NZ U-17 women beat Argentina again

New Zealand's U-17 women's football team have beaten Argentina in Buenos Aires for the second time in four days, with this morning's 2-0 win following a 1-0 win on Saturday. Substitute Martine Puketapu responded to her halftime introduction with a header four minutes into the second spell, rewarding Briar Palmer's well-flighted cross. With 13 minutes remaining at AFA National Team Headquarters, Emma Rolston capped solid build-up play by blasting home after Hannah Carlsen's shot was tipped on to a post by the Argentine keeper. Coach Paul Temple had called on his team to improve on Saturday morning's performance and said the second half delivered what he asked, as his side build for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Azerbaijan. "We talked about performances on this tour and weren't too focused on the result, but at the same time it was nice to get a win in the first game, having not played as well as we could have," Temple said. "The first 45 minutes today was a little bit better overall than the first game but in the second half we put in a really pleasing performance. The changes made a big impact. We pressed well, defended well, passed through them at times and I'm really happy that we reached that level of performance against a big-name South American side. "The challenge now is for us to maintain those levels heading into U-17 qualifiers in April."