Matildas to turn on style
Fans to boost Games bid
Having achieved their primary goal of keeping a clean sheet in Tashkent, the Matildas plan to turn on the style in Melbourne in Wednesday night’s second leg of their Olympic Games qualifier against Uzbekistan.
The Matildas took a huge step towards qualifying for this year’s Paris Games with a 3-0 first-leg win on Saturday night in bitterly cold conditions at Milliy Stadium.
However, the Australians wasted a host of chances, which frustrated coach Tony Gustavsson.
But Gustavsson was pleased with his side keeping Uzbekistan scoreless, saying the three goals were a “bonus”.
“We spoke about that going into this game that this was the first half of two,” he said.
“You need to play that a bit different, so we said let’s have a very focused mature performance, where we don’t give anything away in terms of the defending focus and discipline, keep a clean sheet, which we did.
“And then it’s a bonus if we get some goals, so that when we come home to Australia, we can gear up and attack even more.
“We’ll be carried from the fans in the stands there, and get that energy that we know we get every time we play on home soil.
“The fact that we did get three goals … was very good for us, and I can’t wait to go back home to Australia to connect with our fans again.
“The players are thrive on that a lot.” going to
The Matildas didn’t score until the 72nd minute in Tashkent, with substitute Michelle Heyman breaking the deadlock in her first appearance for the national team since 2018.
Star attacking pair Mary Fowler and Caitlin Foord then added to the scoreline to ensure it was a comfortable win.
Arsenal star Foord, who came on at the start of the second half after the Matildas felt the need to “manage” her minutes, echoed Gustavsson’s sentiments of upping the ante in attack at Marvel Stadium.
“Hopefully more goals than what we had (in Tashkent),” Foord said when asked about what was planned for Wednesday night.
“We’ll definitely be wanting that. We all love going home and playing in front of our home fans, but on the flip side, Uzbekistan are going to be thriving off that as well.
“It’s not many times they get to play in front of crowds like that so they’ll definitely be up for it as well, but those fans are there for us and we want to put on a show for them.”
Foord was delighted for 35year-old Canberra United striker Heyman, who seemingly has an important role to play for the Matildas going forward in the absence of longterm casualty Sam Kerr.
“Being out for such a long time, to come back into the team, and look like she hasn’t even been out of place, that’s massive credit to her,” Foord said. “In a game like this we needed someone like her that’s really good in the air to put the first one in, which she did. I’m just really happy for her.”