Football Ferns vs Korea Republic: Game Tahi, All About The System
The first half of this game, the Football Ferns were fantastic. As good of a sustained half of footy as you’ve seen from them in ages – maybe a little lacking in clear-cut chances to show for it but this was only the third game under new coach Jitka Klimková after all. Second half... not so good. It started fine but then Korea made a few adjustments and a couple subs and by about 55 minutes in it was an entirely different contest. Korea coming back from a goal down at the half to win 2-1 at home.
It was disappointing for sure. The Ferns are still without a win since beating England 1-0 in June 2019, 15 games and counting. Only one draw in that stretch too (which they did win a penalty shootout in afterwards). But that’s short term thinking, right? Results are important and a win here would have been huge for the squad however we’ve gotta keep the bigger picture in mind and that bigger picture is this rather drastic stylistic shift that Klimková is trying to implement.
Think for a minute about what you want to see from an Aotearoa national football team. Think about what defines kiwi team sports in general. The All Blacks (for better and for worse) are the benchmark there, a team that is often defined by a player-driven culture that incorporates the nation’s heritage, a team-first ethic, positive and expansive attacking game strategies... all them things. The All Blacks dominate world rugby to such an extent that two losses in a row apparently means an absolute crisis – obviously that’s not the case with the Ferns. The Ferns can’t compete with the likes of USA, England, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, Brazil, etc. in the sheer depth and standard of players produced. But there are ways around that in football.
The cultural stuff is all good. This squad already has a lot of great leaders. They’ve been through the ups and downs of international footy – there were three centurions in the starting eleven against South Korea with at least a few more to come back into the mix soon enough. Don’t forget that we have the Ferns to thank for kicking the Andy Martin/NZF era to the curb too. So what we’re talking about here is how they wanna play the game. Not gonna be able to control things against the best teams so gotta find a way to be greater than the sum of our parts.
Usually that means sitting deep and compact and hoping for something from set pieces. That’s how the Ferns have tended to operate in the past, to the extent that Andreas Heraf pretty much said that it was the only way they could have any success. History dealt with that fella but by the time he got the boot the Ferns were preparing for two major tournaments in two years. The latter got postponed due to covid but there were zero international games during that time to make use of the delay.
Tom Sermanni wanted to expand what the Ferns were doing, you could tell. No doubt people will claim that the Jitka Klimková style is a massive sudden shift but there were hints of a similar intent to build the ball up from the back during the Tokyo Olympics. However Sermanni never got to operate with that future mindset. He was immediately thrust into Win Now mode: first trying to consolidate the team ahead of the 2019 World Cup despite the mess he inherited and then afterwards he only got five games in between the World Cup and the Olympics which is no time to really implement anything fresh. He had to make the most of what he already had... and the Ferns lost all six games in those two tourneys. Some performances a lot better than others but 0-0-6 all the same.
Jitka Klimková, on the other hand, has the luxury of time and space with a World Cup still two years away and a contract that takes her through until 2027 (Sermanni signed on a 9-month initial contract and added two separate one-year extensions). Which, ironically, is what football tactics are all about – manipulating space, creating/restricting time.
Her first game against Canada was pretty sloppy as the team lost 5-1 but the second game, at the end of a full week of training and with that first game as a baseline, saw massive improvements. It was super encouraging. The Ferns were beginning to press high. The Ferns were willing to back themselves to build up possession in their own half. Simple things but things which require a cohesive team effort to make work, not to mention the confidence and belief to attempt them in the first place.
Notably, game one against South Korea saw just one change from that second Canada match. Katie Bowen remained in defence despite the availability of Claudia Bunge. Anna Leat was in goal once more. Jacqui Hand got another start. It was only Ava Collins in for Gabi Rennie which altered anything (and Rennie was still one of the first two subs used, along with the recalled Katie Rood... Hannah Blake, Paige Satchell & Malia Steinmetz were the other subs usde). That was a solid hint that the system was key. Those who were there last time know it a little better, they get to carry on while others who are still learning the ropes are eased in.
It’s the pressing that was most striking in this game. The Ferns have troubles scoring goals, that’s well known. Only seven of then across these 15 games without a win and they haven’t scored twice in an international since beating Argentina 2-0 in Brisbane in February 2019. They don’t have a game-breaking player who can just make things happen through individual brilliance and as a team they’re a step or two below the best in terms of technical ability and being able to break teams down through sustained passing. So they’ve gotta find another way. Set pieces are nice but they can target them regardless. Thus we press.
