Football Ferns vs Haiti/Morocco: The Reaction
A few spare days after Haiti whupped the All Whites 4-0 (admittedly in an unserious warm-up game), their women’s team completed the set with a 2-1 win over the Football Ferns. Neither team had ever played against Haiti before... not sure we’ll ever want to play them again after how that all went. But the happenings were a little brighter when the Ferns responded with a 0-0 draw against Morocco, keeping a clean sheet against a team that went further than them at the last World Cup.
You can’t draw too many conclusions mid-tour but after the Haiti game there were genuine questions brewing about Michael Mayne’s persistence with his back three formation considering how we just don’t have good enough wing-backs to make it work. Indi Riley is awesome but she’s missed the last two tours with injury and the drop without her has been stark. That’s a really tricky position, you’ve gotta be like a fullback and a winger combined. Riley can do that because she’s got the balanced skill set and the fitness to operate as the only wide player on her side of the pitch. But most of our recent wing-backs have been one or the other... or neither.
Let’s break this down a bit deeper. Michael Mayne was already the caretaker coach before this but it was after the Olympics that he was able to start moulding the team into his vision. That vision involved a 3-5-2 formation which he used in 13/14 games prior to this tour, the only exception being the second match against Australia when he reverted to 4-1-4-1 after a 5-0 loss in the first meeting. That more defensive approach worked quite well as the Ferns only lost 2-0 despite the alterations... but next time we saw them it was back to the 3-5-2 for World Cup qualifying. With the wing-backs remaining against Haiti, that gives us 14 matches of evidence during which these are the players who’ve been picked to start at either RWB or LWB...
Indi Riley (8), Jacqui Hand (5), Manaia Elliott (5), Grace Neville (3), Charlotte Lancaster (2), Hannah Blake, Grace Jale, CJ Bott, Suya Haering, Ally Green
Ten different wing-backs across 14 matches. And that’s not including players like Lara Wall, Gabi Rennie, Emma Pijnenburg, and Betsy Hassett (there might be more, dunno) who’ve gotten runs there as substitutes. Indi Riley is great, she can do that job no dramas. Rips in defensively with a great work-rate and can still remain one of the key attacking players on the pitch while doing so. But that’s about it. Hand and Blake are forwards being asked to play deeper than they’re comfortable with. Neville and Green are the defensive inverse of that. Elliott has the natural ability, and plays there for the Wellington Phoenix, but is still translating that to the international level.
Lancaster and Haering have potential but wouldn't necessarily make top strength squads (Lancaster is more likely to... but that’s a lot of responsibility for someone with four games early in her career). Bott would be great there but she’s not been available for a wee while. Jale has since nailed down a different role in the midfield where she’s way more effective. Not sure why Gabi Rennie wasn’t given more of a chance there as someone who has both the crossing ability and the engine to give it a good nudge... though that only reinforces the fact that this isn’t working. The coach may prefer this shape, that’s cool, we gave it a crack. But it requires those wing-backs to be among the best players on the pitch and instead we’re continually mixing and matching in those areas, trying to fit square pegs into round holes.
It’s not that complicated: we don’t have the players to make it work. Club coaching is one thing where you can go out and recruit someone to your specific tactical needs but at the international level you work with what you’ve got and if you don’t have world class wing-backs then you can’t play with wing-backs... and if you’re trying this hard to find solutions then you’re doing too much. Just put your players in their best positions. That’s a coach’s job. Jacqui Hand having to track back defensively all the time, barely getting near the opposition penalty area, is not her best position. There’s nothing wrong with the idea. It’s simpy that the pool of talent that the Football Ferns have right now is better utilised in other ways.
