Less focus on quirky music lip sync videos, more focus on football.
Good Grief....
Football Ferns
Why would they have NZ in black and China in red, not great for TV viewing with two dark colours...why wouldn't NZ just play in white like normal?
Game over.
looking like we could concede another
lets go. Come on
Goal 2-2...Wilkinson with the finish
going ok
running outta time
not a streaker
5 mins plus stoppage time.
The irony of the Chinese time wasting is that by reacting, NZ are wasting more time.
Netherlands have equalised with Canada.
Strange sub that one. Does not help to play White out of position as a right half.
Safe to say we are goners. Hope this doesn't affect our funding.
Strange sub that one. Does not help to play White out of position as a right half.
It's policy now. Selection by magic eight-ball.
Another 4 years
Poor form from Readings not shaking hands. Accept your fate with a bit of dignity.
Less focus on quirky music lip sync videos, more focus on football.
Good Grief....
No the problem is the complete ignorance of comments like that. Utter ignorance but then from, you its just to be expected.
What a difference a missed penalty makes....if we score that we win the group, gotta take your easy chances. I have to say that many of here groups are grossly unbalanced, while this one was very even teams...bad luck of the draw I guess
could have been through if we had scored the penalty against Canada.
Less focus on quirky music lip sync videos, more focus on football.
Good Grief....
No the problem is the complete ignorance of comments like that. Utter ignorance but then from, you its just to be expected.
Less focus on quirky music lip sync videos, more focus on football.
Good Grief....
No the problem is the complete ignorance of comments like that. Utter ignorance but then from, you its just to be expected.
They did do well. If they'd had the same luck with penalties that China and Canada got against them they'd have won the group - if they'd had even half that luck then they'd probably be through as well. Did they get outplayed and lose badly - no! I'd say they were better team today. It was good football from them - both their goals today were great. The better team doesn't always win - its just a bummer that footbal is like this sometimes and that we were on the wrong side of it.
I totally get that Gordinho. They were in all the games and I do respect that. I also expected better. As Readings himself said, they under achieved (but also did say they did not under perform which I am not sure I can agree with)
The thing I took note of in the lead up to this game (I watched the Netherlands and China games did not see the Canada game) was that people asked 'where will the goals come from?' 'where are the game breakers?' 'Why is this person playing and then doing this?' Against Netherlands, we looked very comfortable with possession, but their back 4 was untested. Against China, I thought our goals came from luck of the bounce in the box. Here we are talking about losing because of a couple of refereeing errors on penalty decisions. Good teams don't live or die by refereeing errors and if we had played to our potential and created genuine chances, then it would not have made a difference what the referee did. We had a stonewall pen against Wilkinson in the Netherlands game that was turned down, unlucky. We missed one against Canada and were unlucky with one given against us against China. We are talking about referees decisions on penalties and not how fantastical the opposition keeper played to deny us goals which summed up what others said - where are the goals going to come from?
I was a little surprised in the manner is which some players were used. Betsy Hassett was one player I thought should have started all 3 games and made a difference when she did come on against Netherlands. Readings realised that. I was surprised in the manner in which Wilkinson was used and as a wide man. Yes Amber Hearn is a better striker but then what advantage do you get from chucking a lumbering 6f 4i girl on the wing? Hearn had zero serevice and question if dropping a front person for a nother midfielder and better service would have helped. When Rosie White did appear, it was as a Right Half (she is a striker). I was surprised a little that Kirsty Yallop got 5 mins all tournament. I'm not fan of her but has the ability to change things up. I thought Riley came inside a lot and thought she may have been told to hug the touch line a little more. I thought she took up some of the midfielder job at times and thought that was odd for a LB.
Its as I said after the Netherlands game, under Herdman, we got results and were progressing. Under Readings, we almost get results and look like we have plateaued at best.. This tournament was another 'almost got'. Considering their program and considerable build up, then this is a failure.
The better teams does not always win, but you can't sell that line 3 games in a row.
Jeff I to expected better, because Readings told us so, did he not tell us in Print and on Radio that this team could win WC. The build up they've had and the funding from Sport NZ was huge. Readings and all his coaching staff need to go, A new head coach may pick most of these players but may bring in new ideas and freshen things up before the Olympics.
This WC has to be seen as a failure, a huge amount of effort and resources have gone into this team. This will have a negative impact on future funding. Readings has to go, he has failed to produce goals during his tenure.
poor flap by naylor second goal
I agree with JV. They have under performed, particularly where it counts most, in the final third. Overall, the defence was very good and the midfield just about acceptable(little flair in midfield, but combative and hardworking), but the attacking play left a lot to be desired. There was a lack of cutting edge, which ultimately cost NZ dearly; the forwards never looked like scoring. Some have touted Rosie White as an alternative and she would have provided more " spark " than say, Wilkinson(bizarrely a centre forward stationed on the right wing/inside right channel).But it's arguable whether she'd have offered greater finishing ability(her international record is very average), so who knows? In my opinion, NZ need to jettison the Wilkinson type of physical striker and go with quick footed, more inventive types. Are they available? NZ need to change tack, because the " Wilkinson method " has come up short. I have formed the impression that the Women's team is a bit of a closed shop: time to freshen up the personnel/style?
I just saw the second half so missed the controversy.
