Day Two

The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website | home

Day Two

And You Thought Auckland's Traffic Was Bad!!

by Jeremy Ruane

42 kilometres in 100 minutes - sounds like Auckland traffic on a bad day, eh? Try Shanghai traffic on any given work-day morning!!

Needing to be at the airport by 9.30am in order to ensure an on-time check-in for the flight to Wuhan, the local FIFA media assistance team considered it prudent to leave the hotel no later than 7.15am - no joke!

Things worked out nicely, and the flight to Wuhan was just as straightforward. But this was the calm before the storm, because the traffic in Shanghai is calmness personified compared to what awaited me in the Football Ferns' home away from home for the past week.

The best way to describe the journey from Wuhan airport to the hotel is a white knuckle ride! It is a genuine experience, believe me!! No thought is given to switching lanes without indication, pulling out into oncoming traffic … it doesn't matter what's coming!! You just go - a case of closing your eyes and hoping for the best!!

And that's without taking into account the cyclists and the pedestrians … all in all, quite an unreal experience! Red lights are run with glaring regularity, and if someone's crossing the road on a zebra crossing, it is not the driver's responsibility to stop for them. Rather, it is the pedestrian's responsibility to dodge the traffic!!! I kid you not!

The incredible thing is, there are so few accidents. Yes, a few fender-benders have been sighted, but by and large, the tolerance of drivers to allow their fellows to merge into the flow is amazing - it certainly wouldn't happen back home!!

Given my schedule, the opportunity to nose-poke around Wuhan was non-existent - it was a case of checking in, taking what was required for covering the action and heading straight to the ground.

And what a stadium! They sure know how to build their stadiums in China, as this one's a beauty! The stand towards which the TV cameras point is astonishingly steep - think the old Ray Millard Stand at Athletic Park, and you'll get a rough idea of the gradient.

Even the stand in which the media, VIPS - good old Uncle Sepp (Blatter, FIFA's President) turned up for these matches - and, amongst others, the black t-shirt-clad fifty-strong New Zealand supporters crew, were housed encouraged nose bleeds, but the overview of the pitch was something else again.

The players looked like midgets from way up in the rafters, but our girls performed like giants. The Football Ferns gave everything they had and more in an effort to contain Brazil, and at half-time, they were right in the contest - and didn't they know it!

The final 5-0 scoreline was hard on our girls, and the post-match close-up images on the stadium's large screen of the likes of Ali Riley and Ria Percival crying unashamedly showed just how much it hurt.

Two goals, three at most, would have been an accurate reflection of the Football Ferns' sterling defensive display, but five goals against was simply too cruel. At least three of the goals were avoidable, too - inexperience saw players diving into tackles, only to find thin air where a Brazilian player and a ball had been just a second before.

Seconds later, the roar from the crowd - who created a tremendous atmosphere throughout - indicated that the ultimate price, in footballing terms at least, had been paid for such indiscretion, when standing one's ground would have forced their more vaunted opponents to find another way through.

One aspect which cannot be ignored with the Football Ferns is, such is this team's youthfulness - seven of the starting line-up have yet to turn 24, and have nothing like the experience boasted by the Brazilians - that they will learn from these and other recent defeats, and put those lessons to good use.

There will be short-term pain arising from defeats such as this one, and the recent five-goal setbacks at the

The steepest stand in the world? Welcome to Wuhan

Behold the Kiwi midgets!!

The flags of the four teams in Group D action hang from the roof of the Wuhan Sports Centre Stadium

hands of the vastly more experienced USA and Canada combinations.

You can't run before you learn how to walk, and this squad is trying to take three to four steps at a time simply to get to a level which would have been reached long ago, had the women's game in New Zealand been afforded the same degree of attention as their male counterparts by previous administrations in recent years. But I digress …

The second match of the day in Wuhan was a cracking encounter between China and Denmark, which saw the host nation storm to a two-goal lead, much to the delight of their Red Army of supporters, complete with brass bands at both ends of the ground.

Li Jie, with a stunning twenty-yard free-kick on the half-hour, and Yan Bi, with a thunderous twenty-five yarder just after half-time, put China in the ascendancy, but you could have heard a pin drop for a few seconds in the 51st minute, when Anne Dot Eggers Neilsen met Johanna Rasmussen's corner with a towering header to give the Danes a lifeline just seconds after they looked out for the count.

Some awful refereeing decisions by Guyana's Dianne Ferreira-James - it would not surprise if the intimidating yet awesome atmosphere produced by 50,800 Chinese fans got to her - meant the Danes had a hard road to hoe if they were to get back on level terms, but get back they did, two minutes from time.

Neilsen turned provider, crossing for Cathrine Paaske Sorensen to direct a looping header into the net to level the scores, after China had opportunities to put the game out of sight, primarily through Ma Xiaoxu and Han Duan, both of whom are held in great affection by the Chinese crowd - a special buzz of anticipation envelopes the ground when either of these giants of Chinese women's football is in possession.

Straight from the kick-off, China stormed downfield, and it's a wonder the roof didn't lift off when substitute Xiaoli Song smashed a twenty-five yard shot on the turn into the net off the underside of the crossbar to win the game - China, 3-2.

Upon getting back to the hotel, full coverage of Australia's 4-1 trouncing of Ghana was being shown, and the Matildas played well. Sarah Walsh gave them a first half lead after fifteen minutes, but the introduction of substitute Lisa de Vanna made the difference.

She struck twice - Heather Garriock headed home in between times - to clinch a thumping victory for the West Islanders, despite Aminatu Ibrahim's efforts to stave off defeat for the “Black Queens”, as Ghana are known.

The other game in Hangzhou saw Norway come from behind to down Canada 2-1. Candace Chapman gave Evan Pellerud's charges the lead against the coach's homeland, but Ragnhild Gulbrandsen and captain Ane Stangeland Horestad turned things around for the Norwegians.

After the Matildas match, England's clash with Russia was shown live from Wembley, while after an hour-long morning sports show featuring all the Women's World Cup action and highlights from a whole host of European Championship clashes, it was time to watch live coverage of the clash between Mexico and Brazil.

What a pleasant change to be in an environment where football dominates. You wouldn't know there was another World Cup taking place at present. All Blacks? Who are they?

It's back to Shanghai for me on the tournament's first rest day, ahead of a double-header at the Hongkou Football Stadium. Argentina and Japan kick off Friday's action, followed by what should be an absolute humdinger between England and Germany, a match I'm very much looking forward to.

At the same time on Friday, the USA and Sweden clash in Chengdu, followed by Nigeria's engagement with North Korea - two games in “The Group of Death” which could prove decisive in its outcome.

Daily Reviews