Which is why it was a blessed relief to see Coach Mayne send his team out in a 4-3-3 shape for the Morocco game. Fullbacks and wingers. Still got to keep three through the middle. Easier to get the lines set defensively – including being able to push the attacking midfielder up into a front four out of possession to really hamper with the oppo’s build up if you so desire. You do lose a striker this way... but you gain two wingers so your frontline goes three players deep instead of two. And also, just quietly, not sure we have two strikers demanding selection in a first eleven right now anyway. Doubtful if we even have one. All the more reason why the 3-5-2 wasn’t maximising the team’s potential.
Michael Mayne is a very rare case of a kiwi born and bred coaching one of our national football teams. He’s desperate to do well. We’re all desperate for him to do well. This stoic adherence to the back three is a frustration that he’s brought upon himself... so getting to see a bit of tactical flexibility against Morocco was very promising. Especially since the two times he’s flipped away from his main formation have both now led to notably improved results.
The other pesky element is this continued chat about testing the depth. Sorta feels like we’ve done enough of that and, one year out from a World Cup, should be starting to streamline things by now. Not sure the results would be all that different but at least they’d be prioritising the thing that we most need to be working on. Our depth is fine. Our ability to score goals and win games of football is what’s lacking.
All the same, we might as well get into this idea of building out the depth because Mayne has had 16 games in charge since the start of 2025 and in those 16 matches he has used 37 different players. 33 of those players have started at least one game, 16 have started at least five games, five have started at least ten games. Ten of those players were debutants and of those ten, four were in this current squad (Hahn, Elliott, Pijnenburg, Santos... with Vlok and Brown (and maybe Lancaster) only missing out due to injury).
Football Ferns Appearances Since 2025
| Start | Sub | Total | Goals | Start | Sub | Total | Goals | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Katie Kitching | 14 | 2 | 16 | 4 | Grace Jale | 6 | 6 | 1 | |
| Mickey Foster | 14 | 1 | 15 | 1 | Grace Wisnewski | 3 | 2 | 5 | |
| Maya Hahn | 7 | 7 | 14 | 1 | Mackenzie Barry | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| Kate Taylor | 13 | 13 | 1 | Ally Green | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| Claudia Bunge | 11 | 2 | 13 | 2 | Alina Santos | 4 | 4 | ||
| Milly Clegg | 9 | 4 | 13 | 3 | Grace Neville | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Kelli Brown | 8 | 5 | 13 | 5 | Charlotte Lancaster | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Liz Anton | 8 | 3 | 11 | Pia Vlok | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | |
| Manaia Elliott | 6 | 5 | 11 | 2 | Katie Bowen | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Vic Esson | 10 | 10 | Betsy Hassett | 3 | 3 | ||||
| Indi Riley | 9 | 1 | 10 | 3 | CJ Bott | 2 | 2 | ||
| Jacqui Hand | 6 | 4 | 10 | 1 | Macey Fraser | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Deven Jackson | 6 | 4 | 10 | 1 | Suya Haering | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Emma Pijnenburg | 1 | 9 | 10 | Lara Wall | 2 | 2 | |||
| Meikayla Moore | 4 | 5 | 9 | Maggie Jenkins | 2 | 2 | |||
| Gabi Rennie | 3 | 6 | 9 | Anna Leat | 1 | 1 | |||
| Annalie Longo | 7 | 1 | 8 | Maddie Iro | 1 | 1 | |||
| Rebekah Stott | 6 | 2 | 8 | Liv Chance | 1 | 1 | |||
| Hannah Blake | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 |
There’s a very solid core emerging who have played in most of those games: Katie Kitching, Kate Taylor, Mickey Foster, and Claudia Bunge most specifically. Indi Riley and Jacqui Hand are in that category too but missed some matches due to injuries. Milly Clegg have been Kelli Brown are alternating up top. Rebekah Stott and Grace Jale have reasserted themselves in the midfield more recently. Two of those 37 players are now retired (Longo & Hassett... plus Chance might as well be until she gets a new club)... but we can reasonably assume that Katie Bowen, CJ Bott, Pia Vlok, Anna Leat, and Macey Fraser ought to step into more prominent spots once circumstances allow.
