Ava Collins of New Zealand in possession against Colombia. Photo: photosport
The Football Ferns have defended staunchly to earn a 0-0 draw with World Cup quarter-finalists Colombia in Bogota.
While world No.22 Colombia dominated the game and created the better, the 26th-ranked New Zealanders were composed for much of the contest and threatened to steal a win via some late counter-attacks.
Coach Jitka Klimkova hoped for a similar attitude from her players when they meet Colombia in the second and final match of the tour in Bogota on Wednesday.
"Well, definitely the same defensive effort like we had in this game. We were very compact, we were very hard to break down," she said.
"Colombia went behind us a few times so we need to clean that up. I want to see the same determination in the box.
"I probably haven't seen our team defending the way how we have defended against Colombia and I was very proud of our players.
"And then yeah, we want to keep the ball a little bit more. We'll play again in the altitude so if the ball will be moving, we will save our energy and wait for the right moment to penetrate forward, that's the first goal and the second one, we want to score.
"If we want to win the games, we need to find a way how we can put the ball into the net."
Klimkova named a much changed squad for the tour, with 10 players selected who weren't part of the 23 that lined up for the World Cup in August as she looks to experiment with her options before the Oceania Olympic qualifying in February.
Two of those players, Ava Collins and Mackenzie Barry, were both named on the team sheet, including a starting debut for Wellington Phoenix defender Barry.
New Zealand Football Ferns team photo before kick off against Colombia in Bogota. Back row: Ava Collins, Grace Jale, Michaela Foster , Anna Leat, Katie Bowen, Malia Steinmetz. Front row: Jacqui Hand, Betsy Hassett, Rebekah Stott, Indiah-Paige Riley, Mackenzie Barry. Photo: photosport
Colombia started the stronger, buoyed by a loud home crowd at Estadio El Campin and a squad more acclimatised to the high altitude conditions.
Midfielder Daniela Montoya had a good chance to open the scoring within the opening 10 minutes but was denied by a brilliant block from New Zealand captain Rebekah Stott.
With half-time approaching, Colombia had their best chance of the game with Mayra Ramírez hitting the crossbar after connecting with a Leicy Santos corner.
If Colombia had the best of the first half, the Ford Football Ferns had the better of the second.
Moments into the second 45 some neat interplay between Malia Steinmetz and Jacqui Hand put Hand in a good position but she couldn't find space for the shot.
The best chance for either side came in the 77th minute as substitute Ally Green fired in a expertly placed corner which evaded the Colombian defence.
Katie Bowen or Ava Collins just had to make contact to finish into an open goal but couldn't connect in a crowded penalty box.
