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Opinion
The Matildas have failed to advance beyond the quarter-final stage of the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup after an embarrassing loss against Korea Republic in Pune.
The Australian football world is simply in shock, with a team that appeared likely to advance all the way to the final now on a plane with their tails between their legs and embarrassed at a result that we saw play out on a hot and sticky Indian afternoon.
Alarming for the Australians was the vast amount of possession they enjoyed throughout much of the contest, and even more concerning was their inability to find the net and finish many of the clear opportunities created.
Sam Kerr struck the woodwork in the first half, missed two very realistic headed chances soon after and then muffed the clearest opportunity of the match after replacement Cortnee Vine centred a ball from the right and teed her up for what looked to be the winner.
Elsewhere, Hayley Raso went close at the death, the Australians flustered and desperate to extend their stay in India. Mary Fowler had a few moments where her execution at the top of the box let her down, while Caitlin Foord never really managed to manipulate herself into realistic goal-scoring positions despite running the left flank energetically for the entire contest.
As Ellie Carpenter attacked on the right and Steph Catley delivered many a precise ball for the central players to capitalise upon, chance after chance was wasted. Clare Wheeler was substituted early after a very ordinary display, Emily van Egmond had the odd good moment yet was never really able to construct the play in the manner in which she is often capable, and Vine offered potentially the best avenue to goal after her introduction to the match with around 30 minutes remaining on the clock.
It was a match that reeked of an Australian goal in the offing, yet Korea Republic held on bravely throughout. They missed a first-half penalty but created two clear-cut chances in the early moments of the second half that required Matilda goalkeeper Lydia Williams to produce some magic in order to prevent the Australians from going a goal down.
.@lydsaussie coming up BIG to keep scores locked! Point Blank ????
????: @10footballau #AUSvKOR #WeAreMatildas #WAC2022 pic.twitter.com/Vm5ELnyZgP
— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) January 30, 2022
In the end it was Chelsea star Ji So-Yun who struck from distance in the 88th minute to bury the hopes of the Australians and send them to their worst ever result in Asian Cup play. Williams dived to her left, yet the strike was simply too good and her earlier efforts perhaps denied the Koreans an even larger winning margin.
The desperation and sense of impending defeat on Australian faces as the final seconds played out reflected a team that played with a sense of fear and trepidation rather than a confident assuredness that all great teams have. I have been very public in stating that the tried and true Matildas would not be good enough to win this Asian Cup, predicted a South Korean win and still feel that the squad needs significant invigoration and a steering away from the ‘Kerr or bust’ mentality that appears to have beset it in recent years.
Nothing stated above is pleasing to write. I too hoped for the Matildas to triumph, yet Tony Gustavsson’s conservatism is holding this team back, with the ageing players desperate to hang around for the celebration that will be the Women’s World Cup in 2023 actually hampering the development of the national squad.
It was a sad day for Australian football, yet one the Matildas will no doubt bounce back from. However, one also wonders whether the recent run of poor results under the manager had perhaps been a telling hint as to what to expect when the team ventured to India to win what was widely seen as their Asian Cup to lose.
Now the post-mortem begins, but how Tony Gustavsson can hold down a job in which he has failed dismally is well beyond the comprehension of this football writer.