Football Ferns teen Milly Clegg has scored her first goal for the national team, but the NZ women have squandered their halftime lead to fall 4-1 against top-ranked Asian side Japan.
Clegg's goal came in the 22nd minute, when wing Ally Green delivered the ball on the left edge of the penalty box and her teammate beat a defender, before rifling her rightfoot shot into the top left corner of the net.
After their 2-0 defeat at Murcia, Spain last week, the Kiwis looked on track for a morale-boosting result in the return match, when they still lead at the break, but the No.7 team in the world showed their class with a dominant second-half display.
Maika Hamano levelled the affair soon after the restart and then provided the go-ahead goal 10 minutes later. Aoba Fujino put more daylight on the Ferns, before Remina Chiba finished the demolition.
"We're obviously disappointed with the final result, but really pleased with the adjustments we made from game one," reflected acting coach Michael Mayne. "We came into the game and that first half, and really executed the principles we wanted against a very good team.
"To take that lead into halftime was massively positive, now we have to see how we can turn that into a 90-minute performance."
Clegg, 18, has played two seasons in the Women's A-League without being paid, as she considered US college scholarships, before joining Racing Louisville in the American National Women's Soccer League on a three-year contract.
Outside Oceania competition, the NZ women have struggled to find the net against higher-ranked teams, so Clegg's emergence could not have come at a better time.
"It was great," said Mayne. "She took her chance.
"I was lucky enough to be at the U17 World Cup, when she also scored there, so I've seen her score a couple of times and know what she can do in big moments. She was probably unfortunate not to get a second goal in the second half.
"I think she's done really well and definitely put her hand up to be part of that conversation for the Olympics."
New Zealand open their Paris Olympics campaign against reigning gold medallists Canada on July 25.
Japan 4 Football Ferns 1 (Clegg)
