All White Chris Wood and Socceroo Milos Degenek compete for the ball. Photo: David Neilson
The All Whites have a "second chance" to knock off their trans-Tasman rivals in the deciding Soccer Ashes clash in Auckland but captain Chris Wood says the hosts will need to raise their performance by "10 percent" if they are to beat Australia for the first time since 2002.
Australia take a 1-0 lead into the second game on Tuesday, and with the winner of the Ashes series found on aggregate goals the All Whites could still claim the trophy.
The New Zealand players and coaches were "disappointed" by Friday's loss in Canberra and coach Darren Bazeley wanted a "bigger performance, better result" at home.
A sentiment echoed by captain Chris Wood. "With the amount of domination and control we had in the game and chances we had in the game, something that we spoke on as a group so much about creating, that we weren't able to deliver [was disappointing]," the striker said.
"Thankfully for me, it's a two-legged thing so I have a chance to put it right of my input of what I was able to do on the pitch.
"We've done a great performance, but we need to do even better. Raise it another 10 percent which is always hard to do in a second game with flights, timing of turnaround of games, but it's something that we need to challenge ourselves to do."
Wins against top-ranked sides, like No. 24 Australia, have been few and far between for the All Whites but there is a determination to change that with next year's FIFA World Cup on the horizon.
Bazeley said the performance in game one against Australia outshone the win over world number 41 Cote d'Ivoire in June.
"We played better on Friday, if I'm honest, but we got a result there and we didn't on Friday, but our performance was better. The game is about moments. They had a chance, they scored, we had chances and we didn't. So there's lots to take from the game, but ultimately we need to start winning games of football."
All Whites players warm up. Photo: Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz
Wood liked the direction the All Whites were heading but agreed results were crucial over the coming months.
"You don't want to keep saying, 'oh, you played well, you played well' without the result. Ultimately we need to bring them both together," Wood said.
"Luckily we've got another few windows to do that, but as we all say, it will come around very quickly, so we need to start doing it sooner rather than later."
The All Whites had a full squad to select from for game two against Australia but Bazeley would still need to manage the minutes of some of his players, including Wood.
"We'll make a couple of changes to freshen it up, but we'll never make wholesale changes because we're working on the bigger picture and ensuring that we've got the cohesion and connection that we've been working on for the last two years," Bazeley said.
Some players might not get any game time in this international window and Bazeley acknowledged while every player wanted to play there was a "tricky" selection balance.
"There is limited opportunities for players so most of their opportunity is going to be done in their clubs.
"It's their challenge to perform every week at the highest level, at their clubs. Get moves to bigger clubs, perform at bigger clubs, like Chris, like some of our other guys have done, that's probably their best way of fighting above some of the players we have [for places]."
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