28 Jun 2012

Australia beat Olympic-bound New Zealand football ferns

6:13 am on 28 June 2012

The Australian women's football coach Tom Sermanni says his sides 2-nil win over Olympics-bound New Zealand only accentuates the disappointment of his side's failure to secure a spot in London.

A largely-experimental Australian outfit proved too good for the Football Ferns in Wollongong yesterday, maintaining Australia's 18-year unbeaten run over their trans-Tasman rivals.

It was a frustrating outing for the Kiwis who are deep in preparations for the London Games, while also highlighting for Sermanni what could have been for his side.

He says the players are hurting that they're not going to London, and says they could have had a crack at getting a medal.

Based on Wednesday's effort, and the 1-1 draw between the two sides last Sunday, New Zealand appears well short of medal standard.

The Kiwi skipper Rebecca Smith says while the result wasn't ideal, her side was more intent on building towards the Games, which she believed they did with their two matches against the Australians.