Half-time substitute Paige Satchell guided the New Zealand A team to a 3-1 victory against Thailand in their second match at Fred Taylor Park in West Auckland last night.

Thailand shocked the hosts when midfielder Silawan Intamee hit a great strike from 25 yards to beat New Zealand goalkeeper Victoria Esson in the seventh minute. Thailand maintained their advantage until after the break before New Zealand Football Ferns coach Tony Readings made his telling changes from the bench.

Satchell set up the first goal when she delivered a cross for White to head home in the 65th minute, then followed it up with another accurate cross for Phillips to score in the 81st minute.

Captain Abby Erceg kept New Zealand in the game with a line clearance to stop Thailand retaining the lead in the 70th minute, but for the most part New Zealand was the dominant team.

Satchell put the game to bed when she danced around the keeper in the final few minutes and finished well from close range for a memorable win.

“Paige came on and carried on from where she left off on Saturday,” Readings said.

“She delivered two quality crosses – which is what we are asking for because sometimes with Paige she will look good and the end product is not the best but today she looked good and the end product was perfect. She should be very happy with her work across both games.”

Satchell had a clear goal in mind when she came on at half-time and was pleased she could execute.

“This campaign has been focusing on everyone bringing their strengths,” she said.

“For me in particular I need to use my pace to my advantage so I have tried to go out there and unleash my X factor and take players on.”

“I have been trying to focus on my accuracy with my crossing so I was really pleased with the outcome.

“I was really stoked. I had a chance to score in the previous game but I was a bit unlucky so I was really happy to finish that one off.”

With five U-17 players showing dominance in the victory against the 32nd FIFA ranked side, Readings is feeling confident about the next wave of Football Ferns coming through the age groups.

“Everyone showed that there is some real potential coming through. It is good because it shows over the next four years there will be competition for places.”

Story courtesy of New Zealand Football