Footy Ferns in Canada: Game Rua, The Build Begins
That was miles better than expected. Jitka Klimková promised that it would be but coaches always say things like that, right? She’s out here trying to reshape the Football Ferns in her vision and such a project will take time, especially after what we saw in the 5-1 defeat a couple days ago. The team did show some nice signs in that one but those signs were surrounded by moments of confusion and, once the subs rolled on, inexperience. That’s okay. That’s what this tour is for. Get it all out there and set that baseline.
Game two would therefore allow the Football Ferns a chance to build upon that first performance as well as giving us, watching at home, a chance to piece together the parallels between the two games - the patterns of play that will fingers-crossed evolve into a playing identity up to and beyond the next World Cup. That’s exactly what we got. However the surprising thing was just how much more effective the Fernies were.
They still lost. But they went down swinging, losing 1-0 and finishing the game pushing for an equaliser. In fairness they rarely ever looked like scoring against a strong Canadian defence so keep that in mind. The number one problem that this team has shows no sign of immediate resolution. But whereas the formation looked muddled on Sunday, on Wednesday it looked sharp and polished. Whereas the patterns of their play were sloppy on Sunday, they seemed to know what they were trying to achieve here. Which is kinda weird because they only made three changes to the starting team (including two first-time international starters) so it was mostly all the same players with only three days between games. Best guess there is that Jitka Klimková is an amazingly good video session coach and merely needed some match footage to work with before she could illustrate that.
Or, alternatively/additionally, the difference could have been a mental one. The Ferns never lack for application but they don’t always rock up against teams like this with the belief that they can take the game to them. Gotta be realistic sometimes but also the deeper you sit, the less agency you’ll have in the match. You’re relying on the other team to make mistakes and you’re trusting that you won’t despite piling up the potential for errors with all the time spent defending. So the most pleasing thing from the outset was simply seeing the Ferns playing higher up the park.
That allowed them to hold their positions better. Canada’s fullbacks weren’t free to roam as far forward which in turn meant that Aotearoa wingers didn’t need to double up in defence with their fullbacks. Meaning better shape. Meaning a better chance of cutting down passing lanes and preventing Canada from knocking the ball around with ease. Meaning that Ria Percival was every now and then able to shoot out of the midfield in a pick-pocketing mission – something that she does a lot for Spurs these days and something that she’s absolutely brilliant at. You absolutely do not want to take a heavy touch with Ria Percival in range because even if you don’t lose the ball you’re likely to emerge with cracked shinpads.
What we’re talking about was not a high press. That would have been unsustainable. But it was an organised and determined plan for winning back possession whenever they didn’t have the ball. Two lines of three with the forwards putting gentle pressure on the oppo defence and hoping to force a risky pass into the midfield where Percival (or Cleverley or Hassett) would pounce.
As for when the Ferns were in possession, there was a clear intention to build things up from the back. Anna Leat got the start at keeper here and she was always available for a pass back. Not only that but she didn’t panic with ball at feet either, showing composure in trying to pass out again rather than hoofing it. Which suggests that Klimkova may a difficult decision to make now... because this is an area where Leat has the advantage over Erin Nayler. Both are excellent shot stoppers and Nayler obviously offers far more experience but if this is the way that the Ferns are trying to play then it could trigger a swap in first-choice keepers. It probably should in the short term considering that Nayler isn’t playing professional football right now (though she’s rectified that for 2022). One to ponder, at least.
The back four and midfield were unchanged. Meikayla Moore is pretty good in possession, particularly when it comes to raking long balls, while Katie Bowen is a midfielder by trade so no dramas there. Thus we had two central defenders qualified to string a few passes together. Ria Percival would drop in as a pivot in these areas too, hitting those first time passes out to the fullbacks on the square. They all stayed active and available and when things broke down the Ferns, rather than lumping it down the channels, would play back and try switch play to the other side.
When you try and play this way, you’ve got to accept there are going to be mistakes. You have to have the bigger picture in mind, trust that you’re building towards something, and a reassuring manager goes a long way towards enabling that. Naturally there were some less than pretty moments. Sometimes from decision making, sometimes from execution. The main thing is that a switch was flicked for the team in committing to the strategy. The intention matters as much as the outcome at this stage.
It wouldn’t be fair to say that the Ferns lacked this kinda cohesion under Tom Sermanni. For one thing, Sermanni’s time in charge was wrecked by the circumstances he took over in meaning he only had a short run-up to the World Cup and then the pandemic costing him all preparation for the Olympics so it’s almost unfair to compare them at all. And he did have the team trying to play out from the back a little more in Tokyo. But yeah seeing a Fernies team bringing a front-foot plan into a game like this was a joyful experience. (The other thing about Sermanni is that he was in charge for 18 non-OFC games which included two major tournaments so he never got the chance to do any long term team building – he was in win-now mode from day one).
