Soccer: Ferns veteran urges focus for Olympic mission

Football Ferns against Papua New Guniea, during the first leg of Oceania Womens Olympic playoff, at Toll Stadium. Photo / APN

Football Ferns veteran Hayley Moorwood says her side is well aware of the difficulties of playing in Papua New Guinea and focused on completing the job on Wednesday in Port Moresby.

After a resounding 8-0 win on Saturday in Whangarei, the Football Ferns are firmly in control of the two-leg Oceania women's Olympic qualifier final at the halfway stage, with their ticket to the London Games all but booked.

While it would take a massive upset to deny New Zealand a second football team at the Olympics - the men's side have already qualified - Papua New Guinea is a difficult place to play.

On Saturday, Moorwood became the first Kiwi footballer to play 75 'A' internationals, and with three of those caps coming from games in Oceania's most populous nation, she is well placed to speak of the challenges.

"Playing PNG in PNG is always one of the toughest games we play," the 28-year-old said."It's a country we've been to a few times now and one you need to be used to going into an Olympic qualifier.

"It's an important game, one we need to win, but it'll be tough and we need to be switched on.It's completely different to what we are used to in New Zealand.

"It's a bit rough and tough and the climate has a huge part to play."

New Zealand's last visit to Port Moresby ended in a hard-fought 2-0 win to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.

"The majority of the players have been there now and know what to expect, so we'll be doing all the little things right ahead of the match."

Despite the one-sided victory in Whangarei, Moorwood said the team were aware that there are always things to improve.

"It wasn't a perfect game and there were times we could have been more clinical and notched even more goals than the eight we got. But there positives to take out of the game but it's those things we need to improve that we'll be working on before Wednesday to confirm a place at the Olympics."

Moorwood plies her trade for Chelsea in the English Super League so a ticket to London would hold special appeal for the former New Zealand captain.

"The buzz around the games is definitely getting louder, more so in the last month or so before I left for New Zealand. The village is all but finished and the Games are everywhere you look. The atmosphere is pretty exciting already and London is an amazing city so it'll be a great event.