When we woke yesterday to the news that Lisa De Vanna had been evicted from the Matildas camp in Gosford for disciplinary reasons on the morning of their World Cup farewell game, thought immediately turned to whether Australia’s most potent weapon would be among Tom Sermanni’s 21 in Germany next month.
With Kate Gill missing out on the World Cup due to a knee injury and Sarah Walsh still in rehab after a long term injury, suddenly, it seemed, the entire Matildas first choice attack for much of the past five years mightn’t be involved at the world’s showpiece.
While Sermanni suggested after yesterday’s match at a sun-drenched Bluetongue Stadium that De Vanna might still be selected if the rest of the squad accepted her back, there’s not doubt a wind of change is sweeping through the Matildas front third.
It continues the trend we saw 12 months ago at the successful Asian Cup, where the likes of Kim Carroll, Elise Kellond-Knight, Tameka Butt, Kyah Simon and Samantha Kerr made significant breakthroughs in and around the Matildas XI, as I wrote at the time.
Yesterday, on a beautiful autumn afternoon, in front of an impressive crowd of just under 3,000, this correspondent among them, we had another opportunity to see what life without the likes of Gill, De Vanna and Walsh would look like.
Indeed, with another Matildas legend in Heather Garriock also nursing a hamstring injury, there was a very fresh feel to the XI, especially given that Catherine Cannuli was only playing her second game.
Sermanni, making eight changes from the experimental side that defeated New Zealand 3-0 three days earlier, teamed Cannuli up-top with two of the emerging stars of the women’s game, Simon and Kerr.
They played at the head of Sermanni’s 4-3-3, and when Kerr drifted a cross in to the back-post for Cannuli to climb over Football Ferns skipper Rebecca Smith and open the scoring, within the opening 10 minutes, it looked like they might rack up another comfortable win.
After a good start though, the trio didn’t see a great deal of the ball, as the physical Kiwis started to impose themselves and create an over-load in central midfield.
Playing a 4-4-2, with a diamond midfield, the Ferns were able to upset the rhythm of the trio of Matildas midfielders, Sally Shippard, Butt and Collette McCallum, thus halting the supply to the front three.
It was a feisty and competitive performance from the John Herdman’s Kiwis and should give them a bit of belief heading to the World Cup, despite being pitted against Japan, England and Mexico.
As for the Matildas, they were perhaps fortunate to come away with the victory. Sermanni explained afterwards that his players looked short of a gallop and lacking cohesion.
While Butt was impressive in the advance midfield role, and Servet Uzunlar and Carroll continued to build their central defensive partnership, overall it was far from fluid.
Certainly, things didn’t quite click for the youngsters in the front third, even after the physical and hard-working Leena Khamis came on at the break for Cannuli.
The lack of chemistry will certainly give Sermanni a bit to ponder as he looks to build to Germany and trim his selection to 21 by the end of the month.
Apart from whether or not to include De Vanna, and whether Walsh will be ready, some of the more interesting selections revolve around how many of the youngsters to include.
An example is on the right side of defence, where Clare Polkinghorne has a mortgage over the right back spot. But behind her is queue of kids including Ellyse Perry, Teigen Allen and Caitlin Foord.
Sixteen year old Foord might be the baby of the squad, but after standing out and scoring in last Thursday’s win, and starring for Sydney FC in the W-League, she looks to be in with a real shout.
With the adaptability to play both at fullback or in the attacking right-sided role, that is likely to put pressure on both Allen and Perry.
Others that might be on the precipice include defender Laura Alleway, midfielder Emily van Egmond and Cannuli.
With another training camp on the Gold Coast, and friendlies against England and Mexico to come before the World Cup, Sermanni should relish the opportunity to get more game-time into his players, and build confidence and cohesion.
There is little margin for error. With a difficult start against Brazil in Moenchengladbach, the Matildas will need to be primed and execute their game-plan to have any chance of pinching something.
While Equatorial Guinea should pose fewer headaches in Wolfsburg, nothing should be taken for granted against the African champions.
Meanwhile the final match against Norway in Leverkusen is likely to decide whether the Matildas emulate the feats of 2007, where they reached the quarter final, largely thanks to De Vanna’s brilliance.
On the evidence of yesterday’s showing and in light of the De Vanna decision, Sermanni still has much to manage.
A possible Matildas 21 for the Women’s World Cup (starting 26th June);
Goalkeepers; Melissa Barbieri, Lydia Williams, Casey Dumont
Defenders; Clare Polkinghorne, Servet Uzunlar, Kim Carroll, Elise Kellond-Knight, Thea Slatyer, Teigen Allen
Midfielders; Collette McCallum, Sally Shippard, Lauren Colthorpe, Aivi Luik, Tameka Butt, Heather Garriock, Kylie Ledbrook
Attackers; Kyah Simon, Samantha Kerr, Leena Khamis, Caitlin Foord, Lisa De Vanna
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