The Football Ferns have beaten Costa Rica in the second game of their two-match series, following draw on Sunday, with a 1-0 victory courtesy of a spectacular finish from Maya Hahn.
Hahn only recently declared to play for Aotearoa New Zealand after discussions with interim head coach Michael Mayne, but the midfielder made a big impact in the series after debuting in the first game.
LATEST HEADLINES:
Mayne made three changes to the starting XI from the first match.
A fit-again Milly Clegg replaced Kelli Brown up front, Jacqui Hand came in for Macey Fraser in attack, and Grace Neville started at wingback in place of Hannah Blake.
The team continued with the new formation introduced on this tour, playing with a back three instead of the back four predominantly used in the previous cycle.
The first 30 minutes were a cagey affair, with the Ferns having the better of the chances but neither side able to create clear-cut opportunities.
The first real chance fell to Costa Rica at the half-hour mark when a free kick from the edge of the box was brilliantly saved by Vic Esson, continuing her excellent form from the first match.
The game remained tight into the second half, with Indiah-Paige Riley, goalscorer in the first match, going close from range, but her effort flew past the post in the 55th minute.
Costa Rica’s best chance of the match came in the 60th minute when a shot deflected low toward the bottom left corner of the net, but Esson got down to parry it away before quickly recovering to block the follow-up in an outstanding display of goalkeeping.
Ultimately, the strength of the Ferns' substitutes made the difference.
With the clock ticking toward 90 minutes, Macey Fraser, who had looked dangerous since coming on in the 56th minute, picked out substitute Maya Hahn on the edge of the box with a brilliant pass from the wing.
Hahn took one touch to control the ball before firing a rocket into the top right corner to win the game in the 89th minute.
New Zealnad have confirmed their next international fixtures, with the team set to take on Chinese Taipei (FIFA rank 42) in Taiwan this April.
The Ferns will face the Blue Magpies on Tuesday 8 April at Kaohsiung Nanzih Football Stadium in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, kicking off at 10:30pm NZT (6:30pm local time).
The sides will also face-off in a behind closed doors training game three days earlier on Saturday 5 April.
“These two games are a really great opportunity for us as a team to continue to build on what we started against Costa Rica” said Mayne.
“For our February games we implemented a new playing style, new language, and new ideas in the way we work that we believe can help us be better in a number of ways going forward.
“This Costa Rican tour has been the start of a really positive build, and I have felt the players have done an excellent job to come in and take on the challenge collectively.
“Now I want to review our work, watch some club games and prepare for what I believe is another very good challenge in our new cycle.
“What we need now is more time together to continue that development our way, so the prospect of having a long camp together with a training behind closed doors game, followed by a full international fixture at the end of the window, is a great solution for the team at this moment.”