Football Ferns defender CJ Bott is still coming to terms with all of the attention she is getting following her wonder goal against Argentina.

The 23-year-old made headlines yesterday when she hit a powerful strike from around 40 yards out to beat the Argentine keeper to secure the 2-0 win at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

Bott was surrounded by her ecstatic team-mates as they celebrated her first goal for New Zealand from 14 A Internationals.

New Zealand went on to record their first win in the inaugural Cup of Nations and their first win over non-Oceania opposition since the 5-0 victory over Thailand in 2017.

The reserved Bott, who plays her football for Vittsjo GIK in Sweden, has been in the media and social media spotlight since and has found all of the attention pretty overwhelming.

“My phone was blowing up a bit to be honest, well for my standards anyway, hopefully that will die down soon,” she said with a laugh.

“It was a pretty amazing feeling and last night was pretty special. That moment will be in my memory books forever. It is a goal I will always remember."

Bott said the goal was quite unexpected. Her first touch was a bit heavy and she thought she’d have a crack with an Argentine defending closing in on her. She couldn’t believe it when the ball found the back of the net.

“My job back in the corner is to put the ball back into the danger area and I think I did that plus one.”

Bott felt the win over Argentina – where forward Katie Rood also scored in the 50^th minute – was what the team needed at this stage in their preparation, but they know they can be better.

“The result was exactly what we wanted,” she said. “We got off to a slow start and it was pretty messy for most of the game. We have still got a lot to work on both offensively and defensively. We are still to work out a few things like who is best in what position and what formation works best, there is a lot to work on still but it is a good start.”

The team has arrived in Melbourne to prepare for their final game of the Cup of Nations on Wednesday night against the Korea Republic. The World No 11 have had a mixed tournament so far. They defeated Argentina 5-0 in their opening game in Sydney and then were beaten 4-1 by Australia in Brisbane.

“We will look at a bit of footage of them over the next couple of days,” said Bott. “We need to take our key leanings from this game and apply them to Korea. We are looking to finish off the tour with a really strong performance against Korea so we can keep building towards the World Cup.”

Bott feels that the OFC Women’s Nations Cup champions are in a good place and have taken some big steps forward in the Cup of Nations as they look to make history in France.  

“This tour has been ideal for us. It has shown where we are at as a team and it is the same format as a World Cup. We have a really good calendar and we need it after last year. I am sure you will see this team keep building as we get closer to the World Cup in June.”

Cup of Nations
Matchday Three
Date: Wednesday, 6 March
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne, Victoria
Match One: Korea Republic v New Zealand – 3.05pm kick-off (AEDT) (5.05pm NZT)
Match Two:  Australia v Argentina – 6.00pm kick-off (AEDT) (8.00pm NZT)

Article added: Monday 04 March 2019