New Zealand’s preliminary targets for the Women’s World Cup had been extraordinarily modest via the factors of a bunch nation: successful a sport could be growth. Mission achieved, in spite of a overdue overlooked penalty.
Hannah Wilkinson’s target within the forty eighth minute stood up because the lone tally as New Zealand defeated Norway in Auckland within the opening fit of the match.
New Zealand had didn’t win in 15 earlier World Cup suits, exiting within the workforce degree in all 5 appearances. This victory supplies hope the co-hosts can style knockout soccer for the primary time.
A crowd of 42,137 – a file for a soccer fit, males’s or girls’s, in New Zealand – was once humming from the outlet rite. The power stood in stark distinction to the awful temper round Auckland previous within the day after the loss of life of 3 other folks, together with the gunman, in a taking pictures on the subject of Norway’s group resort.
New Zealand performed instantly from the beginning, in search of Wilkinson in in the back of the seams of Norway’s unsteady defence. The hosts wanted 5 mins to create bother with Wilkinson getting in the back of and Norway failing to adequately transparent their strains.
The technique paid off 3 mins after half-time. New Zealand wanted 3 touches from a goal-kick to wreck down Norway’s form and play Jacqui Hand in in the back of. The ahead beat Mathilde Harviken for tempo and Wilkinson streaked previous each defenders in her neighborhood to faucet within the pass.
Despite a surplus of attacking ability, Norway requested few questions of New Zealand’s defence. Ada Hegerberg tried (and scuffed) a bicycle kick 5 mins into the fit, however Norway failed to place a shot on track till the 81st minute when Caroline Graham Hansen’s shot was once tipped off the crossbar via Victoria Esson within the Football Ferns’ target.
Graham Hansen’s alternative got here after a unprecedented second of pleasure for Norway in transition. The New Zealand midfielder Ria Percival managed the center of the park because the hosts neutralized the Barcelona famous person and her teammate Guro Reiten.
Percival hit the bar from the penalty spot within the ninetieth minute after a video evaluate – together with an in-stadium clarification of the verdict via the referee – made up our minds that Tuva Hansen treated the ball.
The subsequent job for the Football Ferns is getting out of the gang, which no Women’s World Cup host has didn’t do. This victory provides them hope in arguably the weakest of the 8 teams.