Final thoughts
So, a fantastic win for the Matildas, who continue their impressive form – and add to their reputation both in terms of world football and more locally in terms of their standing within the Australian sporting landscape. Much has been said and written about this team of late, but with another win under their belt – against a top 10 team – they’re not yet showing any sign of succumbing to the pressure.
Sam Kerr again starred, scoring the second goal, but this team is about so much more than just her. Lisa de Vanna’s opener was sensational, and there were fantastic performances all over the park for Alen Stajcic’s side.
Brazil might feel they deserved more from the game, having hit the woodwork twice, but the Matildas were probably deserved winners. It sets up another intriguing clash in Newcastle on Tuesday night. Join us again for that one, but from me for now, it’s time to go. Until next time!
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“It was just nice to help the team out,” says a typically modest Sam Kerr. “It doesn’t matter who scores though. We’re just fighting for the team.”
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“To get the result today, we’ve just proven to ourselves that the result in the US wasn’t a one off,” says goalscorer Lisa de Vanna. “They [Brazil] wanted to prove that they’re the team to beat but we executed well and got the result.
“I’ve been in the team 15 years and I’ve never been in a stadium where there have been 15,000 fans shouting for the Matildas. I was holding back tears during the national anthem.”
FT: Australia 2-1 Brazil
90+4 min: And there goes the whistle! All over in Penrith and the Matildas hold on for their fourth straight win!
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90+3 min: Well, that would have been the icing on a very sweet cake – a lovely passing move ends in nought though.
90+2 min: There are three minutes of added time slated, by the way. Not much longer for the Matildas to hang on.
90+1 min: Kerr departs, to a well-deserved standing ovation. Her goal is still the difference between these two sides.
90 min: In it comes, and Brazil force a corner. Williams lets the ball through her fingers, but it’s not fatal and the ball runs all the way through for a goal kick. And breathe.
89 min: Brazil make a change, with a minute to go. On comes Ludmila who heads straight into the Australian box, ready to get on the end of a Marta free-kick.
88 min: But back down at the other end, it’s Debinha with a great chance to grab an equaliser! But her effort is snaffled by Williams! This is getting hectic!
87 min: Look at Kerr here! She puts her head right in where it hurts and somehow manages to get a header on target!
85 min: Off the line, kind of! Van Egmond’s high ball is headed back towards goal but the ball is hoofed clear!
84 min: Logarzo wins a free-kick moments later though, and the crowd seem appeased. It also gives Van Egmond a chance to deliver a decent ball into the box...
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83 min: Boos ring out again and as the crowd again show their displeasure at a refereeing call – this time it goes against Raso.
81 min: Kellond-Knight lets fly from distance but her rangefinder is off, and the ball bounces harmlessly past Dani’s post. Still, good to see the Matildas aren’t simply shutting up shop and putting 10 women behind the ball in these closing stages.
80 min: They’ve been threatening that. Now we get to see if the Matildas have the steel and nous to hold onto their lead as we head into the final 10 minutes of play in Penrith.
GOAL: Australia 2-1 Brazil
79 min: Brazil get one back, though one of those substitutes, Debinha who runs in behind Carpenter to latch onto a lovely little pass through by Cristiane. Gulp, this is going to be a nervy final 10!
75 min: Chloe Logarzo is ready to come on, for Tameka Butt. Such strength in depth. Alen Stajcic is a lucky man to have such selection problems.
73 min: Forgot to say, but De Vanna has come off, replaced by Hayley Raso. She got a great ovation when she did. What a goal that was she scored in the first half.
72 min: Excitement is the word today. It’s been a terrific game of football, and Australian fans have been rewarded with goals by two of their favourites in De Vanna and Kerr.
70 min: Brazil make a few changes now: Fabiana, Rosana and Andressa Alves are all taken off. I’ll let you know who came on when I find out – didn’t quite catch it amid all this excitement.
