New Zealand’s Football Ferns earned themselves a place in the history books during the opening fixture of the Peace Queen Cup tournament at the Suwon World Cup Stadium in Korea Republic on October 17. In battling out a 0-0 draw with the host nation, the champions of Oceania played a part in the first scoreless encounter in Peace Queen Cup history - the biannual tournament first took place in 2006, and there had been at least one goal scored in all twenty-six matches prior to this one. However, it’s not just at tournament level where the Football Ferns have made a name for themselves. By keeping the opposition scoreless for the sixth successive match, John Herdman’s charges have equalled a New Zealand women’s footballing record which has stood unchallenged for twenty-one years. Spanning the last two games of the 1987 World Women’s Invitational Tournament in Taiwan, and group and semi-final action at the 1989 Oceania Nations Cup tournament in Brisbane, the national women’s squad kept a clean sheet in six consecutive internationals, a feat which has now been matched following the Football Ferns’ efforts in this game and their five OFC Women’s Nations Cup encounters in Auckland earlier this month. Which means the challenge is on to keep England scoreless at the Suwon Sports Complex from 6pm NZ time on Thursday, a match in which a Football Ferns victory will go a long way towards seeing them finish top of their group, thus qualifying for Saturday’s Peace Queen Cup Final. They’ll know exactly what they have to do to realise their objective, as England play Korea Republic on Tuesday. The Football Ferns came very close to winning this encounter, too. After treating the Korean spectators to a haka, they tore into their opponents with a vengeance, captain Hayley Moorwood going desperately close to opening the scoring in just the fourth minute, and Rosie White rattling an upright four minutes later. Amber Hearn hit the crossbar later in the match, while the pace and flank play of Anna Green, Ria Percival and Ali Riley was another aspect of New Zealand’s play with which the Koreans struggled throughout proceedings. The host nation found the Football Ferns’ height advantage also gave them cause for concern, but the Koreans’ precision passing game nullified this to some extent, resulting in opportunities for Kim Na Rae, Jeon Ga Eul and, in the second spell, Ji So Yun. Jenny Bindon denied the second- and last-mentioned with a double save in the second half of a match which saw Korean defender Hong Kyung Suk play her fiftieth match for her country, who defeated the Football Ferns 2-1 in Suwon in 2008 and 4-3 in Guangzhou last year. The Football Ferns were without five of their key players in this match. Although they are with the squad in Suwon, both Kirsty Yallop and Betsy Hassett have been sidelined by injury, while both Annalie Longo and Hannah Wall are at home recovering from recent surgery. Rebecca Smith headed straight back to Wolfsburg following the OFC Nations Cup triumph. Last Sunday, she helped her club defeat the 2009 UEFA Women’s Cup and 2010 German Women’s Cup winners, FCR Duisburg, 3-2, and played in a scoreless draw against Bayern Munich before joining the Football Ferns in Suwon. In the other group, Asian champions Australia defeated Mexico 3-1. Collette McCallum, after hitting the post earlier in the match, opened the scoring with a 27th minute free-kick, then crossed for Kathryn Gill to net the Matildas’ second goal two minutes later. Sally Shipard confirmed the win with a twenty yarder half-way through the second half. The Matildas now play Taiwan on Tuesday, knowing that victory will earn them a berth in the Peace Queen Cup Final and a guaranteed $US 50,000. The tournament winners pocket $US 200,000. Football Ferns:     Bindon; Percival, Hill, Erceg, Green; Riley, Hoyle, Moorwood; White (Kete, 74), Hearn, Wilkinson (Gregorius, 60) Korea Republic:     Jun Min Kyung; Kim Do Yeon, Hong Kyung Suk, Lee Eun Mi, Yu Ji Eun, Kim Na Rae, Kwon Hah Nul, Jeon Ga Eul, Kim Soo Yun (Cha Yun Hee), Ji So Yun, Park Hee Young