55' 1-0 DPRK receives at 20m box arc left -- instant entry pass to 16m slightly right, springs #13 Kim Chung Sim behind NZ's compact wall! She carries to just right of the penalty spot, opens her hips for a left-instep something -- #6 Bridgette Armstrong slides in desperately, pokes ball gently Nayler-ward, sends Kim sprawling face-first. No call! 60' 1-0 North Korea subs in #8 Kim Un Hyang (c <=) for #13 Kim Chung Sim (<= c).
63' 1-0 Disaster -- North Korea left corner, misses over the 6-left scrum, curls in as it drops to 10m center. #11 Rosie White swings awkwardly with right foot, whiffs, and the ball bounces up into her flapping right arm. Pause while the nigh-empty stadium waits for the shoe to drop -- and the ref gives the penalty. 65' 2-0 #8 Kim Un Hyang's first touch of the game (? -- could be) scores left low hard. #20 Erin Nayler dives correctly, but still can't reach it.
67' 2-0 New Zealand free kick at 25m center. #11 Rosie White drives it hard and outside the wall, to 6-top left, where #7 Hannah Wilkinson lays out and just misses a sliding touch. 69' 2-0 #14 Renee Leota chases down a 40-60 ball in the box top arc. #5 Won Un Ha blasts a clearance upfield -- and it reflects hard off the inside of Leota's left knee. Leota goes down, needs a ref visit, and walks off into touch, then comes back in. New Zealand fair-play the ball down the left sideline.
73' 2-0 New Zealand intercept at 30m box right, counter excellently. #8 Betsy Hassett runs at DPRK's frantic backline, pierces them with a pass through box top 6-right. #11 Rosie White collects in stride, carries to 6m just wide of 6-right, shoots hard behind DPRK's backline -- misses the left post by 1 diameter. 74' 2-0 DPRK hold at 30m wide left. Simple low pass to __ unmarked at 23m box arc left. Instant one-touch vertical ball splits NZ's back line, 3rd player carries to 6-top left post -- shot smothered by #20 Erin Nayler sliding. There's that trademark bing-bing quick-pass. 77 2-0 New Zealand sub in #12 Claudia Crasborn for #13 Nadia Pearl.
80' 2-0 Oh yah -- there is no commentator. The stands are live-miked. Mostly, we hear the players squeal, and sometimes DPRK's head coach yelling.
89' 2-0 Both teams look gassed. New Zealand can't clear-and-control out of their own half. DPRK can't keep their long shots down -- two lucky fans have souvenirs. (Or the same munchkin got both of them --)
90' 2-0 New Zealand free kick from 45m wide right. Lofted to 9m center -- huge scrum, #1 Hong Myong Hui deals #14 Renee Leota a glancing blow as she charges out to joust. Ball pops 20m up with Hong stranded out, and drops onto the top netting. 90+1' 2-1 New Zealand right corner, curls to 5m center, headed strongly clear. #7 Hannah Wilkinson settles at 17m box top left arc, quickly passes wide to #11 Rosie White at 14m box left. White looks up, quickly lifts a good cross to 7m center -- at that instant, __ is in an offside position, but she knows that, and she's already running anti-goalward. #6 Bridgette Armstrong has dominant inside position on her defender, rises and heads cleanly just inside the left post 1/3 high.
Group B P GD(F A) ======== 6+2 (3-1) North Korea 4+1 (3-2) Sweden 1-1 (1-2) Brasil 0-2 (2-4) New Zealand (eliminated)
Too bad about Rosie's instinctive reaction to protect her face. I guess it had to be called but there was really no pressure at that moment in the box. Leaving that call aside, I thought the referee bought too many of the Korean antics. Rosie also had two (somewhat difficult) chances so it was not her day. Still she showed glimpses of where she may be a few years from now. A US College career would do her good. Player of the match was definitely the kiwi keeper. She had a fine first game and a simply outstanding second game. The kiwis just need to improve their touch a little bit more and they will not just be competitive in a gutsy way but able to take the game to opponents. Quite a few of he palyers held their hands up high regarding future service on the National Team. Now lets see a win v. Brazil. Go Ferns!
Comes from a fern, a popular plant in New Zealand. Here is more on the subject: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_national_netball_team And here is more: http://www.virtualoceania.net/newzealand/photos/flora/ferns/
Yes, the USA could fail to advance. What has been lost in all the handwringing, though, is that Ghana are actually pretty good, and a draw with them is not a terrible result.
