Hannah Carlsen pounced in the 48th minute to score the game’s only goal when the Argentinean goalkeeper couldn’t hold Jasmine Pereira’s header following slick play from Briar Palmer and Lauren Merrin down the left flank.
Following on from a series win over Australia at home in October, the away triumph is another positive step for the Young Football Ferns towards the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Azerbaijan, with Oceania qualifiers set for Auckland in April.
Victory over a side building for South American qualifiers in Bolivia early next month gave coach Paul Temple plenty of satisfaction but he is still calling for more from his young charges.
“It was an okay performance from us but I still think we have a lot more to give,” Temple said.
Transportation issues delayed the New Zealand team’s arrival at the ground by over 90 minutes but Temple praised the way his players reacted and battled through an out-of-sync opening 20 minutes.
“To not play as well as we could but still get the win is a huge positive but we will be aiming to get a slick performance in the second game here in a couple of days’ time,” he said.
“We played a lot in their half but in the last 20 minutes when you are holding a 1-0 lead there are still some hairy moments. They threw fresh legs on and bombed players forward but the players dealt with the pressure, kept their heads and were able to play their way out of trouble.”
Temple also singled out the performance of Canada-based midfielder Emma Fletcher, who he described as the best player on the park.
The sides meet again on Tuesday morning (NZT).
Argentina U-17: 0
New Zealand U-17: 1 (Hannah CARLSEN 48’)
Halftime: 0-0
New Zealand: 16-Ronisa LIPI (GK), 2-Meikayla MOORE, 3-Laura MERRIN, 4-CJ BOTT, 5-Emily JENSEN (14-Lauren DABNER 70’), 6-Hannah CARLSEN, 7-Jasmine PEREIRA (15-Briar MCNAMARA 60’), 9-Martine PUKETAPU, 10-Emma FLETCHER, 11-Briar PALMER (17-Chloe KNOTT 70’), 12-Daisy CLEVERLEY (18-Emma ROLSTON 60’)
Substitutes not used: 1-Lily ALFELD (RGK), 8-Tessa LEONG, 13-Chloe WILSON
Coach: Paul TEMPLE
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football.
For more on New Zealand football go to www.nzfootball.co.nz