Credit where it’s due, Michael Mayne has put in the work to ensure a lot more competition across positions. That’s something that mostly comes naturally from having more pros around the world at various clubs but at least he’s leaned into it by giving players opportunities as they earn them. But it also means we’re twelve months from a major tournament and we don’t really know where we’re at. Bit of a double-edged sword. Better to be asking those questions now than in twelve months, s’pose.
New Zealand 1-2 Haiti
The dumb thing about this game is that the Ferns were leading 1-0. Claudia Bunge with an excellent headed goal from a perfectly angled Michaela Foster free kick, claiming the lead late in the first half thanks to a lovely set piece move. It’d be nice if we created more against them from open play, sure, but we take what we can get in these parts and for the Ferns set piece should be a priority. Thing is, that’s gotta go both ways.
We scored from a free kick but we also conceded from two. One on the brink of half-time, one just afterwards. Bookending the break with soft concessions. To be fair to Haiti, they piled on a solid five-plus minutes of pressure immediately after falling behind so when Nérilia Mondésir glanced in at the near post from a flat free kick delivery it had been coming. But that doesn’t make leaking an equaliser with seconds remaining before half-time any less annoying. Could Alina Santos have done more there in goal? Maybe. Kate Taylor was marking pretty closely but she wasn’t goal-side to stop the flick-on so perhaps she cops some blame too. Dunno. Was it the wisest thing to have Katie Kitching, one of the shortest players in the team, placed as the first defender so that she could cut out that exact kind of cross? Possibly not.
However, the most frustrating aspect was seeing Mickey Foster, an experienced and intelligent player, giving away a soft free kick immediately after the break after being half-beaten by her marker. No thought of trying to stay with her, just an instant foul... about sixty game seconds (and twenty real-time minutes) after the Ferns had just conceding from a previous free kick. They conceded from this one too and it meant defeat. Three set piece goals, one for us and two for them. 18-year-old Lourdjina Etienne scored the winner, this time racing back post where Grace Jale stuck out a foot but didn’t connect with her clearance.
Insane delivery from Melchie Dumornay who set up both goals – to put that into some worthy context, Dumornay plays for OL Lyonnes where she’s been picked in the Champions League Team of the Season in consecutive years and is anticipated to be in the Ballon d’Or race later this year. Legit one of the world’s finest footballers... offering the kind of elite quality that we just don’t have. You can make a decent argument that she was the difference between victory and defeat on the day. Les Grenadières also have a world class coach in Pia Sundhage and after winning 3-1 against Equatorial Guinea in their other game this window they’ve now got four wins and a draw under Sundhage’s tutelage:
Suriname 0-2 Haiti (March 2026)
Haiti 5-0 Anguilla (April 2026)
Haiti 1-1 Dominican Republic (April 2026)
New Zealand 1-2 Haiti (June 2026)
Equatorial Guinea 1-3 Haiti (June 2026)
That’s a very solid (and improving) Haiti team and we should have gotten a draw from that performance. That’s not terribly by any means. The Ferns finished strongly and created several late chances with Maggie Jenkins going closest, forcing a low diving save after Stott had won the ball stepping out of midfield. The game ended with Hannah Blake smashing one into the keeper’s mitts. That’s encouraging stuff for a team missing a couple of its best attackers... but it does leave you wondering if, with so little between the sides, we might have gotten a result if we’d played a formation that suited our players or picked the best team available.
New Zealand 0-0 Morocco
Hey but you know what happened against Morocco? The Ferns played a formation that suited them and picked their best goalkeeper and they got a result. The backline was quite defensive with Liz Anton and Mickey Foster as the fullbacks but that’s okay, we should be emphasising our defence since that’s where most of our best players happen to specialise. Let’s see more clean sheets! This was the first cleanie kept by the Ferns since winning 1-0 against Costa Rica in February 2025... which makes it two shutouts in the past 17 non-OFC games (dating back to a 4-0 win and 0-0 draw vs Thailand in April 2024, Jitka Klimkova’s last two games in the dugout). We’re all antsy for goals but keeping it a hundy here we’ve also been conceding some silly ones and that’s a more readily solvable issue considering we’ve actually got the players to solve it.