Ghana is the 2nd best team in that group. Switzerland is terrible. They have Bachman (who is very good), but a bunch of nitwits for defenders, and their midfielders aren't much better. South Korea does have She So Yung on their team, but they are not as good as Ghana. They looked very good, because Switzerland's defense is just that bad. You could put 4 random female posters on this board on Switzerland's u-20 defense, and it would be a much needed upgrade in skill.
[Ghana-Korea] 85' 2-3 Korea have excellent short passing, receive-control, and dribbling. Ghana are a bit faster, and have the physique advantage -- so they basically win any shoulder challenges. Korea build smoothly from midfield right to box top left -- 4 short passes, perfect weight, perfect off-ball runs, received perfectly like velcro. They decline the drop-pass from box top left into 14m, fearing an offside (and yes, they probably do think fast enough to realize that in real-time). Backpass hits the referee, and Ghana collect and break the other way, to 16m 6-left, but hoof the shot about 10m wide right.
87' 2-4 #14 Kim Jin Young receives at 25m wide left, goes on a simple 1-v-1 rush toward the corner. Defender is either gassed or overly respectful -- Kim goes from 2 steps behind to a 1 step lead. #10 Ji So Yun creeps in down the left post lane, just behind ball-gazing #8 Elizabeth Addo, who never acquires her. Kim lofts a simple cross from 6m wide left, drops to Ji at 8m center, and she stoops and heads it into the right back corner low.
28' 1-0 #11 Deborah Afriye, from box top between 6-left and box left, chips just under the crossbar 1/3 left, and #1 Moon So Ri can't reach that high. 41' 1-1 Korea free kick from 25m left, curls to a sea of red shirts at 7m center. #10 Ji So Yun leaps and gets a toe micro-poke just in front of #21 Patricia Mantey's fingers. 56' 2-1 Ghana pass to #9 Florence Dadson in box arc center. She gets into a huge ankle-wrestling duel with two Koreans (like Urlacher reaching in to strip Ricky Williams). Somehow keeps control, ball squirts out toward 6-top left. Dadson pursues, both Koreans go down, Dadson stumbles, then -- sees #6 Elizabeth Cudjoe racing in with the better angle, and pulls up. Cudjoe reaches ball at 5m 6-left, instantly shoots right instep high, and roofs it just inside the left post. 62' 2-2 Korea free kick from 37m box left = 6.5 mowed stripes #8 Kim Narae sails it to slightly left 3/4 high, #21 Patricia Mantey steps (her) left to about 4m out, then flaps up-and-right, and simply misses it! 70' 2-3 Korea control at 25m 6-left, and ping through center. Quick pass to 19m box arc right. One-touch(?) entry pass to #14 Kim Jin Young at 14m left post. She takes exactly two touches: (1) settles with nil rebound, ball stops at her feet; quick hop to open hips away from her 1-v-1, and (2) dainty right instep, nano-chip to right post low(-when-it-gets-there). #21 Patricia Mantey is wrong-footed, and can't dive that far. Korea pass like Spain, and finish their chances like Germany
[USA-Switzerland] 03' 0-0 Switzerland deep right throw-in, #7 Lara Keller gets to 9m wide right, crosses high to 6-top right post. #9 Ana Crnogorcevic (announcer says "nor-go-kay-vich") lunges between two defenders, drills a header just outside the right post, and hard into the endboards. Koller I woulda guessed "cher-no-gor-chay-vich". Still the coolest name on both rosters
04' 1-0 USA pings from just behind box top left to #9 Kristie Mewis at box top left post. She must-poke it into the box to maintain possession -- and she bursts past the 1-v-1! To 14m mid-left, shoots on the run -- it's a Lampard off the bar, down on-or-over the line, back up (misses the bar) and arcs out. Hold your breath -- AR gives the goal!! Replay: clearly over the line, by at least 1 radius. Beckham holds his hands a little closer together.
15' 1-0 Switzerland pressures in USA's 1/3. USA execute at least one "good" tackle in the box (i.e. no whistle). Switzerland reload, quick flat pass from box top left finds #10 Ramona Bachmann with daylight at 15m left post. #2 Toni Pressley slides inside-out, pokes ball away, clips Bachmann's left foot. USA clears, no whistle, Bachmann is down and needs a trainer visit. She walks into touch, returns. You can't spell "exciting" without "exit" --
21' 1-0 Nice ESPN clockboard on the screen. I think FIFA doesn't insert their own, so all the non-USA matches lack one. Kind of frenetic action. Both teams pass decently, run pretty well, and aggressively push the ball forward. So they both tend to "lose it productively" fairly soon, by taking shots or sending in crosses. USA wins numerous deep throw-ins and corners, Switzerland tends to overdribble near box top and get swarmed.