NEW ZEALAND HERALD
THE NEW ZEALAND Football Ferns took a major step towards Olympic qualification with a resounding 8-0 win over Papua New Guinea in the first leg of their OFC Women's Olympic Qualifier final in Whangarei on Saturday.
New Zealand scored four goals in each half and were never threatened by PNG who set out to keep the Football Ferns at bay and take the tie back to Port Moresby on Wednesday.
But from the sixth minute, when the Whangarei-raised pair of Abby Erceg and Hannah Wilkinson combined to open the scoring in front of a 2,243 strong crowd at Toll Stadium, the home side never let up.
"There's definitely things we need to work on from the game but it's pretty hard to fault them," said New Zealand coach Tony Readings after the match.
The Football Ferns fly to Port Moresby tomorrow for the return match.
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