The idea of pressing is to win the ball as close to the opposition’s goal as possible where you can subsequently get a shot away within a couple of passes before the other team has been able to get into their defensive shape. This is what people mean by the word ‘transition’ – the frantic/consolidatory moments after the ball changes possession. The shape you keep for defending is not the shape you keep for attacking so it takes a sec to adapt (in general: compact to defend, expand to attack). That sec is when you wanna strike.
Of course, if you press high and the other team is able to play through or around you then you’ve left your defence exposed so it’s a high risk and reward approach. Hence you’ve gotta press as a team so as to limit any chinks in the armour. It requires a lot of coordination and that can be difficult to master as an international team where you don’t get a heap of time on the training paddock. Difficult but by no means impossible and the Ferns do have a tidy selection of fit and scrappy players whom this really suits.
First and foremost: Ria Percival, whose role at Tottenham is often to lead the press. Because you can’t just run around like headless chicken, that’s not coordinated. Gotta be on the same page and to do that you need what coaches refer to as triggers. Signals to go. The first pass backwards might be it. Or when the ball hits the feet of the defensive midfielder. Or when the ball is shuffled to a particular edge (the sideline is a presser’s friend). Or merely when a particular player decides it’s time. With the Ferns, you’re probably gonna see Ria Percival leading the surge just like this...
Rewind two seconds and this was the situation: Korea had played back to their keeper after a throw-in. That keeper, Yoon Young-geul, sent it towards a midfielder dropping in (think it was Lee Min-a) but before that ball even got to her Ria Percival had read it and had rushed up. This particular instance didn’t lead to anything as the ball evaded Betsy Hassett and Korea were able to recover. But note how Daisy Cleverley and Hassett both closed in on the ball to shut down the passing lane escape routes. Note how the front three set a restrictive line to close off the return ball back the way that Lee was facing. Teamwork makes the dream work, folks.
Another example, here’s one from a bit earlier. Ferns pressing as a unit with the keeper on the ball and forcing a rushed pass out wide which missed its mark and went out for a New Zealand throw. The same four players, keeping that formation and forcing the error. Even if that ball does hit its target, left back Jang Sel-gi, they would have hand Hand pushing on the ball/Jang, Collins shutting off the return pass to the keeper, Hassett on the ball down the line, and Percival on that 45 degree angle in between. Coordination.
The goal didn’t come about that way, the goal came from some lovely flowing transition. Meikayla Moore won the ball outside her own penalty box after a silly backheel from a Korean attacker and Moore got her head up looking for options rather than just hoofing it clear. Simple things again. Liv Chance was the outlet and Chance did well to get to halfway, cutting back past two players before feeding Ava Collins. Collins worked it round a bit with Ali Riley as they searched for a crossing angle and Riley lifted in an absolute corker of a cross which Jacqui Hand guided in off her noggin for a first international goal.
By the way, Ali Riley assist for Orlando Pride this year: 0. They really gotta use her better in attack.
Also how about Jitka Klimková hi-fiving the whole bench straight after the goal? She’s definitely a hands-on kinda manager, no pun intended, constantly having little chats with players during games and hanging out right on the sideline where she can shout instructions. JK is right there in the bottom of the frame of that Percival pressing screenie too. That energy’s pretty contagious even as a fan.
However... the second half kinda sucked. The two goals they conceded were both soft but those goals were coming one way or another. Korea made one sub at the half and a few more throughout it, though the major thing they did was simply to turn the intensity meter up a few notches. They pressed in response to the press. Gave the kiwis less time on the ball which led to poorer passes forward and the game shifted back towards the NZ goal. They took control of proceedings and where the Ferns were only able to score once during their period of dominance, the Koreans bagged a couple and were an excellent Anna Leat save away from another. The subs that Klimková made didn’t alter things. The game got away from the Ferns and they couldn’t adjust.
Credit to Korea for how they turned it around but also this is a common consequence for teams that like to press a lot. It requires a lot of energy, a lot of running, and that exertion catches up with you after a while. Particularly late in halves. It’s no coincidence that the Ferns faded as the game progressed – the turnaround was down to Korea’s adjustments but New Zealand’s vulnerability and lack of a response will have had a lot to do with tired legs.
Which is where we come back to the point that, for all the promise... the Ferns didn’t create a whole lot during that first half. It’s early on in the process and those things will get better with time. The attacking third is easily the toughest area to get clicking. And we can see the progress, we can see the intent – which is already a massive shift for a kiwi international team to want to defend proactively (one that’s being mirrored by the All Whites at the same time – these are heady times indeed). But they’re a long way from the finished product, is all. Soon we’ll have to start seeing wins instead of just good signs. Soon but not yet.
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