The Football Ferns have claimed a valuable draw against London-bound South Africa at the Cyprus Cup this morning but coach Tony Readings is still calling for more as they continue their own Olympic preparations. Despite the Ferns globetrotting exploits in recent years, this mornings match in Paralimni was the first for the senior side against an African nation in 18 years and Readings said the exposure to a new style will prove invaluable. South Africa are a different style of team than weve been used to playing, Readings said. They are bit more unorthodox and because of that we found it hard to find our rhythm. Like teams weve seen at age-group level they wont let you settle on the ball. Theyll man-mark you like other around the pitch and make life hard for you in terms of getting any time and space on the ball But we are the type of team now who can back ourselves to be able still play against these teams. Readings said the most valuable lesson heading into an Olympic Games campaign was the need to remain adaptable while still backing their own style of play. At the Olympics well come up against at least three different teams all with different styles of football and were going to have to adapt from one game to the next. Weve already played a British team here, an African team and now were up against an Asian team with a completely different style of football. What we need to do is make sure we adapt from game to game, and within games and we are getting invaluable exposure to that at tournaments like this one. We are a team who likes to play and who is looking better and better when doing that but there are times when we can mix it up a little bit. South Africa has already qualified for London notably ahead of traditional African powerhouses Nigeria and Ghana while New Zealand face a home and away playoff on March 31 and April 4 against the winner of this weeks Oceania Womens Qualifying Tournament in Tonga. Papua New Guinea and the hosts claimed opening wins yesterday to emerge as New Zealands most likely playoff opposition. If we qualify for the Olympics, weve got as much chance of drawing South Africa as any other team, Readings said. They are a team with a lot of backing behind it, and they knocked out some very good teams to qualify so all in all its a solid result this far out from London. Readings made three changes for the match with Ria Percival, Hayley Moorwood, and Betsy Hassett all handed starts in pace of Anna Green, Kirsty Yallop and Annalie Longo. Green, Yallop and Longo were used as second half substitutes along with goalkeeper Rebecca Rolls who collected her 12th cap 16 years after her 11th and shared in a second straight Ferns clean sheet with Jenny Bindon. Katie Hoyle and Amber Hearn and both missed the target with the best of the chances in a more open second half while Yallop was denied by the South African keeper one-on-one in the last play of the game. In this mornings other Group C match South Korea edged Northern Ireland 1-0 to move to the top of the group, meaning only a win when the two teams clash on Monday morning will send the Ferns through to the playoff for seventh the highest possible finish for New Zealand in a lopsided three pool format. Cyprus Womens Cup March 1 Paralimni, Cyprus New Zealand 0 South Africa 0 Halftime: 0-0 New Zealand: Jenny BINDON (GK/ Rebecca ROLLS 46), Ali RILEY, Abbey ERCEG, Rebecca SMITH (captain), Ria PERCIVAL (Anna GREEN 65), Katie HOYLE, Hayley MOORWOOD (Annalie LONGO 75), Amber HEARN, Hannah WILKINSON (Kirsty YALLOP 61), Betsy HASSETT, Sarah GREGORIUS, Substitutes not used: Katie BOWEN, Kristy HILL, Holly PATTERSON, Rosie WHITE, Emma KETE. Coach: Tony READINGS 2012 Cyprus Cup Matchday One Results France 3 Switzerland 0 Netherlands 2 Italy 1 South Africa 1 Korea Republic 2 Canada 5 Scotland 1 England 3 Finland 1 New Zealand 2 Northern Ireland 0 Matchday Two results Switzerland 0 England 1 Scotland 2 Netherlands 1 Northern Ireland 0 Korea Republic 1 Finland 1 France 2 Italy 1 Canada 2 New Zealand 0 South Africa 0
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