25 Oct 2014

Football Ferns thrash Tonga

6:48 pm on 25 October 2014

The Football Ferns have made a flying start in their bid to reach the 2015 World Cup in Canada, claiming a record 16-0 win over Tonga.

Sarah Gregorius

Sarah Gregorius Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Helen Collins scored her first international goal before finishing the game with a hat-trick while Sarah Gregorius also struck three times, including an eighth minute spot kick.

Cleverley, who made a dream start to her Football Ferns career - scoring inside the opening 60 seconds with what was her first touch, was one of four players to score twice with Rosie White, Annalie Longo and Amber Hearn also hitting doubles.

Midfielder Betsy Hassett and defender Ria Percival rounded out the scorers.

Football Ferns coach Tony Readings was pleased with the way his team stuck to their task over the full 90 minutes.

"The temperature was about 37 degrees when we started the game and the good thing is the the way we move the ball, we make the opposition work a lot harder than we do," said Readings.

The next match for the Football Ferns is Monday's encounter against Papua New Guinea at 5pm (NZ time).