Well, that wraps up our live coverage of the Matildas’ bumper 7-0 opening Olympic qualifying win over Taiwan. Thanks for joining us, and keep an eye out for Sam Lewis’ take on the game early tomorrow morning AEDT. Ciao for now.
There’s some serious high-fiving going on between Kerr and a glut of kids. Just reward for a wet night out. That, and the fact the Matildas sit top of their group ahead of second-placed China.
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Foord is happy to have “executed the game plan” after all the turmoil and constant changes that left the team “feeling like it was matchday minus five for ages”. More specifically, she’s content her extra finishing training is paying dividends.
“I’ve been really working on it personally in front of goal. I felt like that was an area where I wasn’t confident,” she told Fox Sports. “As a team we’ve always kind of dropped our level against teams like this so we wanted to really play our level of football and keep that at a high intensity.”
FT: Australia 7-0 Taiwan The full-time whistle has blown and it marks a sound start for the Matildas’ Tokyo qualification campaign. It wasn’t perfect, and more challenging opposition awaits, but the women in green and gold provided some fine football that will, in turn, spike confidence ahead of clashes with Thailand and China. Take a bow Caitlin Foord, the newly signed Arsenal player who hit a hat-trick, and Steph Catley, Hayley Raso, Sam Kerr and Katrina Gorry who added a goal apiece in style.
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GOAL!!!
92 min Australia 7-0 Taiwan Well, it’s been a long time since Gorry last scored for the Matildas, but just reward for the substitute’s shift tonight. Kellond-Knight floats one forward for Gielnik as Logarzo and co surge into the box. But it’s Raso who steers the ball into the area and hugs the byline before her cutback deflects off the ‘keeper and flies into the path of Gorry. Mini sticks out her right peg for the volley and picks out the bottom corner with all the precision of somebody who hasn’t scored an international goal in nearly three years and wants a ticket to Tokyo.
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90 min Australia 6-0 Taiwan Another brief squiz at the stats tells me Australia have played out this contest with 80 per cent possession. Given the clear discrepancy in quality, the Matildas might - perhaps should - have hit double figures by now. As I type, Gielnik is denied again by Taiwan’s custodian, who has single-handedly saved her team from an even more embarrassing scoreline.
87 min Australia 6-0 Taiwan Logarzo dispatches a delightful ball into the path of Gielnik, who blazes into the area and cuts back for Kerr, but the Chelsea striker’s less-favoured left foot (if that’s possible) isn’t quite particular enough and she diverts agonisingly wide of the net.
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84 min: Australia 6-0 Taiwan Taiwan earn a corner after a backpass from McCormick gets Williams into a fumble. No sooner than Chen Yen-Ping has taken the set piece the ball is back in Australian possession at the halfway mark.
80 min Australia 6-0 Taiwan Kerr takes another swipe at goal but it’s collected cleanly, before Gielnik makes her presence known via physical runs in behind. Milicic is on the sideline imploring his side to keep up the intensity.
75 min Australia 6-0 Taiwan The night is over for hat-trick heroine Foord, replaced by Bayern Munich forward Emily Gielnik. As she comes on there’s more concern, this time for Catley, whose knee is being checked.
72 min: Australia 6-0 Taiwan Logarzo is down after landing awkwardly and clutching worryingly at her knee. The midfielder is attended to by officials but appears to pull up okay and looks as if she will continue to play on.
Here’s Kerr’s goal ...
It took @samkerr1 just three minutes to find the back of the net!
— Westfield Matildas (@TheMatildas) February 7, 2020
🎥: @foxfootball #AUSvTPE #WeAreMatildas pic.twitter.com/vP2eqI5HSB
65 min: Australia 6-0 Taiwan CHANCE! Kerr very nearly makes it two goals in two minutes but for the offside flag, which was correctly raised. Kerr laughs as if to acknowledge she knew.
GOAL!!!
64 min: Australia 6-0 Taiwan It takes Kerr three minutes on the field to deliver. A beauty of a through ball from Logarzo provides the foundation but it’s Kerr’s composed first touch and incisive left-footed finish that ensures the chance is not wasted. That’s why she’s global star.
63 min: Australia 5-0 Taiwan Foord plays in Kerr and the poor battered Zhuo Li-Ping gets battered again by Raso as the Everton’s latest signing puts her body on the line.
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61 min: Australia 5-0 Taiwan Foord is relentless, this time ambushing two players and squeezing another top-drawer save out of Chen Si Yu. And Kerr is coming, replacing Simon and eliciting a cheer from the fans who have braved the wet to watch their team.
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58 min: Australia 5-0 Taiwan Foord is hunting a fourth goal and Catley feeds, but she skews wide. Undoubtedly much to the fans’ delight, Kerr is warming up.