But of course it’s all a work in progress. You only have to look at Canada’s goal to see that, where the increased space between midfield and defence was exposed as Quinn picked an excellent pass through to Jessie Fleming dropping into the pocket. Canada with an overload as easily as that. Fleming hit Janine Beckie out wide and although her shot was saved by Anna Leat, Adriana Leon followed it up to score. All this after a Bowen switch to Bott had coughed up possession as Canada closed out that edge with numbers. Annoyingly it was Canada’s first real chance.
Also for all the Ferns’ much-improved work in defence and midfield, the attacking third is still sketchy. That was where the team was the most inexperienced, to be fair, with three different players occupying the centre forward spot throughout the match (Rennie, then White, then Rolston). Winning the ball in good areas was one thing but doing something dangerous with it was far from a certainty. The Ferns didn’t really create anything at all outside of a few long rangers – with Ria Percival having the pick of them, a shot tipped over by Stephanie Labbé. Ria Percival’s speciality this season for Spurs has been almost scoring but not quite.
The goal they scored last game was a penalty that came out of the blue too. Canada are a very good defensive team. Funny thing about this whole Olympic triumph tour is that at the tournament itself they only won two games out of six. They drew four of them, including penalty shootout wins in the quarters and the final. That’s often how tournament footy goes – it’s the teams who are hard to beat that go deep rather than the ones with the exciting attacking bends. While New Zealand are now 14-games without a win, Canada have just extended their unbeaten streak to 13 matches during which they’ve scored 20 goals (five coming in one game against NZ) and conceded only 8 (three of which came in a 3-3 pre-Tokyo friendly vs Netherlands). One of the elite international defences. A hard team to break down at the best of times.
Yet not a team that tends to blow sides away which in the end made them a decent opposition here because they did let the kiwis play a little at the back. But the product of that was a pretty tame contest. As exciting as it was to get a glimpse of the Ferns making genuine tactical progress... this was not a game for the neutrals. Chances were at a minimum for both sides – Canada happy to play with the lead, although they were always the team more likely to score. The Ferns’ attacking growth will have to wait for another day... the attack needs a solid foundation on which to flourish so it’s all part of the process.
So it goes. The Ferns will be a much better team for this tour and it sounds like more football is on the way before the year is out. Right on. As for some of the individuals... Moore and Percival were excellent in this game. Huge improvement from one game to the next from Moore. CJ Bott and Ali Riley were key cogs at fullback, Bott had a mixed bag with some poor touches but also some top tier defending while this was one of the many games where Riley’s tireless energy was on display. With a little more possession at the back, she looked even more valuable.
Klimková made the curious call to sub off Gabi Rennie five mins before the half. Rosie White coming on at striker (and later dropping into midfield after Emma Rolston came on). Rennie had been fine, her hold-up play is gonna be amazing as she plays more at this level. Not sure if she was injured or if perhaps it was a case of the team having expended a lot of energy in that half and wanting to inject a bit more energy there lest they get caught out before the break. If you’re gonna make the sub at the half, might as well make it five minutes earlier. Nice to see White get a go at centre-forward. It’s the ability to link up with those around her that stood out in her case.
Plus the trend remains that the more involved Olivia Chance is, the more potent the Ferns are. First forty minutes that was obvious, then she swapped sides with Jacqui Hand after White came on and kinda disappeared in the second half as a result. Her combination with Ali Riley is really starting to cook so taking that away had a negative effect (though the versatility’s probably good in the long run). Meanwhile Hand did get exposed a bit in the second half but she definitely looks like someone who’s a year or two further along in her development than other USA uni players in this squad – reckon she’s advanced her case for further selection as much as anyone on this tour.
Good game from Betsy Hassett too and the sooner Daisy Cleverley’s at a pro club the better because she’s starting to assert herself in midfield these days. No debutants in this game. Aniela Jensen, Sammi Tawharu, and Tahlia Hermann-Watt will all have to wait for another time. But Ava Collins did have a nice cameo late on.
So now we’ve got that baseline. Not only that but... it was good? A 4-3-3 shape with a willingness to string passes together and the patience to go backwards if necessary. A selective press in the opposition half with the intention of winning the ball and hitting them in transition (more of a push than a press but close enough). A willingness to take part in the territory war rather than sitting deep and inviting pressure as the game unfolds in front of our defence. Best of all, the players showing the confidence to actually do all this, having been given that licence. Yeah, that’ll do it. I’d say that’ll do it. Thaaaaat’ll do it.
Haaaaaving said all that... these are the positive chats we get to have after a tour where the results didn’t really matter. New coach, understrength team, strong opposition. All we needed to see was signs of where this team is headed. We got those... now next time maybe we can do something about that two-plus-year winless streak. Score some goals and turn promise into results. You know, the hard stuff.
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