FIFA U-17 WOMEN'S WORLD CUP - NEW ZEALAND FACE WAIKATO CLUB
Wednesday, 30 April 08, 15:27 PM
HAMILTON - The well-performed New Zealand Under 17 girls soccer team will be playing in Hamilton on Saturday.
In a match which will be an appetiser for Under 17 Women's World Cup matches due to be contested in Hamilton in October-November, the New Zealand team is due to play the Melville United Under 15 boys team at 12 noon at Gower Park.
The Under 17s - including Waikato-BOP players Charlotte Wood, Sarah McLaughlin, Kate Loye, Anna Fullerton and Kylie Jens - are fresh from a highly successful transtasman tour, in which they twice beat the Australian U17 team 4-0, and pushed the Australian Under 20 team before losing 4-2.
While it marks a rare outing for a national soccer team in Hamilton, New Zealand coach Paul Temple said such games were invaluable in the team's preparation for the World Cup.
"Matches like this are great," Temple said. "The intensity and speed of boys' play is what girls international football is like.
"We treat the game seriously, and it is very good competition. We will approach this game as if it is an international, with exactly the same pre-match routines.
"It is an opportunity to practice our matchday preparation and try to build a winning mentality. The girls are confident and playing well."
The match is also being welcomed by Melville Under 15s boys coach Declan Edge.
"This will be a game between two very good teams," he said. "Expect to see some entertaining football."
Meanwhile Fifa Under 17 World Cup organising committee member Andrea Timings said the match offered a fantastic opportunity for football fans to familiarise themselves with an up and coming New Zealand team.
"It's great that it has been possible to get the Under 17s to Hamilton," she said. "We encourage all those with an interest in football, but especially those involved with the women's game, to get along to Gower Park and show their support for the girls.
"We are building towards a tournament that is going to be fantastic for Hamilton and for New Zealand, and this game will give a taste of the girls' standard of play."
The match is a curtain-raiser to the 2.45pm northern premier league match between Melville United and Papatoetoe.
Story courtesy www.melvilleunited.co.nz
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