Costa Rica 0-1 New Zealand
by Jonathon Hagger (26/2/25)
Above: Maja Hahn (centre) celebrates her winning goal for New Zealand in Costa Rica earlier today. Photo: Photosport NZ.
A goal two minutes from the end of regular time in the second half sealed an excellent win for New Zealand in their second and final international in Costa Rica.
After the previous draw between the two sides, the respective head coaches took the opportunity to give some of their players in the wider squad minutes to play on a warm night in San Jose.
Industrious challenges on the left-hand side from Costa Rica did a good job of closing down the Ferns attack. New Zealand demonstrated their intent to use the entire width of the pitch when attacking.
A well-weighted long pass down the right-hand side, cleared the midfield defensive line of the Ferns, finding Priscilla Chinchilla who was well able to beat the defending player. A pass into the Ferns goal area found the head of the striker, Maria Salas, but the header was tipped over the crossbar by Victoria Esson, the Ferns’ goalkeeper. In contrast to the previous match, the visiting defenders increased their effort to get back into defensive position and closed out any empty space.
Sunderland’s Katie Kitching as the appointed free-kick taker did a superb job of placing the ball right on the spot for her players. The Ferns now have at least two players who have demonstrated excellence in taking free kicks being Kitching and Michaela Foster who also plays in the North-East in England’s second tier, for Durham.
Young gun Milly Clegg displayed a lot of confidence in taking shots on goal, both sighted and unsighted. In the past the players would have been more likely to lay off the pass to someone else however Clegg showed that she is willing to have a go. She also showed some fancy footwork on a number of occasions. Skills that she has been developing while playing in the USA.
The Ferns could have opened the scoring in the 24th minute if they had a little more luck. With the ball being hoisted into the Costa Rican goal area, two attackers were waiting to pounce however, unfortunately for Clegg the ball travelled just millimetres in front of her going out for a goal kick.
On the other side, left-back player Maria Coto, was superb and kept New Zealand’s defenders working hard to shut her down. Coto demonstrated lovely footwork and was very sure when in possession of the ball.
A free kick was awarded to Costa Rica in the 31st minute following an accidental handball by a Ferns defender just outside the goal box and the resulting well-curved shot required Esson to put all her goalkeeper skills to work.
Costa Rica repeatedly demonstrated their prowess in cutting through the Ferns’ defenders on the left-hand side in the first half. Repeated attacks and precision passes down the flank found attacking players in the open. Whereas the defensive work being done on the other side of the pitch by New Zealand was much tighter, giving Costa Rica no way through.
The second half played out in the same way as the first half with both teams competing strongly but not being able to find the breakthrough. Costa Rica’s well disciplined formation smothered the Ferns’ attack. The visitors played constructive football, using the entire width of the pitch, but couldn’t capitalise as they struggled to complete their final passes.
The 60th minute saw an excellent opportunity for Costa Rica to score on the back of smart pass out to the left-hand wing, a great one-v-one battle and the striker being perfectly placed inside the goal area. Esson made two outstanding saves denying the goal-scoring opportunity.
The winning goal of the match came in the 88th minute courtesy of an assist from Macey Fraser whose slick footwork created time for Hahn to unleash a rocket of a shot from the top of the goal box sending the ball into the back of the net, beating the outstretched arm of the goalkeeper.
Key observations.
A number of individual Costa Rican players made their mark on the match including Alexandra Pinell and Coto. Their style of play is disciplined and constructive. It would be good in future for the players to demonstrate the flair that is often associated with the Central American style.
That flair was fleeting in this match and it may have been advantageous to have displayed it in that it may have been more than the Ferns could handle given the players are based mostly in teams playing a European style.
The chemistry in the Football Ferns team was much more evident in match two. The new formation and intent shown by the players, under the guidance of interim coach Michael Mayne, was very positive.
In the first match, the Ferns resorted to their old tactics of kicking the ball long and hoping for the best. In the second match, the play was much more constructive and disciplined. The use of the entire width of the pitch was great to watch. Many New Zealand supporters will be very pleased to see a new style of play on display being assertive and much more attacking.
Teams: COSTA RICA (4-4-2): Bermudez, Bonilla, Coto, Benavides, Coto, Blanco, Pinell, Valenciano, Alvarado, Barrientos (84’), Chinchilla, Salas. Substitutes used: Morales, Barahona.
NEW ZEALAND (3-4-1-2): Esson, Bunge (65’), Taylor, Clegg (55’), Longo (65’), Anton, Riley, Neville, Foster, Kitching, Hand (55’). Substitutes used: Fraser (55’), Brown (55’), Hahn (65’), Moore (65’), Pijenenberg (78’),
Scorer: Hahn 88′.
Referee: Merlin Soto (HON)
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