Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson is sure to face fan ire after another disappointing reality check as the Australians were beaten 3-0 by the United States in Sydney.
The Australian anthem was sung by The Wiggles and there was a preschool feel to Australia’s defending from the kickoff as the USA strolled through and scored after just 24 seconds in front of a record home crowd of 36,109.
Australia should have levelled Ashley Hatch’s strike before the break with Kyah Simon missing from mere yards out and the goal gaping – a chance Wags the Dog would have buried like a bone.
Instead, the Matildas’ started the second half as they had the first, with Rose Lavelle the beneficiary of some sleepy defending. Captain Lindsey Horan scored the third from the penalty spot in the 68th minute after tumbling when barely touch – if at all – by Ellie Carpenter.
Simon’s miss aside, Australia diod create enough chances to give themselves a chance of beating a weakened US team for just the second time ever.
But 1.85m US goalkeeper Casey Murphy was outstanding, leaping high to tip over Sam Kerr’s long range shot that was destined for the top corner, and acrobatically denying Caitlin Foord and Mary Fowler.
Fowler, Australia’s best player, also set Kerr free in the box on the left but Murphy managed to deny a shot across her bows towards the far corner.
Kerr, who had suffered a bout of gastro in the lead up to the game, last and hour and had a chance to cut the margin just before coming off – only to head straight at Murphy from close range.
With Alanna Kennedy (quad) and Clare Polkinghorne (rested) missing, Gustavsson paired 17-year-old debutant Jessika Nash and 19-year-old Courtney Nevin, playiong in her sixth match in the heart of defence, and they had a horror start.
TheSecretScout
Roar Guru
i think kerr had her head turned, by her missus being on the other team lol :laughing:
chris
Guest
Nevin and Nash should not be paired together again in my view. They just look too small and lightly built to take up positions 3 & 4. We unfortunately don't seem to have the talent in those positions and it's one of the reasons Polkinghorne has lasted as long as she has. The US were not much better and in fact were awful for the most part. They struggled to string any passes together and relied on speed and strength in spurts (and a very good keeper) to get the win. I think we will do way better in Newcastle.
jupiter53
Roar Pro
The pressure on the debutant centrebacks that caused the first goal came from midfield incompetence, in particular van Egmond, who has surely shown by now that she does not have the capacity to play at 6. I get that Gustavsson wants to experiment, but surely Cooney-Cross showed against Brazil that she is much better as a deep defensive midfielder than van Egmond ever has been or will be. Her defending is better, she is safer on the ball, and her short and long passing is more consistent. I was disappointed that Nash was taken off at half time. I thought Nevin and Nash had shown signs of settling and the defence was then disrupted by moving Carpenter centrally. I don’t think she is a centreback. Her main virtue is her energy, speed and endurance. She does not have the marking and positioning skills of a centreback, and weirdly enough for a first choice player for Olympique Lyon, her passing is not very good. Those who reckon she did not deserve the penalty award against her have been fooled by the poor quality of the 10 replay. If you looked carefully at the start of the replay you could see that Horan fell because Carpenter stood on her left foot. I know I have said this before, but Foord is a dead end selection. She makes consistently poor choices in attack, and defensively gets caught on the wrong side and commits fouls. In a competitive game she would have been at least yellow carded for repetitive fouling. However, despite these negative comments, I am optimistic about the next few years. It seems to me that the younger players have better touch and more confidence on the ball than many of the older generation. There is time for them to be brought through by 2023.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
Mary Fowler drifted in and out of that game. At one stage the commentary team said the coach was yelling at her to get involved more. She's still young, concentration is hard at times.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
except for that first goal, but Ellie and Hayley have long been standouts out wide
jbinnie
Guest
Liquorbox- Tend to agree wholeheartedly with your observation re. "best player". The young lady Fowler has lots of nice touches on the ball but she has yet to learn to contribute to "off the ball play" and how it, or lack of it, impacts on the other players. Carpenter was the star of a poor Matilda's team, obviously weakened by the absence of more experienced players. The little fullback was creating problems for the USA left defence up till half time when she was moved to centreback, a role which she just does not have the physique to perform, but the move suited USA ,no argument there.cheers jb
The Ball Bobbled
Roar Rookie
Blooding new players is one thing - throwing them to the lions is another - for the sake of the two teenagers (and for the games reputation in Australia and Channel 10!) he must surely engage them more strategically in the Newcastle match -
liquorbox_
Roar Rookie
Was Kyah Simon's miss the worst miss a professional has made? It was horrendous. Enjoyed the game but don't agree with "Fowler, Australia’s best player", I thought Ellie Carpenter was our best on field.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Even the Matildas best chances the USA had 8 players in the box, their marking in those cases was not that good but having so many players there there are less likely to be chances. Australia on the other hand the first goal they seemed to assume the 50-50 balls were going in the favour and didnt get players back. Instead of relying on a one on one challenge you have multiple players there and they have no chance most of the time. Some it comes back to the one worst players in Van Egmond who hardly moves. The playing out from the back was not as big a problem because the USA could not press after the first 10 minutes. They then dominated the last bit of the first half the US could not press but the US made a lot of good changes in the second half versus Australias fewer and crazy changes. Australia ended up with a lot of midfielders at the front and Van Egmond staying on.
AGO74
Guest
I will cut some slack to such a rookie CB pairing against the worlds best team - but this poor defending is seemingly rife in this team and has been for years. There is some quality going forward (with some poor finishing today) but we will struggle to make the semis let alone win the WC with keystone cops defence. Mary Fowler was quiet today by her standards but still produced some quality. Amazing for someone only 18.
Waz
Roar Rookie
Defending. The sooner it’s put in the NC the better.