Cortnee Vine has scored her first international goals as the Matildas lifted the pressure on coach Tony Gustavsson with a convincing 4-1 victory over South Africa.
The African Cup of Nations winners were modest opposition, but the way Australia controlled the game and converted their chances was a timely boost after a poor run of results.
It was all the more impressive for being largely achieved without Chelsea’s Sam Kerr, who had been unwell leading into Saturday’s match at Kingsmeadow, her club’s compact ground in south-west London.
Kerr featured in the last 10 minutes, to the delight of her fans in the sparse 1,417 crowd, but the game had long been won.
In her absence, stand-in skipper Steph Catley provided leadership, having a hand in four goals, and Vine a goalscoring line-leading presence at centre-forward.
The Sydney FC striker scored twice in the opening 25 minutes. Clare Polkinghorne (42) and Caitlin Foord (54) added further goals before South Africa gained a late consolation.
Kerr was one of four changes from the XI beaten 2-1 in Sydney by Canada last month, all of them enforced. Lydia Williams, Tameka Yallop and Emily van Egmond were also missing, with Teagan Micah, Catley, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Hayley Raso coming in.
Williams was out with an ankle injury, which also ruled the Paris St Germain ‘keeper out of Tuesday’s match in Denmark (Wednesday 0300 AEDT). That gave Micah a chance to stake a claim for a position Gustavsson has said he would soon make a firm decision on.
Not that the Rosengard No.1 had much to do as Australia dominated from the start, making a fifth-minute breakthrough.
Catley, regularly overlapping on the left, forced a corner that she took herself. Mary Fowler rose unchallenged and her header went through reserve keeper Regirl Ngobeni’s arms and onto the post. From less than a metre out Vine tapped in her debut international goal, the easiest she’ll ever score.
Her second, however, showcased a touch of ingenuity. Catley seized on a loose pass and neatly released Arsenal team-mate Foord, whose cross was cleverly flicked in by Vine.
Vine might have had a half-hour hat-trick, but shot just wide from another Catley cross.
Australia were not long denied. Prior to the game they had identified the lack of height in the Banyana Banyana defence and shortly before the break they again converted a Catley corner. This time Polkinghorne lost her marker and headed in at the near post.
The fourth was a virtuoso goal from Foord, taking a Catley pass and dribbling forward before shooting inside the far post.
Gustavsson, who was wearing a green-and-gold scarf as he stood in unseasonal sunshine, made a raft of changes for the closing stages but Australia remained in control. However, better goalkeeping and some missed chances kept the score down.
Indeed, the final goal came from South Africa. Centre-halves Aivi Luik and Polkinghorne failed to deal with a long clearance and Hildah Magaia ran clear before chipping Micah, who was stranded well off her line.
The sloppiness of the goal will have tempered Gustavsson’s joy with the more demanding test of Denmark to come.
© AAP
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
What if we celebrated all of the achievements big and small, and weeded out those hell-bent on bringing down a game that is doing a hell of a lot right?
The Matildas have been dealt a horrible hand as they strive to win their first Olympic medal. The draw for the women's and men's…
The ruthless Matildas have thrashed Uzbekistan 10-0 to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games in style, with Michelle Heyman scoring four goals to put…
In a few hours, the Matildas will round off a successful pair of matches against Uzbekistan with a convincing win and be qualified for…
Michelle Heyman has delighted in scoring her first international goal in almost eight years to inspire a 3-0 victory over Uzbekistan and drag the…
Australia's captain and star striker Sam Kerr has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during Chelsea's warm weather training camp in Morocco, the…