But don’t be fooled by the nil-all. There was some very bright stuff in the first five mins with Milly Clegg twice unleashing good attempts from range. Morocco found their groove after about 15 mins which required Esson to make a superb save tipping a long shot onto the crossbar but even that reflected some improved defensive steeliness because all game it felt like Morocco’s best stuff was only coming from long shots. This is a team that made the knockouts of the last World Cup. Their coach is Jorge Vilda who mentored Spain to World Cup glory that same tournament (they kinda won despite him given how the players all hated Vilda, who was sacked a month after lifting the trophy amidst the whole Luis Rubiales scandal... but nevertheless).
And the Ferns also rattled the crossbar. Katie Kitching took a pop on 54’ that dropped onto the goal-line (partly over it even... though not fully over) and actually Deven Jackson probably should have scored from her headed rebound. Then into the final ten minutes, there was another spirited finish led by the NZ substitutes with Jacqui Hand unable to keep her shot down running onto a loose ball about nine yards out. It was one of those ‘on another day...’ kinda games. Except that we always seem to miss those chances so we can’t be surprised that they failed to find a winner. But we can be happy with the defensive grit and a more fitting formation. We can work with that.
Bits And Pieces
Who in this squad is going to score the goals? Milly Clegg started at striker both games and she only scored once last year for Halifax Tides and is yet to find the net in 67 combined minutes playing off the bench for Vittsjö in Sweden. Likewise, Gabi Rennie hasn’t scored since Eskilstuna United got promoted. Deven Jackson only scored one A-League goal for Melbourne City last season and seems to be making a habit of missing chances for the national team. Jacqui Hand didn’t score for FC Basel in her first half season in Switzerland. Grace Jale, Maya Hahn, and Rebekah Stott aren’t prolific goal scorers, not even compared to other midfielders/defenders in their club divisions. Manaia Elliott does alright for a wing-back but didn’t really have any chances on this tour. Hannah Blake only scored once last season for Durham. Even if Indi Riley had been available, she got stuck at fullback (when she wasn’t on the bench) for Crystal Palace so not a lot to fall back upon there. There’s very little production coming outta club footy to suggest that this Ferns team can convert their chances. We don’t have (in-form) finishers.
With a couple of exceptions. One is Katie Kitching who almost scored against Morocco and who did score the goal vs New Caledonia that qualified NZ for the World Cup. Kitch bagged six of the best for Sunderland and has had two pretty prolific seasons in a row for the Black Cats now. With nine international goals, only Grace Jale’s 10 (all against OFC teams) rank higher among current Ferns players. Pia Vlok is another one. Not to lump too much pressure on the youngster but she’s scored great finishes with both feet and from a variety of distances for the Wellington Phoenix in her first year as a pro. That’s the stuff that could see her very quickly become an important player for the Ferns. Kelli Brown has also offered up some decent stuff in the past 24 months for club and country. Macey Fraser is capable of the sublime though pump the brakes on expecting prolific scoring from her. But hopefully Indi Riley, who is leaving Crystal Palace, ends up somewhere that embraces her attacking abilities because she does have some priors as a goal-scorer.
The other one to ponder is Maggie Jenkins whose two appearances here were her second and third international caps... coming eight and a half years after her debut as a 16-year-old. It’s been a while. Overdue, some might say, considering her finishing prowess. MJ is stuck in the amateur realms at the moment but we have to assume that’s merely a blip given how she’s averaged like two goals per game over the past nine months for Wellington United, Auckland United, and Essendon Royals. She didn’t look out of place at all during her time on the pitch against Haiti and Morocco. She’s one to persist with, for sure.
