A number of friends of mine travelled north to Townsville last Friday for the first of a duo of friendlies between the Matildas and the Football Ferns.
Author Texi Smith and active support member Michelle Prasad were on the cans by 11am after an early flight and Greg Werner, co-author of the textual and visual non-fiction masterpiece Encyclopaedia of Matildas, took to the streets with his trusty camera in hand and spent the day capturing images in the brilliant tropical paradise.
All three are passionate devotees of Australian football, intelligent and committed in their own individual ways to supporting the women’s game on its journey towards greater national traction. Their social media accounts told the story of the sojourn north, yet the bubbling issues lingering around the current squad could well make future trips a little less appealing.
The second of the two fixtures will be played tonight, after New Zealand stunned the Australians early in the first encounter, before the Aussies did some stunning of their own in injury time. Late goals to Emily van Egmond and Sam Kerr got the locals over the line in the most electric finish to a match that most would concede the Kiwis were unlucky to lose.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
There was much celebration of the last-gasp win, yet not for the first time, it merely masked a series of problems that show little signs of being addressed in the short term.
As something of a symbolic coming together of the two nations that will host the world at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, the matches also provided the Matildas with a further opportunity to blood a host of players coach Tony Gustavsson has drip-fed limited minutes in recent fixtures.
Instead, the Swede went, once again, with a battle-hardened core group that he appears to resort to in almost all situations and even brought super mum Katrina Gorry back into the starting line-up.
Caitlin Foord and Tameka Yallop are also parts of the Matilda furniture and were used as substitutes, with only Cortnee Vine of the next wave of Matildas afforded any playing time at all; approximately six minutes.
These fixtures also provided the chance for Gustavsson to prove to a now somewhat sceptical football public that there is some method to what many see as madness and that there is clear development taking place within the squad.
Gustavsson has talked about playing the long game in the past – we heard such language prior to the Asian Cup and the team collapsed when the first serious challenge arose.
Whilst the coach will have us believe that he is cleverly pulling all the pieces together before letting loose a team capable of winning the World Cup on home soil next August, it feels like there are very few folk buying the sales pitch. In fact, aside from the most loyal supporters of the man brought in to take the Matildas to new heights, the average football fan in the street sees nothing of the sort taking place, and, potentially, even a regression.
The win-loss column is awful under Gustavsson. Top European sides have dismissed the Matildas with a waft, very little playing time has been given to the women destined to decide to the team’s fate over the next decade and tactically, there is little conviction.
All the while, the coach prances, dances, flaps and gesticulates on the side lines passionately, with the performance suggesting to many that he is perhaps a little too focussed on himself and less on the simple fact that Australia’s national women’s football team is now floundering at 12 in the FIFA World Rankings and sinking further.
After riding a wave of support and success throughout the Alen Stajcic era, the rapid development in women’s football has seen things get very real for the Matildas very quickly, as true professionalism enters the game and the wick is rightfully turned up on performances, character and future expectations.
(Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Frankly, the brand has become somewhat tarnished over the last 12 months.
Lisa De Vanna’s brave and corroborated allegations around culture, harsh but fair assessments of the team’s results by ex-players and analysts and the still unanswered questions surrounding the sacking of Stajcic and the employment of the overseas-based Gustavsson have all eroded some of the previous unbridled positive sentiment felt towards the Matildas.
For some years now, the squeaky clean image of the team has provided something of a free pass when it came to any potential criticism or accountability. However, that is no longer the case.
Right now, the Matildas are no better than a number of teams they previous felt far superior to, the old crew that failed at the recent Asian Cup appears set to be entrusted with doing better at the World Cup next year and the coach keeps telling everyone that things are rosy and the team needs to be judged at the finishing line.
The honeymoon is well and truly over and the Matildas are now starting to understand what it is like for the Socceroos, who are whacked from pillar to post after every poor performance.
Kewell
Roar Rookie
NSD, plenty of votes in supporting AFL and NRL women not as many in the Matildas. The Matildas have had their chances but have fallen over, remember the Olympics , they had the biggest tv audience for women’s sport, and they lost a winnable game. Imagine the viewer ship if they had gone through to a medal chance it would of been huge. The Australian public don’t like being let down and neither do governments. If I was the FFA I would be pushing for the government to give women’s football priority pick of junior athletes coming through. In athletic prowess Sam Kerr is head and shoulders above other players in the Matildas, but one is not enough we need more class acts.
Kewell
Roar Rookie
Yep, very surprised new talent was not given a go. Still not enough options up front. If Kerr has an off day or is double teamed there is no one else good enough to step, that’s the big concern for me.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Wow was it really 2027? I must have been dreaming about 2033! I agree that there should be decent facilities for all sport and all genders. However, most facilities are council owned and rented and I’m not sure that it is realistic to expect them to upgrade anytime soon. That would be a massive investment by so many councils. It is such a pity that nothing was ever considered when grounds were first developed. In the UK I used to play on fields where there were way more pitches than the biggest of facilities here and there were change facilities for each and every pitch - separate toilets and each had showers too….different world, different attitude I suppose.
chris
Guest
Wow Stuart. Thank heavens they won last night! Everyone is clamouring for new talent to be given a chance etc but at the same time we want to win every game. There aren't as many games as we'd like to think between now and 2023 so it's not easy to achieve that. Maybe TG has seen that the new talent isn't as good as what's currently in the starting line up?
chris
Guest
Some good points as usual Buddy. In fact they want the 50/50 participation by 2027. And whether it's football or netball, there needs to be decent change room facilities. It doesnt have to be state of the art, but if we are going to encourage kids/people to get out and play sports, surely at a minimum, a place to put on a pair of shorts should be provided?
chris
Guest
Not sure I agree with this falling from grace. The world has suddenly become more competitive in womens football and what did we expect? There is more focus on the team because frankly they are being tested more and more. Nothing to feel ashamed about there.