69 min: Off Williams’ post again! Cristiane is so very unlucky as her shot is brilliantly tipped onto the post by Williams before it pings into the keeper’s back. She recovers quick enough to gather it though, and Brazil remain goalless and frustrated.
68 min: Sam Kerr is simply unstoppable at the moment. She just can’t stop scoring. Oh, hang on....
GOAL: Australia 2-0 Brazil (Kerr 67)
67 min: KERR makes it two with a lovely back header that loops up and over the Brazilian keeper! It’s Kennedy who dinks the ball into the box and Kerr makes no mistake. She’s mobbed by delighted team-mates before she can even think about doing a backflip, and we’ll have to wait for a new image to update our computer wallpapers with.
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65 min: Rosana goes into the book for going through the back of Butt. No complaints from anyone but Butt there.
64 min: Marta, who has been pretty quiet in the attacking third today, provides a reminder of her brilliance, with a Maradona-turn before getting bundled over. She can’t hide her frustration this time and gesticulates widely.
63 min: The ball’s in the back of the Brazilian net again! But as Kerr wheels away in celebration (quite possibly lining up a backflip), she realises the flag is up and it won’t count. Way offside.
61 min: Kerr makes a darting run into the box as the Matildas come again, but the final ball to her is wayward and nothing comes of the move.
60 min: That’s the closest Brazil have come to troubling the scoreboard keepers today, and should serve as a reminder of what they’re capable of, in case any of those Matildas defenders needed their memory jogging.
59 min: Off the post! Andressinha slams a swerving effort against the upright with Williams beaten all ends up!
58 min: Gorry and Rosana “come together”, fairly, and to the delight of the crowd.
56 min: Oooh! So close to an equaliser as Cristiane stretches her leg out to meet a Marta cross, but misses the ball entirely! Marta’a not happy and rightly so – she put that one on a plate.
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55 min: Here’s the first change of the day: Djenifer off, Thaisa Moreno on.
53 min: Nothing comes of the corner, but the good news is that the Australians have started this half as they ended the first – on the front foot and filled with attacking intent.
52 min: De Vanna’s looking for a second here, but her shot is deflected behind for a corner.
50 min: My goodness, these Brazilians are physical. Rosana piles through the back of Foord here. Foord, needless to say just gets up and gets on with it. Kerr, however, mouths off at the referee and is duly shown yellow.
49 min: Oooh! De Vanna breaks forward before pushing the ball across the face of goal to Foord, who slides in to direct it goalwards! That’s a good save by Dani Neuhaus though, who stands firm – and then gets a stray boot in the face for her efforts!
48 min: A weather update from Penrith: the wind has dropped apparently, and it’s a level playing field, as it were.
47 min: Carpenter does extremely well to play the ball out from the back, despite pressure from Andressa Alves. The 17-year-old mature beyond her years.
46 min: I was at Leichhardt Oval the other night, to watch the FFA Cup encounter between Sydney FC and Melbourne City. Both teams kicked off by hoofing the ball upfield. Neither side posed any kind of threat from their kick-offs. So how refreshing to see the Matildas play the ball on the deck as they get the second half underway.
Second half underway
46 min: And we’re back up and running at Pepper Stadium. The Matildas are 45 minutes away from another famous win. Can they do it?
Martin Farrer, the Guardian’s off-duty man at the ground, writes in to let us know the crowd is “very enthusiastic” and there are “lots of happy Aussies at half-time”. He adds with the kind of insight it’s difficult to match when watching the game on the telly, “the Matildas will have their work cut out in the second half though, as they’re playing into a very stiff breeze”.
A few half-time stats for you: it’s dead even in terms of possession (50-50), but the Matildas have had nine shots to Brazil’s one and 18 balls into the area to the vistors’ six. Stick with us, back in a tick for the second half.
That was Lisa De Vanna’s 43rd goal for her country. She’s Australia’s record goal scorer and one of the most patriotic players around – I spoke to her a while ago and she told me nothing pleases her more than representing her country.