No sign of the two uncapped players in the squad. Brooke Neary was only there for experience ahead of the U20 World Cup. Didn’t know what to expect from Mae Hunt but it seems she was more there to flex in training rather than in the games. That’s fine – it’s hard to judge players from college soccer so it was worth bringing her in for a looksee. Hunt is a midfielder and we didn’t even get any minutes for Emma Pijnenburg or Malia Steinmetz in this window. Steinmetz will have crossed over two full years between caps before her next opportunity but she’s on the right track (and this recall was a little premature given she hasn’t played more than 45 mins in a game since recovering from her ACL tear).
Started Both Games: Kate Taylor, Claudia Bunge, Mickey Foster, Grace Jale, Katie Kitching, Manaia Elliott, Milly Clegg
Started One Game: Alina Santos, Vic Esson, Liz Anton, Jacqui Hand, Rebekah Stott, Maya Hahn, Gabi Rennie, Deven Jackson
Only Played Off The Bench: Mackenzie Barry, Maggie Jenkins, Hannah Blake, Grace Wisnewski, Ally Green
Didn’t Play At All: Emma Pijnenburg, Malia Steinmetz, Brooke Neary, Mae Hunt
Grace Jale has started in the midfield in six of the previous seven games having not even been in the squad for the two windows immediately before that. Talk about a revival of fortunes, she’s had one. Hers is another great example about putting players in their most natural positions and letting them go to work – for so long, the teams she played for kept trying to make her a forward because they assumed that’s where someone as tall and athletic as that should be. But she didn’t have the right instincts to be a striker whereas her midfield activities are top notch and now everybody can see it.
Mackenzie Barry’s recall did not get off to an auspicious start as she sat out the Haiti game entirely, dressed in training gear and wearing a moon boot. That sparked fears over a possible serious injury... fortunately, it was only a precaution because she was kitted up for the Morocco game where she got a decent run at right-back off the bench.
Year Of Debut In June 2026 Football Ferns Squad
2012 – Rebekah Stott
2017 – Hannah Blake, Vic Esson, Malia Steinmetz, Maggie Jenkins, Liz Anton
2018 – Grace Jale
2019 – Claudia Bunge
2021 – Gabi Rennie, Jacqui Hand
2022 – Kate Taylor, Ally Green, Mack Barry
2023 – Grace Wisnewski, Deven Jackson, Mickey Foster, Milly Clegg, Katie Kitching
2025 – Maya Hahn, Manaia Elliott, Emma Pijnenburg, Alina Santos
Uncapped – Brooke Neary, Mae Hunt
The current All Whites squad at the World Cup has 12 players who debuted pre-covid and 11 players who debuted post-covid. This Football Ferns squad has 8 players from pre-covid and 16 players from post-covid. And one of those pre-covids, Maggie Jenkins, literally didn’t play again until this week.
Not sure we need to keep rotating goalkeepers all the time. That’s part of the peskiness with ‘testing the depth’ all the time. In the last ten games, the goalie starts have been distributed: Esson, Leat, Santos, Esson, Santos, Iro, Santos, Esson, Santos, Esson (granted, it might have been different if Esson and especially Leat hadn’t had injuries). Alina Santos showed some nice signs against Haiti. She’s a very good passer, someone who can pierce the press with her distributions. She also made a superb foot save late in the first half. But on the other hand she conceded twice from set piece goals that were touched in from around her six yard box and you have to wonder if those would have happened with Vic Esson, a superior communicator, between the sticks instead. Santos has done excellent to earn a consistent place in these squads despite still playing university soccer over in the USA... giving her alternating starts with someone of Esson’s quality is a bit much though.
Big churs to all the fine folks who support The Niche Cache on Patreon, Substack, or Buy Me A Coffee so that we can keep doing what we do
Also helps to whack an ad, do the like/comment/share stuff, and tell your mates about us