Wellington duo on a mission

BY PENNY MILES

Wellington's leading schoolgirl footballers, Tessa McPherson and Evie Millynn, look set to fulfil a dream next year.

McPherson, 16, and Millynn, 14, have been included in the New Zealand under-17 women's football squad, as the Young Football Ferns begin preparations for the under-17 World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago in September.

The Wellington standouts have made numerous age- group sides during their school days, but national under-17 selection takes the cake.

"I want to get in and I want to go to the World Cup," said Millynn, a pupil at Wellington East Girls' College.

The Young Football Ferns have named a 36-strong training squad, and will trim that to 21 in February for the Oceania qualifiers.

McPherson and Millynn know that competition for places will be fierce. "This is just start for us," McPherson, from Aotea College, said.

"Dave Edmondson [the coach] has told us that you're not in the team until you have the ticket to Trinidad and Tobago."

Both girls face the prospect of shifting away from their families to boarding school in Auckland next year as the World Cup preparations heat up.

If they make the squad of 21 they will be required to be near the Auckland-based players for training.

"I would do it hands down, it would be worth it for the experience," McPherson said.

Millynn came back this season from a serious hip injury, sustained at an earlier tournament, and was determined not to miss her chance for the World Cup.

This year she was named the CSW footballer of the year. She used to excel in cross-country competitions but followed her older brothers into football.

Like McPherson, she has no qualms about shifting north. "If you're not there, they can't look at you. So you've got more of an advantage if you're in Auckland," she said.

Millynn and McPherson are now currently busy competing with the Young Football Ferns in the national women's league against senior provincial sides.

They face a long wait to find out whether their quest for the World Cup has been successful.

If the New Zealand under-17 side qualifies, the final squad will be named in August.

- © Fairfax NZ News