The Ford Football Ferns’ 2-0 victory over Korea Republic to end 2021 on a high had been coming for a while.

“We were waiting for this moment since the beginning of our new journey,” said the jubilant head coach Jitka Klimková.

“We were ready for it this time I could see on the team that all those games that we've played so far, those three games we probably needed.

“We needed to go through the stages to be prepared, to actually really play to win. And yesterday we played 90 plus minutes, and the way that we really pushed and wanted those goals on the night and it happened and you could see how everybody was happy and enjoying the time. And now it's up to us.

“So what is next? We love those moments. We love those feelings - to beat the opposition. And yeah, this is the new beginning.”

It was important for the side to highlight the great progress it’s made and end the year on a win, says Klimková, who has seen the team make great strides over the course of her first four games in charge.

“Playing against those strong oppositions is the best teacher.

“Our focus more was more on our progress - how can we get better every time? And when I go back our game against Canada, our first game versus our second game, that was an unbelievable improvement, and then playing Korea and having the lead for 60 minutes. And then how, when we said we dropped our ice cream and it felt really tough and everybody was very sad and we felt like we had actually a chance to finally win the game.

“Going into this game we the mindset that we are going to actually win, this is it, this is our game – and it happened.”

For opening goal scorer Paige Satchell her goal, the result of some lovely interplay from debutant Ashleigh Ward and creative maestro Liv Chance, was something she’d been working towards for a long time

“It was a pretty spectacular moment,” she said.

“I've been really pushing and trying to get a goal for a little while now. I had an assist at the Olympics, which was exciting, but I think actually finishing it off myself this time was an even better feeling. So I was super happy to finish it off last night and also help the team get the win.”

Ford Football Ferns 2 (Satchell 83’, Gabi Rennie 85’)

Korea Republic 0

Article added: Wednesday 01 December 2021