Judging from the demeanour of coach Jitka Klimkova, the Football Ferns should be braced for some home truths over the coming days.
The usually upbeat and positive Klimkova couldn't conceal her disappointment during Friday's 1-0 loss to Iceland in the She Believes Cup tournament
At times Klimkova looked incredulous onthe sideline, especially in the first half, as the recent hard-won gains seemed to evaporate in front of her eyes.
This was meant to be another step on the Ferns' journey but felt like a shuffle backwards.
Scoring an invitation to the US-hosted tournament was a coup and the Ferns hoped to make the most of it, targeting a top-two finish.
But Friday's performance was strangely passive and underwhelming, with little of the vigour, intensity or cohesion that was on display in the 2-0 win over South Korea in November.
The Ferns made a calamitous start, conceding a sloppy goal after 43 seconds – the fastest in the seven year history of the tournament - and they were defensively all at sea for the first 15 minutes.
Hannah Wilkinson reacts to her side's concession of an early goal. Photo / Photosport
"The start of the game didn't go our way," said Klimkova. "This is a huge lesson learned that we need to start playing from the first whistle. [But] even if we conceded that goal in the first minute, we should be able to score in the [remaining] 89 minutes."
The lack of output in the final third was a concern. The Ferns had plenty of possession but struggled to construct where it counts and didn't manage a decent shot on target until the 93rd minute.
Klimkova agreed it was a priority, after the initial focus on building the possession game during the first two tours (Canada and Korea).
"We [had possession], now we need to be more sophiscated in our final third so we can create more chances and actually score goals."
Goalkeeper Erin Nayler, in her first match since the 5-1 defeat to Canada in October, endured a difficult night.
Her ineffective punch led to the Iceland goal and she had several other nervous moments.
Klimkova, who said Nayler was picked ahead of Victoria Esson on the strength of her form in training, defended the veteran.
"It is not about one player, it is about how the team is prepared from the beginning," said Klimkova. "We need to be more switched on when we hear the whistle, we want to play the way how we finished the game; you could see the huge difference between our start and our finish."
In terms of positives, Klimkova was encouraged that the Ferns never stopped battling and were still in the hunt for an unlikely late equaliser, despite being outplayed across the 90 minutes.
But the attacking rhythm was never really there, though Paige Satchell tried to make something happen and substitute Rebekah Stott produced some incisive passes.
However the biggest concern will be the strange 15-minute freeze to open the game.
Defender CJ Bott agreed their start was inexcusable, especially as it is not the first time the Ferns have been caught napping early.
"It was pretty disappointing for us," said Bott. "Historically, we concede too many goals in the opening few minutes of the game and we have learnt that lesson too many times now I think.
"It's a matter of having a bit more composure right off the first whistle and being ready to fight, right at the start. We didn't have that today; it's definitely a work on for us and something we can't make a mistake on again."
In Friday's other game on Friday, a youthful United States team - deviod of some big names - were held 0-0 by the Czech Republic.
The Ferns face the host nation on Monday (9am NZT), before taking on the Czech Republic (world No 24) three days later (Thursday midday NZT).
