The match is the first leg of a home-and-away play-off for a place at the 2012 London Olympics and will take place at Whangarei’s Toll Stadium from 5pm.
Papua New Guinea earned the right to take on New Zealand after winning stage one of the OFC Women’s Olympic Qualifier in Tonga earlier this month but go in as heavy underdogs.
The Football Ferns have set the benchmark for women’s football in this part of the world and anything less than a comfortable win would come as a disappointment to coach Tony Reading and his talented squad.
Skipper Siniu is aware the odds are stacked against her side, no members of which can match the professional experience of their opponents’ numerous stars, but is refusing to give up on her Olympic dream and believes anything can happen if Papua New Guinea can frustrate the Football Ferns in Whangarei.
“The girls are feeling confident after doing so well in the qualifying games in Tonga and we are very excited about the game,” the midfielder says.
“New Zealand is a quality side but we hope to give it our best and give them a good run for their money. We’re looking at our defence and how to shape up well against them because the last time we played New Zealand we got a thrashing. We will need to be a lot better this time.”
The sides’ most recent meeting was in the final of the OFC Women’s Nations Cup in 2010, a match that ended in humiliation for Papua New Guinea as they suffered an 11-0 defeat.
But they bounced back well from that blow to win gold at the 2011 Pacific Games – a historic third title in a row – and were deserving winners of the stage one Olympic qualifiers, scoring 22 goals across their four matches and conceding just three.
Siniu and co will also take heart from their previous Olympic qualifying clash against the Ferns, in which they put in a valiant effort to restrict New Zealand to a 2-0 win in 2008.
“We have some good younger players coming through and now I think we just need more international matches to get really fit and be able to match New Zealand at that level. They have set the standard for women’s football in Oceania so it’s quite a challenge to play against them,” Siniu says.
“We will really need to step up to tackle them properly but I think we have improved since we played them two years ago.”
The 31-year-old first kicked a ball at the age of seven and has gone on to star for her country in two Pacific Games campaigns and two editions of the OFC Women’s Nations Cup. She was also a member of the squad that took on New Zealand in the previous Olympic qualifier.
When not controlling the midfield for Inter Uni FC in Papua New Guinea’s Women’s National Soccer League, Siniu studies at university and is in the final year of a law degree.
She says the introduction of the national league – now in its second season – has resulted in an increase of interest in the women’s game in Papua New Guinea and that there is plenty of support for the national team.
“The support has actually been quite overwhelming and everyone is getting behind us. It’s good that we are able to at least promote women’s football in the Pacific,” she says.
“It’s a huge task for us but it would be amazing if we make it to the Olympics. It would be a piece of history for Papua New Guinea and we would love to pull it off.”

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