Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Zarqa: Hosts Jordan finished their FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2016 campaign with a 5-0 loss to New Zealand at the Prince Mohammed International Stadium on Friday.
Hannah Blake scored three and laid on another in the game where only pride was at stake, with both sides already eliminated.
Blake was the star of the show and made her mark on the game after just five minutes by creating the opening goal. Positive and pacey, the New Zealand No7 burst down the left and measured a perfect low cross for Sam Tawharu, who swept a first-time left-foot shot beyond the helpless Rand Albustanji.
Gareth Turnbull's side never looked back from that point and, after being kept out by a couple of alert saves from Albustanji, they doubled their lead on 28 minutes. The same two players were involved but this time roles were reversed, with Tawharu lofting an excellent volleyed pass over the top of the Jordan defence and Black racing through, cushioning the ball on her head and clipping a delicate left-foot shot past the advancing Albustanji.
The Jordan defence remained vulnerable to Blake's speed and movement and with 14 minutes remaining she added her second, coolly volleying home from close range after Claudia Bunge's cross had been inadvertently flicked into her path by the hosts' captain Luna Sahloul.
Robbie Johnson and his Jordanian players were simply hoping for the final whistle by this stage but there was still time for salt to be applied to their wounds as the Kiwis added too late goals. The first came when Tawharu completed her brace in the last minute of the 90 with a powerful shot from the edge of the box and, two minutes later, Blake had her hat-trick when she again snuck in at the back post to convert a deep Bunge cross.
Jordan coach Robbie Johnson
I thought today’s game might give us an opportunity to compete on equal terms. We hoped to be able to deliver a better performance, but that plan failed when we conceded an early goal. We then ran out of steam in the second half and the result ended up being very clear once again. Our players have gained plenty of experience from this tournament. I thought they would take another step forward and not let the early goal throw them off course, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. Nevertheless, we had the opportunity to gather international experience at the highest level. Although some of the girls were extremely disappointed, I told them that this has to make us stronger, not weaker. These things happen in football.
New Zealand coach Gareth Turnbull
It’s always special and wonderful to be able to score five goals in a match, but to do so at a World Cup is even more significant. Today’s match wasn’t easy. Scoring early on obviously played into our hands and helped settle our nerves, but Jordan refused to give up. We posed a threat whenever we played quickly and kept the ball on the ground. Unfortunately I don’t think we did that effectively enough in our other matches. One thing we learned at this tournament is that we have to play more games against teams at the highest international level. Although that’s not always easy to arrange in our confederation, it will be our aim for the future.
Sources: FIFA.com, FIFA/Getty Images