Football Ferns’ near-miracle win masks problems

What was the Football Ferns’ plan for beating Australia on Friday night, if Anna Green hadn’t scored her wonder goal?

Presumably they had ideas about how they wanted to create chances to try to score goals, but they weren’t anywhere to be seen at QCB Stadium in Townsville.

Such a plan was just as hard to discern in Texas and California at the SheBelieves Cup in February, and in South Korea and Canada before that at the end of last year.

While there continues to be no evidence of one, it’s hard to feel the Ferns are making any sort of progress with their preparations for next year’s World Cup on home soil.

The reality is they were absolutely dominated by the Matildas, and it would have been one of the greatest escapes in football history if they had held on to their 1-0 lead.

It would also absolutely have been a result worth celebrating.

That football matches can unfold like that is one of the reasons the sport is adored by so many people around the world.

The Football Ferns have had precious little to celebrate in recent years, so keeping Australia at bay, even with a large helping of luck, would have meant the world to them.

But instead of ending their 31-match winless run in the trans-Tasman rivalry, which stretches back to 1994, they conceded twice in 98 seconds to lose 2-1, a turnaround that left several players visibly crushed.

Shots 37 and 38 of the night, from Emily van Egmond and Sam Kerr, proved to be the decisive ones.

Ferns goalkeeper Vic Esson deserves plenty of credit for stopping 14 of the first 36, while Claudia Bunge and Meikayla Moore were largely impressive in the centre of defence and made some vital interventions.

But those individual performances – and Green’s memorable half-volleyed goal from an acute angle outside the box on the left – were the only bright spots. Australia had almost complete control of the ball and were able to fashion attacks with ease through the middle and down the flanks.

Green may have scored a worldie, but she was exposed defensively at left back, which wasn’t a surprise, considering she’s five years removed from playing professionally.

Captain Ali Riley didn’t fare much better there after swapping from the right at halftime, where she was replaced by Liz Anton, who was out of position as a centreback by trade.

In her post-match press conference, Ferns coach Jitka Klimkova´ hailed her side’s ‘‘unbelievable performance’’ and how they were ‘‘fighting to the end’’.

But by allowing Australia so many shots, there was always a chance they would put one or two of them beyond reach before the final whistle came.

Klimkova´ also said she was happy with the process, but not the result, which will be a subject requiring further interrogation ahead of Tuesday’s second match in Canberra.

Not least because there was no discernable process for fashioning attacks when they had the ball.

But also because the first step in preventing goals is preventing shots. Do both, and you have a defensive effort you can truly be proud of. Do only the former – as was the case here for 93 minutes – and there’s an extent to which you’re riding your luck.

There’s no denying there’s a gulf between Australia’s top XI – which features one of the best forwards in the world in Kerr – and New Zealand’s, but matches between them don’t have to be as one-sided as Friday.

Will things look any different on Tuesday, or will it be another case of the Ferns having to defend their hearts out for 90 minutes and then some, while trying to create out of nothing?

Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson says changes are likely for his side, which could mean a more competitive match.

But a lack of a plan for when they’ve got the ball has been a long-running problem.

There were hints last year after Klimkova´ took charge, but they haven’t developed into anything more in 2022 as yet.

As a result, the vast majority of their shots under their current coach have been speculative long-range chances.

With the Cup just 15 months away, they don’t have long to start putting something together.

Jitka Klimkova´ said she was happy with the process, but not the result, which will be a subject requiring further interrogation ahead of Tuesday’s second match.