6 Mar 2015

Readings happy with series against Spain

4:49 pm on 6 March 2015

The New Zealand women's football coach Tony Readings says the two-game series in Spain has been very beneficial in their preparations for the World Cup in June.

Katie Hoyle. Womens Football. New Zealand Football Ferns v Australia Westfield Matildas. Auckland, New Zealand. Thursday 12 February 2015.

Football Fern midfielder Katie Hoyle. Photo: Photosport

The Football Ferns drew nil-all with Spain in La Roda on Friday morning, their second draw of the series.

Football Ferns strikers Amber Hearn, Sarah Gregorius and Hannah Wilkinson all had goal-scoring opportunities but were unable to get the ball in the back of the net.

The match marked the 100th senior international appearance for Football Ferns midfielder Katie Hoyle as she joined captain Abby Erceg and Ria Percival as the third member - male or female - of the New Zealand Football 100 club.

Readings says his side improved on the first match and with a lot more possession they were able to control the game better, which helps them going forward.

"We weren't so good the first half of the first game, we were good in the second half, and we were good across the whole game today so overall it's been quite a solid tour for us. It's definitely been a step forward because today we've kept a very strong Spain team goaless but at the same time we haven't scored so we know that's something we need to work on, it's the first time it's happened this year."

The next match in the Football Ferns World Cup build-up is against world number two the United States in St Louis on April 5th.

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