olympic football tournament gets underway tomorrow with New Zealand squaring off against Belarus in Group C. The match kicks off at 6.45am New Zealand time.

Women’s Olympic Football Tournament
Group E

Great Britain 1 (Stephanie HOUGHTON 64’)
New Zealand 0
Halftime: 0-0

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
July 25

Great Britain: 1-Karen BARDSLEY (GK), 2-Alex SCOTT, 3-Stephanie HOUGHTON, 4-Jill SCOTT, 6-Casey STONEY (captain), 7-Karen CARNEY (8-Fara WILLIAMS 89’), 10-Kelly SMITH (11-Rachel YANKEY 69’), 12-Kim LITTLE (9-Ellen WHITE 46’), 13-Ifeoma DIEKE, 14-Anita ASANTE, 15-Eniola ALUKO.
Substitutes not used: 5-Sophie BRADLEY, 16-Claire RAFFERTY, 17-Rachel WILLIAMS, 18-Rachel BROWN (GK).
Coach: Hope POWELL

Cautions: 14-Anita ASANTE 3’

New Zealand: 1-Jenny BINDON (GK), 2-Ria PERCIVAL, 4-Katie HOYLE, 5-Abby ERCEG, 6-Rebecca SMITH (captain), 7-Ali RILEY, 8-Hayley MOORWOOD (12-Betsy HASSETT 60’), 9-Amber HEARN, 10-Sarah GREGORIUS, 11-Kirsty YALLOP (16-Annalie LONGO 74’), 17-Hannah WILKINSON.
Substitutes not used: 3-Anna GREEN, 13-Rosie WHITE, 14-Kristy HILL, 15-Rebekah STOTT, 18-Rebecca ROLLS (RGK).
Coach: Tony READINGS

Cautions: 17-Hannah WILKINSON 44’

Group E Standings

New Zealand Olympic Schedule
July 26
New Zealand Men v Belarus
City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry
7.45pm (6.45am, July 27 NZT)
Live on Sky Sport 5

July 28
New Zealand Women v Brazil
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
2.30pm (1am, July 29 NZT)
Live on Sky Sport 8

July 29
New Zealand Men v Egypt
Old Trafford, Manchester
Noon (11pm NZT)
Live on Sky Sport 9

July 31
New Zealand Women v Cameroon
City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry
7.45pm (6.45am, August 1 NZT)
Live on Sky Sport 4

August 1
New Zealand Men v Brazil
St James’ Park, Newcastle
2.30pm (1.30am, August 2 NZT)
Live on Sky Sport 4