GOAL!!!
54 min: Australia 5-0 Taiwan The underdogs have a free-kick and Zhuo Li-Ping cops a back-hander from Logarzo as she goes for the ball. And the Matildas are suddenly away on the counter-attack, Gorry with a lovely pass forward and Raso racing at full pelt into the box and around the goalkeeper to deposit the ball into an open net. That missed opportunity in the previous minute will be all but forgotten for now.
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53 min: Australia 4-0 Taiwan Missed chance! And it would have been a sitter for Foord had Simon squared the ball to her inside the box. Except that she doesn’t, hungry for a goal of her own, and misses. The Matildas then get a corner and Gorry has opted for a short corner (which rarely seems to have any effect whatsoever) to Raso, who embarks on a one-two with KK before being taken out by a defender.
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49 min: Australia 4-0 Taiwan SAVE! Raso draws the save of the match from Chen Si Yu, who somehow gets a glove to it. Simon then has a crack herself and brushes the side netting. The chances are coming thick and fast for Australia in a frenetic start to this second half.
The players are back out on the pitch and Milicic has replaced van Egmond with Katrina Gorry. What can ‘Mini’ do with this opportunity? It also must be said that may have been van Egmond’s best display of the past 12 months.
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All in all a good half of football from the Matildas. Milicic has to be happy with four goals in 38 minutes. If anything, he’ll want his side to pass more accurately and maintain the intensity - easier said than done against inferior opposition. While there were some errant passes the overall passing accuracy was at 86 per cent in the first half and the Matildas completed 404 passes to Taiwan’s 96, to give you some idea of the way this contest has tilted.
Here’s Catley’s goal ICYMI!
.@stephcatley scores a rare @thematildas goal!
— Westfield Matildas (@TheMatildas) February 7, 2020
How about the celebrations 😍🥰
HT: Australia 4-0 Taiwan Simon embarks on another foray forward and she really is in lovely touch, the striker who’s injury problems ruled her out of last year’s World Cup in France. Raso, meanwhile, is called offside and the referee’s halftime whistle blows.
hayley, stop flirting with offside, flirt with me instead #AUSvTPE
— The Ladies League (@LadiesALeague) February 7, 2020
45 min: Australia 4-0 Taiwan Australia have a throw-in and it’s misplaced by McCormick. The Matildas reset and the backline passes between themselves before van Egmond goes to Roestbakken and then Simon goes for a long-range strike but doesn’t have enough on it. There’ll be two minutes of added time in this first half.
42 min Australia 4-0 Taiwan It’s difficult to ignore Taiwan’s decidedly underwhelming defence in some moments of this game. But tell you what, Foord is thriving in that front wide role. She has been shuffled around throughout her already decorated career and even done defensive shifts, and Milicic tested her at No 10 earlier in his tenure before perhaps fully realising how to balance this squad best.
GOAL!!!
38 min Australia 4-0 Taiwan Foord has her hat-trick! Simon has her head up as she chips a well-placed long ball forward and the marginally onside van Egmond’s first touch to Foord is equally as delicate. Foord takes it from there, barrelling inside the far post for her second international hat-trick.
34 min: Australia 3-0 Taiwan Logarzo is having beef with defender Zhuo Li-Ping and is pulled up just as the camera closes in on Kerr keeping warm on the sideline. She duly offers a wink.
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33 min: Taiwan captain Ting Chi has a massive chance to pull a goal back and keep her side in this contest but her finishes sails marginally wide.
GOAL!!!
31 min: This time it’s Catley, and the stand-in skipper doesn’t miss. Chloe Logarzo is whipping in and out and passes to van Egmond, who pokes a through ball as Catley runs in behind two defenders and takes on goalkeeper Chen as she does. Chen trips her as she unleashes her finish, and had it not tucked into the net Catley may well have earned a penalty for Australia regardless. But it does, and the 26-year-old is on the turf flying an imaginary aeroplane in celebration of her third international goal.
This. We love this. pic.twitter.com/DrhUs4vbvL
— Westfield Matildas (@TheMatildas) February 7, 2020
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30 min: Raso cuts inside this time and finds van Egmond, but the midfielder sprays wide.
26 min: Yet another chance goes begging as swathes of gold whir up the field, but Raso is caught out and dispossessed.
GOAL!!!
24 min: In the very next passage of play Foord has her brace, barely halfway through the first half. Catley finds Simon, who offloads to KK and then forward to Foord. It amounts to nothing but Australia win the ball back quickly and van Egmond is there for the reverse pass. Foord is all quick feet dancing around the ‘keeper and prodding home right on the line. Life at the Gunners could be very sweet for the former Sydney FC star. Here’s Foord’s earlier effort:
The moment @CaitlinFoord opened the scoring! 😍
— Westfield Matildas (@TheMatildas) February 7, 2020
🎥: @FoxFootball #AUSvTPE #WeAreMatildas pic.twitter.com/nLwHwpfRqR
23 min: We’re not seeing much of Lydia Williams tonight, and Milicic will hope it stays that way. She’s briefly called into action as Roestbakken tracks back and delivers a backpass and the Matildas are back up the pitch again.