HT: Australia 1-0 Brazil
45 min: There we go. What a half of football. Pretty breathless stuff, with chances at both ends, but it’s Australia who lead at the break, thanks to a wonder-strike from De Vanna. And deservedly so, on the balance of play.
44 min: Gorry unleashes a venomous effort from outside the box. Blocked! Butt does likewise from the rebound. Blocked again!
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43 min: That’s nothing less than the Matildas deserve, to be honest. And they’re pushing for a second as the first half winds down.
GOAL: Australia 1-0 Brazil (De Vanna 41)
42 min: DE VANNA! She does it again and what a stunner it is! It’s a sublime volley from 25 yards out that Dani Neuhaus can’t get near! What. A. Goal. Australia’s record goalscorer on the mark again, and in some style.
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41 min: Kerr and De Vanna nearly link well, but by the time the former digs out a pass forward, the latter has strayed miles offside.
39 min: Marta has the commentators drooling with a long ball forward to Cristiane – yep, it wasn’t bad at all – but again Brazil can’t capitalise.
38 min: EKK takes the corner and Kennedy’s there! Oooh! Over the bar as she struggles to keep it down.
37 min: Foord and Carpenter cause Brazil some consternation down the Matildas right again and they win another corner.
Loving some of the images doing the rounds on social media, by the way. You really can’t beat a packed sports stadium on a nice day (or evening under the lights, for that matter).
One for the books. Our Matildas. Full house. Game on. #GoMatildas #AUSvBRA pic.twitter.com/4Cqr2xroAu
— Sebastian Hassett (@sebth) September 16, 2017
36 min: Gorry brings the ball away for the Matildas, but she’s stopped in her tracks by Andressinha, who has her name taken for the foul, which was agricultural at best.
35 min: Brazil take a short free-kick before Marta sends in a dangerous looking ball. The Matildas defence holds firm.
33 min: De Vanna appeals for another free-kick, but she’s left disappointed. There’s a bit of niggle out there today. But of course, gloriously, there’s not a hint of playacting or brinkswomanship.
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32 min: Carpenter, who debuted for the Matildas at the tender age of 15, fires over a cross but it’s a bit wild and the ball sails behind for a goal kick.
31 min: De Vanna now stretches to get to a cross into the box, but she can’t quite get to it and the half-chance goes begging.
30 min: You’ve got to love De Vanna, haven’t you? She has a little pop at Van Egmond, who wasn’t quite on her wavelength. These women have high standards and it’s that kind of attitude that makes this team so successful.
29 min: Williams tips over the bar from Marta, but it wouldn’t have counted any as Cristiane is flagged offside.
27 min: Oops. Foord loses out to Marta in a dangerous area, and the Matilda responds with a foul. She had to really, and she takes a slice of American cheese for her troubles.
26 min: Oh, that’s unlucky. Fabiana is found with a lovely reverse ball back inside from the right wing, but she’s flagged offside. A mile off, actually.
25 min: Oh deary me. Djenifer rightly goes into the book for a late challenge on Kerr. De Vanna’s also on the deck, after being clobbered a few seconds later. She did say she expected a physical game today and the Brazilians are certainly not talking any prisoners.
24 min: Here goes Kerr again, with that distinctive, whirring arms and legs running style of hers. Well played by Rafaelle though, who shepherds her out of play and wins a goal kick.
22 min: Marta drops deep now, looking to influence play from the back. She looks a bit lost the deeper she goes though, but she’s saved by Butt’s robust challenge, which the Australian is penalised for.
20 min: For a split second it opens up for EKK as the Brazilian defence fail to clear their lines. “Shoot!” urge the onlookers (well, me at least) but she opts to dink a ball into the box instead and the move breaks down.
19 min: Ah, nice. The TV camera pans out and we get a lovely shot of the main stand at Pepper Stadium, packed to the rafters.
