Football Ferns coach Tom Sermanni fronted the post-match press conference following last night’s 2-0 loss to the Australian Matildas in Sydney. The game marked the 40^th anniversary of the first time New Zealand and Australia played in 1979. The Ferns will look to bounce back on Sunday afternoon when they take on Korea Republic.

What did you make of your team’s performance?

I think we did great when you consider where both teams are in relation to their preparation. The Matildas have all come off a full W League season and ready to go where we have players like Abby Erceg who have only just come back into the programme and hasn’t played since October.

Obviously our programme was in a bit of turmoil last year which has impacted our preparation. All things considered I was really proud of the effort from the girls. The way they followed the game plan was good and they try to put into play just what we had worked on.

What did you expect from Australia tonight?

I expected what we got. What we saw tonight was a group of players who had played together for a very long time. Albeit still very young in football terms. You saw that cohesion and how comfortable they are moving the ball around and in possession. We expected all of that. Because of our preparation we tried to nullify that as best as we could and for large parts of the game I think we did that well. We also tried to get them on the break and I think with just a little bit better timing. We could have punished them a couple of times.

You had Rebekah Stott man-marking Sam Kerr in the first half, did you think that tactic worked?

I think that tactic worked well. What we actually found - and this was the danger – because of that tactic we left ourselves a bit under-manned in midfield. Our midfield players were struggling to get close to their players. So after 25 minutes we shifted that formation back a bit and I think that gave us better shape. To be honest, I think we dealt with Sam pretty well.

Did you think that you could steal something from the match?

Yes we did.  We really did. Strangely enough we conceded goals at times that we were coming back into the game. I thought the longer the first half went on the more comfortable and confident we became, and then we gave away a goal right before half-time. In the second half. We just missed a chance – Sarah Gregorius just knocked it past the post and marginally missed – and we had another couple of opportunities where we were caught offside. Had our execution been a bit better we could have punished the Matildas.

In saying that it is a fair result. There is no doubt about that. One of the things we wanted to get out of the game was having a look at where we are right now and I think it was a great learning curve for us.

Is this a learning curve for you this tournament or are you trying to get results?

It is both. It is very much a learning curve for me because there are plenty of players within the squad who I have seen very little of. All of the experienced players in this team were around when I was The Matildas coach and the US Coach so I know them very well but we have a lot of younger players that I haven’t yet seen at international level.  At the same time it is important for any team to go out and get results so we do want to win games. We don’t just want to be competitive.

What areas would you like to improve in the next game?

A little bit of execution. A couple of times we got into some really good positions and we either hot the wrong pass or hit a pass that was a bit short so that was the first thing. Then the other thing critically is not giving the ball away in the centre of the field in our own half. When you do that against good teams you get punished.  

Only two days now till you take on Argentina, you must be looking forward to that challenge?

Definitely. It is a different challenge again. It is a chance for us to freshen up and look at some other players who are here and hopefully continue with a positive performance. The key for us now is to make sure that we build on tonight’s game and we get our preparation right so when it comes around to June for the World Cup we are really at our peak.  

Article added: Friday 01 March 2019