KEY POINTS:
A late flurry of goals, including a brace from 17-year-old substitute Hannah Wall, was not enough to prevent the New Zealand women's soccer team losing 3-4 to North Korea in the Four Nations tournament in Guangzhou, China, last night.
Korea scored from a corner in the fifth minute then took advantage of poor marking from a free kick 10 minutes later to lead 2-0 at halftime before a powerful header from Amber Hearn narrowed the gap 15min into the second spell.
Two Korean goals within 5min extended their lead to 4-1 with 15min remaining, but Wall, in her second full international, struck in the 85th and 89th minutes as the Football Ferns chased hard for a share of the points.
While Wall's second goal set up an exciting few minutes of injury time for the Guangzhou crowd, she already had them out of their seats when she struck a left-footed shot into the top left corner from the edge of the area for her first.
"It was a strike with the sort of quality we're not used to seeing," New Zealand coach John Herdman said.
Between Wall's goals, another impressive teenage substitute Annalie Longo was cut down in the box after beating three defenders, but Kirsty Yallop hit the resulting penalty on to the crossbar.
Herdman praised the spirit of his side to fight back on the scoreboard but said it was a case of a victory that got away.
"All night we thought we would win and the players kept playing like it until the bitter end," he said.
"We've out-battled them and tactically out manoeuvred them so to come in two goals down from set pieces at halftime in a game where they otherwise haven't troubled you leaves you scratching your head."
Rosie White was handed her first start at senior level for the match and Herdman said the 15-year old striker showed flashes of real promise.
Combative midfielder Katie Hoyle and fullback Anna Green both had strong games, while striker Amber Hearn was singled out by Herdman for a fine contribution.
New Zealand, who had posted an earlier 0-6 loss to China, complete their Four Nations campaign tomorrow night against Finland.
New Zealand 3 (Hannah Wall 2, Amber Hearn) North Korea 4. Halftime: 0-2.
- NZPA
