Football: Football Ferns squad on notice after poor performances with Fifa Women’s World Cup on the horizon

Hannah Wilkinson chases possession in the Football Ferns' friendly against Argentina. Photo / Photosport

Football Ferns veteran Hannah Wilkinson hopes the poor results of the past week will shock the team out of its slumber, less than five months away from the home World Cup.

The matches against Portugal and Argentina continued a poor pattern of performances but were even worse than anyone could have expected, with three defeats, plenty of goals conceded and a blank on their scoresheet.

Instead of a lift-off towards July, it seemed to expose more issues and questions in yet another reality check.

“It is pretty crazy that it is five months out. It’s not good enough,” said Wilkinson.

“We looked at ourselves in the mirror and knew that. We have to keep pushing. At least we have found out now and not at the World Cup.”

Wilkinson admitted the recent matches had been a massive missed opportunity, on and off the field.

“When you are at home, it hurts that much more because you want to be better for your home country and to show what we can do with football in this country,” said Wilkinson. “It’s a huge wake-up call. We have to lift it in so many areas and I really hope this has shocked people and we push ourselves and be better.”

Wilkinson was one of several senior players who had a limited impact across the series, disproportionate to their vast experience. She said that group had to set higher standards.

The 30-year-old, who has won 111 caps, has only scored once in almost three years at international level, after a prolific run earlier in her career. She took responsibility for a costly miss on Thursday, volleying wide of a gaping goal just before halftime.

“That’s a bad one,” said Wilkinson. “That’s all on me and something I need to sort out. That s*** happens but I am certainly reeling over that one and will be replaying that in my head. It is my responsibility. Hopefully, the more chances we create, they will go in. We have still got time.”

If there was a positive from the series, it was the performances of some of the younger brigade.

Rookie Michaela Foster had a couple of strong cameos, while fellow rookie Grace Neville showed promise.

Claudia Bunge, 23, emphasised her position as a defensive leader, while Malia Steinmetz had probably her best Ferns match on Thursday night, with the team losing momentum when she was replaced in the 57th minute.

The 24-year looked comfortable and composed on the ball, linked play well and made clever runs. She was assertive in the tackle and well positioned, in just her 16th international.

“It’s getting better, as the games go on,” said Steinmetz. “I still remember my first game - I was shaking. Now I am not shaking in my boots.”

The Aucklander was well down the pecking order at the start of Jitka Klimkova’s tenure but offers a noticeable point of difference, with a higher ceiling than others in her position.

She agrees that the team needs to develop a harder edge, on and off the park.

“It has to happen,” said Steinmetz. “If we want to win you can’t be nice about it. That is what we want as a team. It is war out there, fighting for each other and fighting for your country.”

For her part, Bunge added that the problems exposed over the last eight days aren’t new but need to be quickly addressed.

“This has been happening for a while,” said Bunge. “We have been having these issues even before this tour.”