17 min: Well, it’s certainly been a breathless opening quarter of an hour or so. Chances at both ends, although I’d say the better ones have gone Australia’s way.
16 min: Kerr fires into a crowded Brazilian box now, the ball finds Foord, but she can’t control it and Brazil are able to clear their lines.
15 min: Kerr is looking dangerous every time she has the ball at her feet at the moment. And you get the feeling the Brazilians are mightily aware of that.
13 min: Boos ring out as the whistle doesn’t go after Kerr is unceremoniously bundled over not once but twice in the space of a few seconds. She’s fuming at the ref.
11 min: The Matildas are settling now. Kerr is nearly on the same wavelength as Foord here but Dani Neuhaus is off her line quickly to claim.
10 min: Ooooh! How did that stay out? Kerr has a great chance to lash home but she doesn’t quite catch it right and the ball drifts wide of the far post – but towards Foord’s head! Sadly, she can’t get enough on her header to divert the ball back towards goal, and the chance goes begging!
9 min: EKK now wins a corner, on the other side – Australia;s second of the day. It goes short, Van Egmond delivers a decent ball into the box but Kerr misjudges her header and it sails harmlessly behind for a goal kick.
8 min: Rafaelle heads clear for Brazil after the ball was pumped into the box for a second time.
7 min: From the short free-kick, Catley wins a corner, and Australia will have a chance to threaten the Brazilian goal for the first time.
6 min: Still the Matildas can’t hold onto the ball but here goes De Vanna, finally sparking the crowd to life. She goes down under a dual challenge by Andressa Alves and Rosana, and that’ll be a free-kick to the home side.
5 min: Well, this is a great start from Brazil. Andressa Alves now gets past her marker but her cross drifts onto the top of the netting above Williams’ goal.
4 min: Ooh! Over the corner comes, and Rosana gets up to meet it with a glancing header that flashes just wide of Williams’ post! First real chance of the game so far.
3 min: Kellond-Knight gets the ball, but only briefly and Brazil regain possession once again. The visitors surge forward and Carpenter is forced to put Cristiane’s excellent cross behind for a corner.
2 min: The Matildas struggle early on to get a prolonged period of possession. In fact, they’ve barely had a touch in the opening couple of minutes.
1 min: Brazil go straight on the front foot and the visitors win a free-kick inside the first minute. Nothing comes of it.
Peeeep!
1 min: And we’re off! Underway in Penrith, with the blue shirts of Brazil kicking proceedings off.
“What an amazing day for football in this country, and for the Matildas.” You can’t really argue with Brenton Speed’s analysis, can you?
Here they come! The Matildas in all gold, obviously, Brazil in blue with white shorts.
Anthem time. The Brazilian tune is jaunty, plenty of trombones and the like (I think). And here comes Advance Australia Fair. The mascots stand in front of the players, with the exception of Katrina Gorry’s, who has to stand slightly to the side, so we can actually see the Matildas star’s face, such is her diminutive stature.
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My colleague, Martin Farrer, is one of the lucky ones at the stadium today. Nice view he’s got there.
Nearly ready to go at Pepper Stadium for Matildas v Brazil pic.twitter.com/dqE7eLfs75
— Martin Farrer (@MartinFarrer) September 16, 2017
And while we’re counting down to kick-off, why not take the time to marvel at David Squires’ interpretations of some of the players on show today, including Sam Kerr and Steph Catley, in his latest cartoon, on the Australian women’s new pay deal:
Less than 10 minutes to kick-off. The Matildas are still out on the Pepper Stadium pitch in their sky blue training tops, going through some drills and warming up. The sun is out in Penrith, and conditions, from what I can tell at this distance from the TV, are perfect for football.
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The Matildas appear, on the surface, to be a team that is incredibly united at the moment. A sense of camaraderie shines through whenever the squad is together, something Sam Kerr alluded to in an interview last month. She said told Matthew Hall “there are no hierarchies, no cliques”.
