New Zealand's Young Ferns advanced to the semi-finals of the OFC U-16 Women's Championship with a game to spare on August 5, comfortably accounting for the Solomon Islands 5-0 at the Samoan Football Association's headquarters in Apia. Alana Gunn's charges squandered a glorious chance to open the scoring just four minutes into the contest. A poor goal kick by Solomons goalkeeper Fiona Goroani - she came into the game with an injury and aggravated it via this action, prompting her early withdrawal - saw Teisika Rotoava fail to clear the ball, allowing Lania Fili to let fly from the edge of the goal area, only to direct her effort past the post. Maria Selestina took over twixt the sticks, and was very soon a prominent figure in proceedings. Amelia Hitchcock was the first player to sting the newcomer's gloves with a twenty yard drive in the eighth minute, before blotting her copybook with a dreadful finish three minutes later, skying her shot from twelve yards after brilliant work down the right by Mia Humphrey. The Young Ferns were presented with the perfect opportunity to open the scoring when Aleesha Gray was felled by Denika Freemen in the penalty area in the thirteenth minute, but the offended player butchered the chance to break the deadlock, firing straight at Selestina, who parried her effort into the goalmouth. Hitchcock, following in, lashed the rebound over the bar - 0-0 it remained. More good work by Humphrey soon afterwards presented Fili with another opportunity to open the scoring, but once more, Selestina prevailed, blocking the striker's shot on the turn. Fili then blazed over from six yards in the eighteenth minute following a defensive lapse, before a Humphrey header was deflected to safety on receipt of a steepling cross to the far post by Miche Cloete, one of the rare occasions in this match when her distribution proved satisfactory. Accuracy in passing was again a shortcoming of the Young Ferns in this match, and it was even more noticeable than against Tonga because the Solomons' basic game plan was to defend first, clear the ball as far downfield as possible then regroup and defend again. They offered no attacking threat whatsoever, so to see the likes of Cloete and Madison Sharkey struggling to pick out team-mates with precision despite being under very little pressure was concerning, to put it mildly. One wonders where and why things have gone astray if as rudimentary an action as passing a ball to the nearest black shirt can't be executed accurately and on repeat by players under little pressure, and particularly at this stage of their development, where such actions are well entrenched. Practice makes permanent, not perfect, and this match provided plenty of evidence for the prosecution in that regard. The Young Ferns broke the deadlock eight minutes before half-time, Bonnie Rice picking up the pieces and putting them away after Eden Chaytor's corner to the near post had been headed against the upright by Safiya Bako. Having finally got the goal their dominance merited, Alana Gunn's charges went on the hunt for more, ideally before the half-time whistle. Fili deserved

better fate than to see her twenty-yarder fly narrowly past the post after displaying some delightful control and nifty footwork, while Hitchcock hit the crossbar with a dipping fifteen-yarder after Rotoava failed to clear her lines once more. The second goal New Zealand sought materialised in first half stoppage time. Fili combined with Micaela Besley, whose hoisted cross was headed down by Gray to Humphrey, who confidently steered home from six yards to score the goal her performance fully merited. There was still time for Gray to be thwarted at close quarters by Selestina after more quality work by Humphrey, who was swiftly into her work in the second spell, jinking past two opponents before sending a rising angled drive narrowly over the crossbar. After Selestina had kept out a Gray free-kick, then done well to judge a steepling twenty-five yarder from Hitchcock which was dropping under the crossbar, the Young Ferns scored a third goal in the 55th minute. A cross from Cloete was headed back towards her own goal by Rotoava. Alas for the Solomons, Selestina spilt it, and with Hitchcock lurking with intent for just such an opportunity, no prizes for guessing where the ball ended up seconds later - 3-0. New Zealand created little of note throughout the bulk of the next twenty minutes - a long-range effort from Sharkey which flew past the post; a deflected Sharkey shot which Selestina saved at the second attempt; Rice evaded two challenges before being denied by the goalkeeper twenty minutes from time. Come the 73rd minute, however, the Young Ferns were celebrating again. Cloete and substitute Bree Toatelegese combined to invite Charlotte Summers to cut in off the left flank, from where she picked out Fili. She rifled the ball into the far corner of the net for goal number four. Their fifth came along ten minutes later, persistent probing proving productive! A spell of Kiwi pressure which had the Solomons in all sorts of bother at regular intervals was finally rewarded when a flowing move across the park culminated in Lexi Hedington's cross to the far post being headed home by Summers, who timed her run to perfection. Further goals should have followed. Toatelegese fired inches over from twenty yards, while fellow substitute Cate Atkinson was narrowly astray with an 88th minute effort. Selestina then thwarted Summers before tipping a twenty-yarder from Gray round the post to ensure that 5-0 would be the final scoreline, leaving the Solomon Islands with a winner-take-all clash with Tonga to see which of these nations would join New Zealand in the semi-finals. Solomons:     Goroani (Selestina, 6); Freemen (Lau, 85), Ramo, Rotoava, Oihanua, Konare; Aba, Kuiseu (Siosi, 75), Bako, Ragaruma (Saelea, 75); Mau (Ereanimae, 46) Young Ferns:     Lemmens; Besley (Toatelegese, 46), Sharkey, Cloete, Chaytor; Humphrey (Summers, 62), Rennell, Hitchcock (Hedington, 62), Gray; Rice (Atkinson, 75), Fili Referee:     Torika Delai (Fiji)