U-17 Football Ferns 18 Tonga 0

New Zealand have qualified for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World in style notching a record 18-0 win over Tonga in Auckland to rubber-stamp their ticket to Trinidad and Tobago.

New Zealand, 2010 OFC U-17 Women Champions

April 16, 2010

AUCKLAND – New Zealand have qualified for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World in style notching a record 18-0 win over Tonga  in Auckland to rubber-stamp their ticket to Trinidad and Tobago.

Needing just to avoid defeat against bottom placed Tonga to win the OFC U-17 Championship, the Young Football Ferns shook aside complacency to notch New Zeeland’s biggest ever victory at U-17 women’s level.

Hannah Wong netted six goals to sneak the golden boot trophy ahead of team mate Brittany Dudley Smith who blazed a first half hat trick while Ashleigh Ward also bagged a triple.

Captain on the day, and player of the tournament, Kate Loye contributed two goals while Kate Carlton, Grace Parkinson, Hannah Carlsen, Stephanie Skilton also got on the score sheet.

New Zealand join Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, Canada, Mexico, Japan,  DPR Korea, Korea Republic, and hosts Trinidad and Tobago as nations already qualified for the 16 nation September 5-25 finals.

New Zealand coach Dave Edmondson said he was very satisfied with the quality of his side’s performance and delighted to qualify but fully aware the World Cup would be a much tougher examination of his side’s credentials.

 “When you hear those names you know there’s some tough opposition there and a lot of hard work now for those girls to go there and compete well.”

“In training we have to step up. We were really fit coming into this but we’ve got to maintain that and seek out tough matches for ourselves whether it’s against overseas opposition or teams locally.”

The draw for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will be made in Port of Spain, Trinidad on May 6 (NZT).

The impressive Brittany Dudley-Smith opened the scoring with a firm shot angled inside the far post the seventh minute and repeated the feat from an even tighter angle just two minutes later.

Dudley-Smith then turned provider in the, reaching the byline on the right hand side and flashing a low cross into the Tongan goal mouth which Hannah Wong flicked on to Ashleigh Ward to tap in.

Wong then grabbed her first to make it 4-0 in the 13th minute getting a touch on a deep Evie Millyn Cross and Ward grabbed a second from close range before 20 minutes were up.

Kate Loye struck a sweetly timed left foot shot straight into the top corner for New Zealand’s sixth but her effort was bettered by  Kate Carlton who found the back of the net from near the touchline 35 yards out on the angle.

Hannah Ward had a shot well saved in the 37th minute but Wong was on hand to net her second and Brittany Dudley Smith completed her hat trick and the first half scoring by meeting Rachel Head’s flat cross with a powerful header for the young Ferns’ ninth goal.

The scoring resumed five minutes into tthe second half when Loye’s cross-cum-shot  was spilled by the Tongan keeper to gift Wong her hat-trick goal, and Wong and Grace Parkinson combined to set up Ward’s hat trick strike two minutes later.

Wong added two more in quick succession and added her sixth in the first minute of injury time with a Kate Loye free kick and penalties to Parkinson and Hannah Calsen sandwiched in between. Stephanie Skilton added the finishing touch with the kiwis 18th in the fourth minute of time added on.

The victory celebrations were tempered by an injury to substitute to substitute Grace Parkinson, who was stretchered from the field and taken to hospital for x-rays.

OFC U-17 Women’s Championships
North Harbour Stadium

New Zealand 18 (Brittany Dudley-Smith 7, 9, 41; Ashleigh Ward 11, 19, 52; Hannah Wong 13, 37, 49, 58, 65, 90+1; Kate Loye 23, 67; Kate Carlton 37, Grace Parkinson 70-pen, Hannah Carlsen 72-pen, Stephanie Skilton 90+4)
Tonga 0
Halftime: 9-0

New Zealand: 20-Jess REDDAWAY (GK), 2-Rachel HEAD, 3-Tessa MCPHERSON, 5-Brittany DUDLEY-SMITH (11-Grace PARKINSON 51 / 18-Rebecca BURROWS 77), 6-Evie MILLYNN, 8-Kate LOYE (captain), 9-Hannah CARLSEN, 10-Hannah WONG, 15-Kate CARLTON, 16-Ashleigh WARD (12-Stephanie SKILTON 62), 17-Sivitha BOYCE.

Substitutes not used: 1-Chloe-May GEURTS (RGK), 4-Olivia CHANCE, 7-Holly PATTERSON, 13-Megan LEE, 14-Katie BOWEN, 19-Min KHANTHEE.
Coach: Dave EDMONDSON
Solomon Island 1 Papua New Guinea 0
Halftime: 0-0

Final Standings