Football: Football Ferns’ issues are fixable despite record defeat against Portugal, says coach Jitka Klimkova

Olivia Chance and Jitka Klimkovaspoke to media following the Football Ferns' 5-0 loss to Portugal. Photo / Photosport

Football Ferns coach Jitka Klimkova is adamant that Friday’s dismal display against Portugal was down to basic fundamentals that are fixable rather than evidence of a deeper malaise within the squad.

It’s a brave stance.

After all the relentless positivity emanating out of the group over the last few months, the 5-0 demolition at Waikato Stadium would have come as a shock to all involved with New Zealand Football.

Scorelines don’t always accurately reflect what happened on the field, but there was no sugar-coating this one.

After a fairly even first 30 minutes, world No 22 Portugal were completely dominant and could have extended the margin even further late in the match.

They are an accomplished unit on an upward trajectory and played the first half without five front-line players.

But the world No 24 Ferns were a muddle. Adjusting to a new 3-5-2 shape was always going to be tricky but that alone can’t excuse such a timid performance, on both sides of the ball.

Putting aside the recent loss to the United States at Eden Park when the Ferns were severely depleted, it was New Zealand’s heaviest home defeat since a 5-0 reverse to Canada in Auckland in 2007.

It’s difficult to understand, especially when the team has so much to play for five months out from a home World Cup.

But there was no spark, very little fight (with the notable exception of CJ Bott) and minimal finesse, as collectively and individually they weren’t on the same page as their opponents.

When asked by the Herald if it was evidence of a deeper problem the coach preferred to characterise it as a bad night at the office.

”It was one of the performances - I have not seen us playing this way to be honest,” said Klimkova. “So I really believe this team can do better and we will do better. We want to be successful at the World Cup and those are hard lessons that we are learning. It’s tough, it’s disappointing, but we have to move forward and fix things quickly.”

After the match, Klimkova stayed out on the field talking with senior players Ali Riley and Betsy Hassett for an extended period.

The coach wasn’t “angry”, more disappointed, admitting there was a long list of issues.

”It was about fundamentals,” said Klimkova. “One-v-one defending, understanding the shape, having cleaner first touches, have better connection, better possession. This team have shown it in the past that we can do it but not [on Friday]. We have not done our job.”

She admitted the team had taken some time to adjust to the new system, but backed the defenders to improve, as the back three had a mostly forgettable night.

Portugal coach Francisco Neto was charitable in his assessment of their dominance.

”The teams are in two situations,” Neto told the Herald. “We are fighting for a position in the World Cup and New Zealand is preparing for a World Cup and that changes everything, the mindset.

“New Zealand was trying new structures, our mindset was better and we could find space and opportunities and after that it is football, one team becomes more confident.”

Experienced midfielder Olivia Chance looked devastated but said the squad’s mentality remained strong.

”We have been through a lot harder times than this game,” said Chance. “It’s just like another chink on the armour. So we need to get together, keep fighting. We are all accountable for the team performance.”

There was a lot to fix, but Chance said it would be a “fun 48 hours”, ahead of their game against world No 29 Argentina on Monday night, after the South Americans beat Andean rivals Chile 4-0 on Friday in Auckland.

Klimkova was also positive about the upcoming repair job.

”We will really focus on the things that we can fix straight away, and there are a lot of things that we know how to do better and we have not done it [on Friday].”