Football Ferns midfielder Malia Steinmetz after her side's loss to Philippines. Photo / Photosport
Football Ferns midfielder Malia Steinmetz after her side's loss to Philippines. Photo / Photosport
The Football Ferns remain defiant.
They believe there could still be another triumphant chapter in their World Cup journey, even if it was hard to escape the feeling in Wellington on Tuesday night that this was the end of the road.
Instead of waking up on Wednesday toasting a win, which would have taken them to the knockout stages for the first time, or even a draw, the Ferns will only have regrets.
Following the shock 1-0 defeat to the world No 46 Philippines, who were rank outsiders at their first World Cup, New Zealand are in a bit of a hole.
Given the situation, it will rank as the most disappointing defeat in Ferns history, but co-captain Ali Riley retains belief.
“We have three points - it’s not all over,” said Riley. “It would have been great to have six points now. We don’t want to have to be looking at other results. We want it to be in our own hands. If we stick to our game plan and regroup I know this team is so resilient. We will look at individually what we can do better and as a team. The staff will be up all night for the next three nights and we will come together.”
Football Ferns co-captain Ali Riley was dejected after her team's defeat to the Philippines. Photo / Getty Images
After being so driven and desperate against Norway, it wasn’t quite there in Wellington and Riley admitted the Philippines had wanted it more, saying that the Ferns had to rediscover their hunger.
“Against Norway we did play really free and we just believed, to get back to this identity of being super tough,” said Riley. “We were ready for this game and we were going to bring the same aggression and mentality but the Philippines wanted it more. The way we brought it against Norway, they brought it against us.”
When the final whistle sounded on Tuesday night, the Ferns were in a daze.
After a near perfect night at Eden Park, nothing had gone right in Wellington. They paid the price for a tepid first half, then played without luck in the second, with the fractional VAR call and Jacqui Hand striking the post.
The inexperienced Mexican referee seemed out of her depth - failing to clamp down on constant time-wasting by the Asian underdogs - while the lack of added time at the end (only five minutes) was bizarre.
But the Ferns knew they had blown it, on home soil. Several players, including some senior ones, walked past the huddled journalists in the mixed zone without stopping.
Others talked, but struggled to find the words, while Filipina players next to them were crying tears of joy, recounting the greatest moment in their footballing history.
“It feels overwhelming, it feels crazy, it feels like I am in a dream right now and it doesn’t feel real,” said Philippines goal-scorer Sarina Bolden. “The soccer gods were in our favour.”
Sarina Bolden of the Philippines celebrates after scoring against the Football Ferns. Photo / Photosport
Ferns coach Jitka Klimková arrived for the press conference, then was told to wait by Fifa, who weren’t ready. Once it started, she couldn’t hide her frustration and disappointment, though tried to.
Earlier, everything had been set up for a party, on a perfect Wellington evening. A huge, colourful crowd, with banners and flags and signs, including a group dressed as sheep with Malia Steinmetz masks.
The Ferns were welcomed with rapturous applause, while a Eurythmics 1980s classic played over the speakers. “Sweet dreams are made of these,” sang Annie Lennox, and it certainly felt like something special was in the air.
Full of expectation, the home fans gradually grew subdued in the first half, though came to life after the break, with chants and cheers.
But the Ferns were edgy. The passing wasn’t clean, the touches were heavy and the frustration grew, against a congested defence.
The switch to a 4-3-3 formation from 4-4-2 made theoretical sense - to provide more attacking thrust - but also meant that Hannah Wilkinson was isolated up front and negated the Ria Percival-Steinmetz combination in central midfield that had worked so well in the opening match.
And the bite and physical presence just wasn’t there.
“With the first and second phase, they were winning it more than we were,” reflected Steinmetz. “That’s what we pride ourselves on.”
It felt like something was missing mentally. Had the Ferns got ahead of themselves, following the breakthrough Norway win and the nation’s reaction to it?
Steinmetz insisted they hadn’t: “We had moved on, we went for it, our trainings were tough.”
Now the Ferns must regroup quickly, with four training sessions before the do or die clash with the Swiss.
“We are ready to go again,” said Steinmetz. “And we want to go again. This isn’t the end of it.”
“It’s not all doom and gloom,” agreed goalkeeper Vic Esson, as she tried to shrug off the disappointment. “The tournament is not over for us yet. We still have something to fight for. We have what it takes to win. We have to stick together, assess what happened and move on.”
The final word went to Riley, before she was hustled away by a New Zealand Football staff member to catch their post-match charter flight back to Auckland.
“It’s a last chance,” said Riley. “I believe that this team can make anything happen.”
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. A football aficionado, Burgess will never forget the noise that greeted Rory Fallon’s goal against Bahrain in Wellington in 2009.
