Matildas zeroing in on sweep

HAT-TRICK hero Emily van Egmond says the Matildas are ready to ride the wave of momentum in their blockbuster Olympic qualifier with China.

The Melbourne City midfielder was a circuit-breaker for Australia in Monday night’s 6-0 thrashing of Thailand at Sydney’s Campbelltown Sports Stadium. The Matildas had been frustrated by the Chaba Kaew before van Egmond struck a quick-fire double on the stroke of halftime and added a third after the break.

Van Egmond was upbeat on Australia’s chances of a clean sweep in Sydney tonight.

“The good thing is you can see that we’re starting to create a lot of box entries and goalscoring opportunities,” she said.

“If we can continue that and take that momentum into the game against China, I think it’ll be a positive step for us.”

The rout left Australia only needing to draw against the Steel Roses to top their group and avoid South Korea in the home-and-away playoffs.

Sharing the points with China would be enough for Australia to book a match-up with second-place finisher Vietnam, ranked 25 spots below them in the world rankings.