20 min: Wang Hsiang Huei wins a free-kick and it should be noted that, while having only 22 per cent possession, Taiwan aren’t afraid to get forward themselves, often through Chen Yen-Ping.
17 min: This pitch is clearly wet and heavy but it doesn’t seem to be bothering the green and gold as Raso rinses Yu Chen-Lan inside the box and cuts back but there’s confusion as Simon and Emily van Egmond both go for a shot that never eventuates.
GOAL!!!
9 min: It only takes nine minutes for Australia’s No 9 to put her country on the board. Foord starts and finishes the move, passing the ball short to Simon and racing into a pocket of space to receive it back before slotting past the onrushing Chen. Solid start for the Matildas and something to build on against a side that haven’t scored in their past five meetings with Australia.
Come excellent collective movement helps Polkinghorne finds Raso, who has peeled off to her wide position on the right. Her cross is perfect and Logarzo is waiting at the back post, but her attempt to steer it home on the acute angle is in vain.
Caitlin Foord, the ultimate utility, has drifted in from the left to get involved as Simon drops off the frontline and KK makes a lovely turn but it’s tonight’s captain Steph Catley who makes more metres with a pass that forces Taiwan’s defence into action and goalkeeper Chen Si Yu to punch the ball safely away.
Peep! And we’re off! Roestbaken looks for an opening but is challenged by Chen Yen-Ping and Taiwan are back in possession. And the Matildas are just pinging the ball around patiently, Elise Kellond-Knight attempting to link up with Kyah Simon but forced to retreat. Expect Australia to dominate possession tonight.
Weather update!
Well the deluge has well and truly arrived in Sydney and its surrounds (wondering if it has anything to do with the lack of a pre-game show on Fox Sports?), but FFA remained confident with Campbelltown Stadium’s drainage system that we’re told will keep the pitch playable. We’ll know for sure once the ball starts moving, but China have already played on it and made embarrassing work of Thailand to the tune of a 6-1 scoreline.
The teams are out there now for the national anthems.
Team news ...
STARTING XI
— Westfield Matildas (@TheMatildas) February 7, 2020
Here's how we line up for our first game of 2020!#AUSvTPE #WeAreMatildas pic.twitter.com/fhSIVb5RXh
Sam Kerr’s quad, which this week generated even more media interest than its owner, was deemed niggly enough for Milicic to rest his captain. But the 26-year-old Chelsea star, who has now been injured for three consecutive Olympic qualifiers dating back to 2012, will be a good shot at featuring in the other games, especially after new Football Federation Australia chief executive James Johnson took time out from studying the minutiae of office coffee pods to convince FIFA, the AFC, Chinese Football Association et al to push back the China fixture by 24 hours.
Leading the line in her place will be Kyah Simon, who is rediscovering fitness and form at Melbourne City following her own longer-term injury woes, and flanked by two recent UK emigrants in Caitlin Foord (Arsenal) and Hayley Raso (Everton).
There are regular defensive faces absent too, with right-back Ellie Carpenter making way for World Cup breakout Karly Roestbakken. Alanna Kennedy is also on the bench, allowing recent debutant Jenna McCormick to slot into central defence alongside Clare Polkinghorne.
Preamble
Good evening, and welcome to live coverage of the Matildas’ first Olympic qualifying clash against Taiwan.
Had all proceeded as planned in the land of the Matildas they’d be readying to leave China bound for their respective clubs tomorrow morning, quite possibly with qualification already in the bag.
But plans, as we know, are made to be broken. And the coronavirus was made to mutate, making way for a hurried cross-continental hop for the tournament that carries Australia’s Tokyo hopes.
Which leads us to tonight’s location: Campbelltown Stadium.
The place where, after weeks of uncertainty that included three scheduling changes and the Chinese team’s quarantine at a Brisbane hotel, Ante Milicic’s side will finally kick off their campaign against world No 40 Taiwan, who upset Thailand 1-0 earlier this week.
Following that they’ll face Thailand on Monday night in Campbelltown, before heading to Bankwest Stadium for Thursday night’s crucial final showdown with China.
For those unaware, the top two from Australia’s Group B will play off against the top two from Group A (hosts South Korea, Vietnam, Myanmar, North Korea), with the two winners of that home-and-away tie qualifying for the Olympics starting in July.
As ever, get in touch with any thoughts via Email or tweet @emmavkemp
