The Ford Football Ferns have been defeated 3-1 by Venezuela in the first of their two international friendlies in Marbella, Spain.

An evenly contested opening saw chances at both ends, with Milly Clegg going close early on after some good play by Grace Neville, but it was Venezuela who opened the scoring in the 25th minute through Deyna Castellanos.

Katie Kitching equalised for the Ferns just over ten minutes later, following up her own effort after the initial shot was saved—capitalising on a Venezuelan turnover forced by New Zealand's press.

The South Americans responded quickly, regaining the lead just before halftime with Mariana Romero finishing an attack down the right-hand side, assisted by Gabriela García.

New Zealand started the second half brightly, enjoying a dominant spell in possession. Head coach Michael Mayne made several changes, including Manaia Elliott replacing Grace Jale at the break, and second-half appearances for Betsy Hassett, Rebekah Stott, Kelli Brown and Emma Pijnenburg.

Despite the positive momentum, Venezuela extended their lead in the 86th minute with a long-range strike from Malanie Chirinos to seal the result.

Speaking after the match, head coach Michael Mayne admitted the performance fell short of expectations.

“Really disappointed with the result… We’ll obviously have a good look at it and see where we can be better on Tuesday.

“To concede three goals like we did, all quite similar, it’s frustrating.

"Two were really well taken by Venezuela, but in a couple of key moments, we just weren’t at the level we needed to be in and around our box.”

Despite the defeat, he noted there were positives to take from the match.

“I don’t think it was all doom and gloom. We’re working on a new system and there were glimpses where we were just one or two passes away from really opening them up,” he said. “The press worked well — that’s probably where our goal came from.”

Looking ahead to the second fixture, Mayne stressed the importance of learning quickly and bouncing back.

“We’re a senior international team and need to perform despite being early in the cycle.. There’ll be some questions I’ll need to ask around individual performances, but there are definitely motivated and hungry players who want to make an impact. 

“We need to react positively and go out looking for the result we need.”

The Ford Football Ferns face Venezuela again on Wednesday 3 June at 4am NZT, live and free on FIFA+.

Article added: Sunday 01 June 2025