After sweeping all before them at the OFC Women’s Nations Cup in New Caledonia, the Football Ferns are overwhelming favourites to complete the job by beating Fiji in the final on Saturday and lifting the trophy for the sixth time.

But claiming the silverware is only part of the focus with the bigger picture being the team’s preparations for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2020 Olympic Games – both of which they will qualify for with another Nations Cup title.

Standards therefore need to be kept high as the Ferns build towards two of the biggest sporting events on the planet and Paige Satchell – one of New Zealand’s many stand-outs in the semi-final win over New Caledonia – says that will be the main aim against Fiji.

With the Ferns having scored a remarkable 35 goals in the tournament so far and their own net yet to be bulged, the players could be forgiven for losing concentration at times in the South Pacific heat but Satchell insists that’s far from the case.

“I think we’ve done really well in terms of making sure we get what we want out of each game and knowing what standards we want to uphold throughout the 90 minutes,” she says.

“We’ve stuck to the game plan in all our matches really well and by working hard together we’ve got the results we wanted. So we’re really looking forward to the final and hopefully we can maintain the standards we’ve set in the last four games.”

The 20-year-old is certainly making a habit of setting high personal standards and, along with hat-trick heroine Emma Rolston, was arguably the player of the match in the 8-0 romp over New Caledonia on the island of Lifou. The lightning pace of the winger was a constant thorn in the side of the Francophones, who courageously employed a high defensive line in the first half but unwittingly played right into the hands of Satchell.

“It worked to my advantage because my main x-factor is to get on the ball and take players on so I quite enjoyed the fact that there was a lot of space,” she explains.

The Rotorua-born Fern exploited that freedom to supply a steady stream of crosses from the right and earned the goal her endeavour deserved just past the half hour when her pace again took her clear of the New Caledonia defence and she fired into the far corner. It was the first goal of her international career and a moment made all the sweeter as it well and truly confirmed she is now back to her best after recovering from a long-term injury.

“It’s really exciting to be back in the squad and especially to score my first goal and get some decent game time. It was a long time out being injured but I’ve worked hard to get myself back and I’m very happy with how things have gone.”

Satchell took the first steps on her journey back to the top of international football last August at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in France and her return to vintage form does not bode well for Fiji, who must somehow find a way to become the first ever Pacific Island team to beat the Football Ferns on Saturday evening in Noumea.

Prior to this year’s edition of the OFC Women’s Nations Cup, New Zealand had only met Fiji in two previous women’s internationals and the Kiwis had triumphed with ease on each occasion, winning 15-1 in 1983 and 14-0 in 1998. The Football Ferns added to that dominance in their last Group B match with a 10-0 victory but coach Tom Sermanni is not expecting the final to follow the same pattern.

“The game we’re going to have on the weekend is obviously going to be much tougher than the one we had against them in the last group match,” he says. “So we have to go away now and make sure everybody is fit and healthy, have a look at Fiji’s semi-final and work out our tactics.”

Whichever way Sermanni chooses to approach the match, the in-form Satchell is likely to feature at some point after greatly impressing the recently-appointed Scot.

“She’s very dynamic and when she gets going she’s difficult to stop. The other thing with Paige is that she’s quick with the ball as well, often people have got pace but they’re not actually quick with the ball at their feet and she is.”

Aside from winning the trophy and continuing to build towards the World Cup, there are some individual honours on the line for New Zealand with a Golden Boot, Golden Gloves and Golden Ball all set to be handed out after the Nations Cup final. Rolston and Sarah Gregorius are currently tied with Fiji’s Luisa Tamanitoakula in the Golden Boot race with all three players on six goals each.

Match Details

OFC Women’s Nations Cup Final
Fiji vs New Zealand
Saturday 1 December, 7pm (NZT)
Stade Numa-Daly Magenta, Nouméa
Live streaming available via www.oceaniafootball.com

New Zealand (from): 1. Erin Nayler (GK), 2. Ria Percival, 3. Anna Green, 4. CJ Bott, 5. Meikayla Moore, 6. Rebekah Stott, 7. Ali Riley (c), 8. Emma Rolston, 9. Katie Rood, 10. Annalie Longo, 11. Sarah Gregorius, 12. Betsy Hassett, 13. Rosie White, 14. Katie Bowen, 15. Sarah Morton, 16. Liz Anton, 17. Stephanie Skilton, 18. Grace Jale, 19. Paige Satchell, 20. Malia Steinmetz, 21. Victoria Esson (GK), 22. Nadia Olla (GK)
Coach: Tom Sermanni

Article added: Friday 30 November 2018