I saw two very evenly matched teams with some great passing but only a handful of scoring chances (mostly for the Steel Roses). I liked our second goal - nice cross and header back to the unmarked Wilkinson. The rest of the time it was just bang it into the box and scramble around a bit.
Shame that the team couldn't get a win but the draw was a fair reflection of the game (second half at least).
The good thing is the alignment we have with the age group teams. Seems to be some decent players coming through. Martine Puketapu was lethal at under-17 level.
The good thing is the alignment we have with the age group teams. Seems to be some decent players coming through. Martine Puketapu was lethal at under-17 level.
The trouble with Martine, which is the same problem we see with Hannah W is that through their age group teams both players stood out because they could play a bit but also their physical attributes helped them a lot. I have watched Martine since she was about 10 and all her coaches did the same thing which was sent long through balls forward for her to run on to. She scored a ton of goals through the years because she could out sprint defences but also because she was reasonable at controlling the ball. Being reasonable at controlling the ball isnt good enough, they need to be athletic and exceptional with the ball. Another one coming through is Jacqui Hand and she could be a better version than Martine. Jacqui started out for a few years in central mid and its only been the last 2 or so years where she has been playing as a striker. So her development has had a bit more work on ball control and fast feet and less on being able to out sprint other players. Martine might make it all the way to the senior side but I am betting Jacqui overtakes her in the next couple of years.
The good news is there are a number of good players (in fact probably going to be better than many of the current 1st team) coming through although the best are still only 15 or 16.
I totally get that Gordinho. They were in all the games and I do respect that. I also expected better. As Readings himself said, they under achieved (but also did say they did not under perform which I am not sure I can agree with)
The thing I took note of in the lead up to this game (I watched the Netherlands and China games did not see the Canada game) was that people asked 'where will the goals come from?' 'where are the game breakers?' 'Why is this person playing and then doing this?' Against Netherlands, we looked very comfortable with possession, but their back 4 was untested. Against China, I thought our goals came from luck of the bounce in the box. Here we are talking about losing because of a couple of refereeing errors on penalty decisions. Good teams don't live or die by refereeing errors and if we had played to our potential and created genuine chances, then it would not have made a difference what the referee did. We had a stonewall pen against Wilkinson in the Netherlands game that was turned down, unlucky. We missed one against Canada and were unlucky with one given against us against China. We are talking about referees decisions on penalties and not how fantastical the opposition keeper played to deny us goals which summed up what others said - where are the goals going to come from?
I was a little surprised in the manner is which some players were used. Betsy Hassett was one player I thought should have started all 3 games and made a difference when she did come on against Netherlands. Readings realised that. I was surprised in the manner in which Wilkinson was used and as a wide man. Yes Amber Hearn is a better striker but then what advantage do you get from chucking a lumbering 6f 4i girl on the wing? Hearn had zero serevice and question if dropping a front person for a nother midfielder and better service would have helped. When Rosie White did appear, it was as a Right Half (she is a striker). I was surprised a little that Kirsty Yallop got 5 mins all tournament. I'm not fan of her but has the ability to change things up. I thought Riley came inside a lot and thought she may have been told to hug the touch line a little more. I thought she took up some of the midfielder job at times and thought that was odd for a LB.
Its as I said after the Netherlands game, under Herdman, we got results and were progressing. Under Readings, we almost get results and look like we have plateaued at best.. This tournament was another 'almost got'. Considering their program and considerable build up, then this is a failure.
The better teams does not always win, but you can't sell that line 3 games in a row.
Your mostly right Jeff but the refereeing has been terrible at the WC.
Canada was given a pen they never deserved, we should have got one against the Netherlands and while having not seen today's game yet, sounds like a similar situation.
The BBC News presenters here in the UK also mentioned the dire refereeing and poor decisions that have been made through out the tourney so far.
Having watched all teams live, we were probably the best team in the back two thirds but very average up front which as we've seen, cost us qualifying to the next round.
I agree that from what I have seen in the 2 games, the refereeing has been less than average but then they are raving online about the Kiwi girl over there after the games she has done - a bolster for the final?
To the point of refereeing, I still come back to the point that good teams don't live and die by refereeing errors because there will always be refereeing errors somewhere at some point to varying degrees of effectualness on the game. For the ferns, we are talking about a pen in each game. If they were taking chances and creating opportunities/goals, the refereeing errors are not an issue but they needed them to qualify. If that's how they are set up, then they are not good enough.
The point about being solid in the defence and midfield is fair, but if you don't score, you don't win so questions about the service from the midfield (as others have done) and the strategy around the front players are equally as fair.
While our expectations may have been high, we still outperformed our world ranking. Not a total disaster but more a disappointment. Doesn't deserve this level of angst in my view.
I'll bet you $2,7 million this angst isn't finished yet.
Their funding is tied to the Olympics so any blow back will be if they fail in Rio.
The herald this morning says HPNZ funding was tied to knock out stages of the World Cup. Failure there would mean a slash in funding for the Olympics campaign. According to the herald.
That seems odd if true.
I think they could make a case that they were in the toughest group in the WC and were one spot kick away from going through.
That seems odd if true.
I think they could make a case that they were in the toughest group in the WC and were one spot kick away from going through.
so lie then?
Matildas beat brasil 1-0. Oi Oi Oi
Quarter finals: Germany v France, China v USA, Canada v England, Aussie v Japan/Netherlands.