Bob
Guest
As I can't write anything good I'll just right this these observations, Matilda's badly coached. Players are tired, probably best if they stay in Europe and allow some of the next Gen to start games. Strategic, football style are primative and regressed, sadly. The maltidas football was better than most men's national teams... how quickly football stars can change the perception of youth potential...
Davrob
Guest
Time for Matildas to move on from polkinghorne, Kennedy, Van Egmond and Foord
NSD + Transfer Fees
Guest
If the federal government was serious about female sport than they would pouring money into the Matilda’s and the ALW. This is a chance to become a leader in something while we still can rather than waiting another 5 years and being surprised why are the Matilda’s ranked 25 or lower.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
As usual, the biggest threats come from within, sacking a coach, hiring a shaky one. There's a multitude of talent in women's football in Australia, many of them not getting a chance even in the under managed A League W. But I wish them well tonight, and think they will win by a few goals to nil.
LeckieTape
Guest
You need to look at the football ecosystem underneath the national teams to find the real issue. There’s not enough upwards pressure on the current starting 11, and the decline will continue as we watch the nations we used to beat get stronger and stronger around us. You can’t watch all the nations around you change the game through investment in womens football / football in general and expect to still stay in the top 10 without keeping pace with the rate of investment growth elsewhere. The professional standards in the ALW are sub par and part-time at best. The training facilities, pay & conditions (players, coaches, back room staff), and other club services are not going to enable excellence - the standards in some cases are below those in NPL. Players and coaching staff are exhausted, working multiple jobs to put food on the table. This isn’t how we grow the best footballers in the world in 2022. Invest in coaches and you will eventually have national team coaches with years of knowledge and experience working with our national team talent. Tony G is in a rock and a hard place - fans want him to experiment with what is coming in through the ALW pathway and win friendlies. You can’t have it both ways.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
The weight of expectation does strange things to sports teams and so often messes with heads. You end up with “could have, should have” and what might have been scenarios. The Matilda’s were by far the stronger side right across the park last week and the Ferns were only unlucky in that there was five minutes stoppage time whereas had there been a typical one minute that we used to regularly witness, then the score line would have shown them winning and perhaps there would be a different narrative now. It is disappointing not to see games like this providing up and coming talent the opportunity to gain valuable game time and experience. There is need of a refresh or more rotation at the very least. Women’s football had a head start a long time ago but in a global landscape of gender equality and the desire to make up for lost time there are numerous examples of countries not just catching up but moving to the outside lane and quickly overtaking quite a few of the early leaders in female football. The burning question is whether or not there is anything in place to arrest the situation and catapault the national side back up towards the top. On the surface it appears to be stagnant. In the background our national body is talking about striving for 50/50 ratios of male to female players by 2033 and they are encouraging grass roots clubs to take up the challenge by lobbying governments and councils for better facilities that will encourage girls and women to play the game. They must have forgotten the basics of what attracts new players and increased numbers to sport. I’ve yet to come across a family who says “our daughter won’t play football” because you don’t have changing rooms and a good shower block”. Our local netball courts are overflowing at the weekends and they have one toilet block and a change room for officials only. Local sport doesn’t work like that. What I do see are girls being registered to play because the family watched The Matilda’s play and win and there was a particular player the daughter saw and she wants the chance to be just like her!
Clearance Creek Water
Guest
Sacking Staj was the beginning of a predictable slide down a somewhat dirty , slippery slope. When you assassinate someone , you need to have a rock solid reason, if you expect the punters to support the decision and move on. That was never the case .
Tigertown
Guest
Well, if the Matilda’s win the World Cup, I’ll be satisfied. The expectations for the ladies, it appears, outweighs the Socceroos.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
Tony has always talked a big game but delivery has been elusive. I've never felt confident with him at the helm. But maybe the rot really started when certain board member(s) took a dislike to Stajcic and decide to purge him. For reasons not explained. That is the type of own goal that Australian football/FFA/FA is very good at. Tony Gustavsson and Graham Arnold, fair to say that neither are covering themselves in glory.
Waz
Roar Rookie
They should have put at least 4 on the kiwis before the last minute brace - there was only one side deserving of winning that one, and it wasn’t the side scoring with a mis-hit cross. All your other points are valid Stuart, the Matilda’s fall from grace has been quite alarming to watch. If only we knew what they knew way back when, maybe all this would make sense?
NSD + Transfer Fees
Guest
We don’t even have a full time home and away season for the ALW and we are 12th in the world? Sounds like we are in a great spot given the actual infrastructure the game has in oz. Relying on Kerr seems like the usual thing that happens all over the world when your entire game plan is set up to pass it to the EPL striker and cross your fingers. What does playing for the long game even mean? This is somehow going to increase the season and salaries of the ALW? As a coach you are hired to win now. If you aren’t playing the youth in the starting 11 against weaker opposition than no you are not playing for the long game aka Sydney FC in alm.
NoMates
Roar Rookie
If they lose to the Kiwis in the upcoming game then yes the fairy tale is dead and burred.