Mexico proved too strong for the Football Ferns in front of 10,250 fans at the Estadio Cuidad de los Deportes in Mexico City on 23 October, the 1-0 scoreline flattering the visiting team, whose defeat would have been greater were it not for Victoria Esson's goalkeeping exploits. Michael Mayne's charges were frequently guilty of executing poor passes in this match, often gifting the ball to the opposition, particularly in the latter stages of the duel, when the rarified air of Mexico City - average altitude 2240 metres - was doubtless testing the top two inches as well as the lungs and stamina of New Zealand players unused to contesting games in such challenging geographic conditions. The Mexicans fired their first salvo five minutes into the contest, Jacqueline Ovalle's fifteen-yarder flashing over the bar after Charlene Corral had made in-roads down the left. The Football Ferns responded through Jacqui Hand three minutes later, her teasing cross for Milly Clegg being headed to safety by Mexican skipper Kenti Robles. That sparked a Mexican counter-attack, which culminated in an Alia Farmer shot ricocheting off three defenders before breaking for Ovalle, whose shot was blocked for a corner by Liz Anton. The hosts opened the scoring from the resulting set-piece. Kiana Palacios delivered a corner towards the far post for which Esson initially came, but ended up nowhere near. The closest she got to the ball was when she was fishing it out of the net, Farmer having despatched it there in emphatic fashion from six yards. A goalkeeping error, no question, but Esson more than made amends for it in the time remaining. After Palacios just failed to get on the end of a deep cross from Mayra Delgadillo, Esson was right behind Ovalle's nineteenth minute free-kick from the edge of the penalty area, then tipped away a rising snapshot from Corral, the beneficiary of a stray pass from Hand. Clegg and fellow Football Fern frontrunner Kelli Brown were feeding on scraps in attack, and even then, mere crumbs, because Mexico's defence was snuffing out the probing passes intended for them. Indiah-Paige Riley was the lone player consistently offering the hosts genuine cause for concern, albeit without firing a shot on target, the only instance of this in the first half being Kate Taylor's long-range free-kick on the half-hour, an effort which troubled Esthefanny Barreras little. Mexico began the second spell on the front foot, Esson forced into punching an Ovalle free-kick to safety five minutes after the resumption of play. The same player was thwarted by Anton four minutes later, Barreras having sparked this raid by punching Michaela Foster's probing delivery into Ovalle's stride, allowing her to break from deep. On the hour, Ovalle was at it again, marauding down the left upon being released by half-time substitute Diana Ordonez. The massed ranks of the Football Ferns rearguard initially contained her progress, but she still managed to find room for a shot, one directed straight at Esson. The Football Ferns finally threatened Mexico's goal

in the 63rd minute, and it was no surprise to see Riley instigating the attack. Her combination with Katie Kitching enabled Brown to unleash a twenty-yard shot on the turn which drew a fine save from Barreras, diving to her right. By this time, substitutions were frequently breaking up the flow of the contest, with Katie Bowen among those introduced for the Football Ferns - great to see her sporting the silver fern once more, concluding a fifteen-month absence from the international stage, a period in which the Football Ferns have played just four fixtures. Mexico stepped things up in the final twenty minutes of the contest, Manaia Elliott cheaply conceding possession to Rebeca Bernal, who invited Ovalle to let fly once more. Esson blocked this attempt with her legs, then looked on as Meikayla Moore's vital clearance prevented Ordonez from capitalising on the newly arrived Montserrat Saldivar's rampaging run down the left. The hosts should have doubled their lead fifteen minutes from time. Fatima Servin's corner to the far post saw Greta Espinoza getting the better of Elliott, but she was unable to direct her volley on target. Esson then turned a Saldivar piledriver to safety after Emma Pijnenburg had gifted her possession, to which the Football Ferns responded through Riley, whose shot on the run took a deflection off a covering defender, affording Barreras an easier save than expected. Cue a barrage of Mexico attacks in the last ten minutes. Ordonez broke down the right before inviting Ovalle to let fly once more, Esson flying to her right to deny her. Seconds later, Foster diverted another Ovalle effort past the post after Salvidar and Ordonez had combined to good effect. A stray pass from Maya Hahn was the source of Mexico's next attack, Ovalle latching onto it before letting fly from twenty-five yards. This effort flew narrowly past Esson's left-hand post, while the 'keeper diverted the next shot round the opposite upright, Salvidar the frustrated native on this occasion. Esson then produced a superb fingertip save to direct yet another Ovalle drive onto the crossbar, before looking on with relief as the same player rattled the side-netting with a twenty-yarder, Mexico's last shot fired in a contest which they won far more convincingly than the 1-0 scoreline would suggest. The Football Ferns will need to improve markedly on this display when the teams meet again in Ciudad Juarez at noon on Labour Day, NZ time, before heading to Kansas City for a clash with the USA at 1pm on Thursday, NZ time. Mexico:     Barreras; Bernal, Robles (Gutierrez, 80), Rodriguez (Ferral, 61), Reyes; Nieto, Farmer (Servin, 46), Palacios (Espinoza, 61); Delgadillo (Salvidar, 70), Corral (Ordonez, 46), Ovalle F'ball Ferns:     Esson; Anton, Taylor (Moore, 54), Foster; Hand (Elliott, 54), Longo (Bowen, 54), Hahn, Riley; Brown (Pijnenburg, 64), Kitching (Jackson, 77), Clegg (Rennie, 64) Referee:     Astrid Gramajo (Guatemala)