Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023 - Football Ferns v Philippines: Jitka Klimkova blames loss on poor execution

New Zealand's Annalie Longo reacts to defeat against the Philippines in Wellington. Photo / AP

Football Ferns head coach Jitka Klimkova said her side’s lack of execution in the final third was “decisive” in their 1-0 defeat to the Philippines in their second match of the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup.

Despite dominating with 70 per cent of the possession, Klimkova said her side lost the ball too easily at key moments in Wellington.

“We were dominating the game again, we were keeping the ball,” Klimkova told Sky TV.

The coach said the key difference between tonight’s match and their opening win against Norway was that they made too many unforced turnovers in the capital.

Following their historic 1-0 victory over 12th-ranked Norway five days earlier, New Zealand fell back into old habits, lacking execution in the final third.

New Zealand had 15 shots and four on target in comparison with the 46th-ranked Filipinas’ four shots, and just one on target.

Klimkova said the gutsy defeat was “so heartbreaking for everybody in this team”.

“We played to win today and it didn’t go our way,” she said stressing that her team fought from start to end.

“I saw on our faces ... we were fighting to the end, but it was not enough.”

Central defender Katie Bowen told Sky TV she was “massively disappointed” with her team’s performance in front of the sold-out Wellington crowd.

“I felt that we had chances; we had most of the possession but we just weren’t clinical enough and ultimately, they wanted it more — more than us,” Bowen said.

“The plan was to get three points and we didn’t.”

The hosts now face a playoff decider in Dunedin against Switzerland on Sunday. “This tournament is not over yet and we’ll keep fighting,” said Klimkova said.

“This one really does hurt after such a great performance against Norway,” said Bowen.

“We’re definitely gonna have to look at this and see where we weren’t clinical enough and didn’t execute our game plan.”

Bowen reassured fans the Football Ferns’ mission to make the knockout stage of the tournament was still on. “We still have another game — we still have another opportunity.

“So we’ve got to go back, review the game and focus on Switzerland because it’s a must win.”