Football Ferns 75-cap veteran Hayley Moorwood says her side is well aware of the difficulties of playing in Papua New Guinea and focussed on completing the job of qualifying for the London Olympics on Wednesday in Port Moresby. After a resounding 8-0 win in Saturdays first leg in Whangarei, the Football Ferns are firmly in control of the two legged OFC Womens Olympic Qualifier final at the halfway stage. While it would take a massive upset to deny New Zealand a second football team in London the Oly Whites have already qualified Papua New Guinea is a difficult place to play. On Saturday, Moorwood, 28, became the first kiwi footballer, male or female, to play 75 A internationals and with three of those caps coming from games in Oceanias 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, Moorwood said. Its a country weve been to a few times now and one you need to be used to going into an Olympic qualifier. Its an important game, one we need to win, but itll be tough and we need to be switched on. Its completely different to what we are used to in New Zealand. Its a bit rough and tough and the climate has a huge part to play. New Zealands last visit to Port Moresby ended in a hard-fought 2-0 win to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, while in a 2007 FIFA Womens World Cup qualifier against the Solomon Islands in Papua New Guineas second city of Lae, Football Ferns midfielder Emily McColl collapsed with heat exhaustion. In Emilys situation it was a bit scary for a lot of the players, and it played on some peoples minds for the rest of the tournament. It reinforced the importance of all the sports science and medical precaution in terms of hydration, medication and so on to stay healthy and fit. The majority of the players have been there now and know what to expect, so well 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 wasnt 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 its those things we need to improve that well 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 itll be a great event. Amber Hearn, who picked up a groin injury in the Whangarei match, will not be risked in a reduced travelling squad of 16 for the trip to Port Moresby. Annalie Longo, who started in Whangarei, is also omitted as coach Tony Readings looks to cast his eyes over other Olympic hopefuls. OFC Womens Olympic Qualifier - Final Papua New Guinea v New Zealand PMRL Stadium, Port Moresby Wednesday April 4 Kickoff: 2pm (4pm NZT) New Zealand: (from) 1-Jenny BINDON (GK), 2-Ria PERCIVAL, 3-Anna GREEN, 4-Katie HOYLE, 5-Abby ERCEG, 6-Rebecca SMITH, 7-Ali RILEY, 8-Hayley MOORWOOD, 10-Sarah GREGORIUS, 11-Kirsty YALLOP, 12-Betsy HASSETT, 13-Rosie WHITE, 14-Holly PATTERSON, 17-Hannah WILKINSON, 20-Rebecca ROLLS (GK), 21-Hannah BROMLEY. Coach: Tony READINGS Papua New Guinea: (from) 1-Fidelma WATPORE (GK), 2-Aida GEROTA, 3-Kathrina SALAIAU, 4-Linah HONEAKII, 5-Docas SESEVO, 6-Agai MAX, 7-Lavina HOLA, 8-Esther KENATSI, 9-Defney FRANCIS, 10-Barbra MUTA, 11-Esther MUTA, 12-Clare TSUGA, 13-Daisy WINAS, 14-Sandra BIRUM, 15-Deslyne SINIU, 16-Georgina KAIKAS, 17-Rumona MORRIS, 18-Zeen LIMBAI, 19-Fatima RAMA, 20-Linda BUNAGA (GK). Coach: Steven MUNE
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