Lisa De Vanna has given her thoughts on today’s game. “It’s definitely going to be a physical game. They [Brazil] will want to prove that game in America [the 6-1 Tournament of Nations defeat] is different to today.” She adds she’s expecting “a lot of excitement and a lot of flair”. I’ll take that.
I really don’t want to go on too much about the crowd, but I will anyway because, you know, it’s a sellout and history is being made and 17,000 (17,000!) good people are about to witness it etc. Anyway, they’ve been queuing at Pepper Stadium for hours already. Anticipation is building.
Two hours until kick off and the crowd is already building for #AUSvBRA. pic.twitter.com/kGK7Zyy5jO
— Ann Odong ⚽️📝 (@AnnOdong) September 16, 2017
Today’s lineups
The teams are in and Stajic has named a strong starting lineup. It’s a 4-3-3 with Kerr leading the line, supported by Caitlin Foord and Lisa de Vanna on the flanks. Captain Emily van Egmond will sit in midfield alongside Tameka Butt and Katrina Gorry, while the back four consists of Ellie Carpenter, Elise Kellond-Knight, Steph Catley and Alanna Kennedy. Lydia Williams keeps goal.
For Brazil, it’s a different side to the one that lost 6-1 at the Tournament of Nations. Marta still headlines their starting XI with the likes of Andressa Alves and Cristiane also likely to pose a threat to Australia.
Team lists are in for #AUSvBRA
— Anna Harrington 🌈 (@AnnaHarrington) September 16, 2017
A strong starting line-up for @TheMatildas, with Sam Kerr leading the line. Emily van Egmond named captain. pic.twitter.com/LYfZ8P7oUb
Preamble
Hello and welcome. Well, what an occasion this promises to be. A packed stadium (had you not heard?), two teams ranked by Fifa in the world’s top 10 and the kind of hype rarely, if ever, reserved for an Australian women’s football team are about to converge and spice up this sunny Saturday afternoon in Penrith. Chuck in a tasty recent rivalry between two teams and fireworks are expected, nay demanded. Hopefully the 17,000 souls lucky enough to be at Pepper Stadium won’t go home disappointed.
This match serves as something of a triumphant homecoming for Alen Stajcic’s side, having picked up their first silverware since the Asian Cup in 2010 at last month’s Tournament of Nations in the US. If ticket sales weren’t evidence enough, the reception that awaits them when they run out today will be a decent measure of how fond the Australian public has become of this team. Its sure to be warm. Borderline volcanic.
These two sides know each other well – this will be the fifth meeting between the pair since the 2015 World Cup, when the Matildas stunned Brazil 1-0 to reach the quarter-finals. Brazil hit back with a 3-1 win in a pre-Olympic warm-up in Fortaleza before they edged out the Matildas 7-6 on penalties in the Rio Games quarter-finals. It was then Australia’s turn to taste victory again in the famous 6-1 thumping in Carson that delivered the Tournament of Nations trophy last month. After today’s clash at the foot of the Blue Mountains, a sixth instalment of the sextalogy is scheduled for Tuesday night in Newcastle.
In the buildup to today’s clash, much focus has been on Sam Kerr, the player many rate as the best in the world right now, but Australia have class all over the pitch – most of their XI today ply their trade overseas, if that’s any accurate marker of talent. (It is, given the list of clubs the Matildas call their own include teams in the US, Japan and Europe.) But amid all the drooling over Kerr, Katrina Gorry, Steph Catley et al. it would be remiss to overlook the Brazilians, who have travelled with a full strength squad which includes Marta, the five-times world player of the year and probably best female player of all time. Again, how lucky those 17,000 people are today.
Anyway, enough blathering for now. Please do get in touch on email or Twitter, as above, with any thoughts on today’s game, women’s football in general or indeed, anything else that you may need to get off your chest.
Mike will be here shortly. In the meantime, have a read of this, from Paul Connolly, on the patronising and dismissive attitudes Australia’s female footballers faced back in the 1970s.
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