Ferns take stock after losses

Assistant coach Gareth Turnbull says a ‘‘disappointing and frustrating’’ tour against Scotland is a timely reminder for players and staff, and he hopes it will spark a reaction from everyone involved with the Football Ferns.

Turnbull and head coach Andreas Heraf will be demanding a positive response the next time the Ferns assemble to play, after backto-back 2-0 losses to Scotland within just four days.

‘‘It was a step forward but in the same breath it was another disappointment. We didn’t come here to try and build, we came here to win two games and we haven’t done that so the staff and players alike are disappointed,’’ Turnbull said after Wednesday’s loss at Pinatar Football Arena in Spain.

After closing out 2017 with a 5-0 thumping of Thailand, the Ferns crashed back down to earth with

two poor performance against the No 23 ranked side. But Turnbull said assessing two defeats was OK, especially at the start of a new era under new coaches.

‘‘It’s only my words, it’s not Andreas’ words, but if we can’t be humbled by losing two games to Scotland then we’re going to struggle moving forward. I like to believe it’s a really timely reminder of where we are at and what we need to work on as a group, staff included.’’

‘‘Thailand was a really positive indication of what we can get to but in all fairness to Thailand they are ranked 40th in the world, or something like that, and Scotland are starting to peak for the Euros. They’re a far superior team and over these two games they were better than us.’’

Although the Ferns struggled to create goalscoring chances, Turnbull was more concerned by the goals they conceded, with Jane Ross and Fiona Brown scoring either side of halftime to put the game to bed.

Brown was instrumental in Scotland’s victory, providing the assist as Ross split defenders Abby Erceg and Meikayla Moore to get a slight touch on her low cross – enough to beat goalkeeper Erin Nayler in the 40th minute.

The 22-year-old then scored herself shortly after the break, skipping past Rebekah Stott before cutting inside and firing another shot past Nayler.

Turnbull said both ‘‘simple’’ goals could have been prevented with more aggressive defending and tighter marking.

The Ferns made two changes to their starting 11 after the first defeat, with Erceg and Anna Green replacing CJ Bott and Annalie Longo.