The Matildas’ final preparations for the Paris Olympics have got off to a rusty start after a scrappy 1-1 draw with China in Adelaide on Friday.
Australia’s coach Tony Gustavsson fielded a largely experimental line-up for the opening hour of the Adelaide Oval fixture, but they were upstaged by the reigning Asian Cup champions, with a well-organised and disciplined China keeping the Matildas shotless for the first half.
And while a sell-out 52,912 people had packed in to see the Matildas strut their stuff, they were instead silenced in the 30th minute after Chinese winger Zhang Linyan opened the scoring, volleying home a cross from Central Coast Mariners winger Wurigumula.
But veteran striker Michelle Heyman came to the rescue in stoppage-time of the first half, tapping in from a goal-mouth scramble after a Mary Fowler free kick was fumbled by China’s goalkeeper.
Before the match, Gustavsson said he remained undecided on four spots for the 18-woman squad to contest the Paris Olympics starting in late July. The team’s starting XI reflected his need to test out those peripheral players, beginning without big guns Caitlin Foord, Steph Catley, Ellie Carpenter, Hayley Raso and Kyra Cooney-Cross.
But the team that started the game struggled to break down a tightly-packed Chinese defence, and regularly coughed up possession before being punished by quick transitional counter-attacks.
While the momentum of the game began to swing after five senior players were substituted on in the 60th minute, winger Caitlin Foord lasted just 15 minutes, leaving the field after being felled in a tackle, despite appearing in no great discomfort.
Following a tepid opening 29 minutes, China struck on the half-hour when a fast break down the right flank left Australia’s Kaitlyn Torpey sprawled in the grass after grappling with powerful striker Wurigumula.
As the pair jostled, Torpey slipped and fell to ground — replays showed a slight tug on her jersey from her opponent — while Wurigumula was quick to recover from the contact, her follow-up cross into the box deflected into the path of Zhang, who scored with a reflex right footer.
After half time, Australia showed far greater attacking intent and almost had a reward in the 56th minute when Cortnee Vine swung a cross into the box.
The ball landed near Fowler who was set to pull the trigger and shoot, but advancing China keeper Xu Huan knocked the ball away. Six minutes later, Gustavsson made five substitutions, summoning Catley, Foord, Raso, Carpenter and Kyra Cooney-Cross.
The injection of the Matildas mainstays had instant impact, with the Australians crafting a series of scoring chances through Raso and Fowler, though a scrambling China kept the Matildas scoreless.
But in a bizarre series of events in stoppage time, where Australia won a free kick just outside China’s penalty spot after the goalkeeper slid out to collect an innocuous ball only to hand-ball it and give a set piece away, a powerful striker by Fowler was fumbled by Xu and duly poked home by Heyman.
The Matildas meet China again in Sydney on Monday night and Gustavsson will announce his Olympic squad the following day.
Check out how the game unfolded in our live blog below.
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See you Monday!
I still think Heyman’s (and Fowler’s) issues tonight were more about distribution. They both should be on the plane to Paris. But maybe those in midfield (who aren’t feeding through enough quality ball) should be a bit worried – they need to step up and do better in the next leg.
– Ingrid
I think tonight that those who are already locked in to the Olympic squad are there for a reason…not sure any of the questions Tony had about the remaining four players were really answered tonight
– Tania
I think we’re all on the same page about tonight’s game: the Matildas definitely didn’t show enough against China to convince us of anything, so they’ll really need to step it up in the second match in Sydney on Monday to settle out nerves about their readiness for the Olympics.
We’ll have a match report out shortly, but for now, thanks so much for engaging with the blog tonight, and I’ll see you all again here on Monday night from 7:00pm AEST!
Until then, enjoy your weekend, and gooooo Tillies!!!
So what did you make of that?
Redemption rocks. Phew! Okay, how do you pick an optimal 18 squad out of that? I guess that’s why Tony’s paid the big bucks. More questions than answers, maybe the answers’ll arrive on Monday. Thanks Sam!
– Big Ben
High energy and effort leads to chances and finally a goal. Why did they play so conservatively for the first 88 minutes? Raso showed the way
– Tobi
Matildas lack quality. Any squad with EVE and Polkinghorne hasn’t hope against the new top nations.
– The bill
Great to see Michelle Heyman score at the death to salvage the draw, she’ll definitely be on the plane to Paris in July.
– Adam
What’s the answer? Give them time (and hope Ford’s injury heals)
– Betty
Whenever the Matildas have two-game windows, they do tend to be quite rusty and slow in the first of the two matches. So in that context, tonight’s game isn’t a huge surprise, nor is it a shock given the five changes Tony Gustavsson made to the starting line-up.
And yet… with Paris less than two months away… the Matildas don’t really have time to be this sloppy, do they? They certainly won’t be forgiven for it against the USA, Germany, and Zambia.
But who do you reckon impressed tonight? Did any player convince you that they should go to the Olympics? Or do we need another game to figure it out?
Heyman redemption!
Let the scoreboard show that it was Michelle Heyman who equalised. I won’t hear a bad word said about her! (even if she didn’t have a great game 🙂 ⚽️💚💛
– Leo
michelle heyman doesn’t miss in front of goal! she might not be sam kerr but she should be in paris as a CF.
– alex
– Samantha Lewis
I was literally typing a post about Michelle Heyman’s game tonight, and then she just goes and scores.
Maybe that’s why she goes to Paris: because she can be there right until the very end.
Full time: Australia 1 – 1 China
The commentators curse Sam…Michelle Heyman unseen all night…bobs up in the 95min…extraordinary!
– stumcin
Yeeeeeeesssssssss!!!! 🥳🥳🥳
– Tania
YYYYYYYYY3EEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAASHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
– Natty
FInally!!!!!!
– M
I feel that goal should be given to the china goalkeeper. She put a lot of effort to make australia score
– First
Michelle is back online!!!
– Micko
Geez. Oztraylia. You got damn lucky with that goal at the end! Coulda/shoulda done better. And sooner.
– Ingrid
Whew
– sandye
Hurray
– jag
Just like the last time they played, a stoppage-time equaliser rescues the Matildas after a pretty sluggish display.
Absolute scenes from the sold-out stadium – and from all of you – right at the death!
94′ GOAL AUSTRALIA
MICHELLE HEYMAN EQUALISES AFTER A TRULY BIZARRE SERIES OF EVENTS!
A free kick just outside China’s box was awarded after their goalkeeper came sprinting off her line and seemed to hand-ball it after a miscontrol?
Mary Fowler stood over the ball, sending her rocket of a right foot through the set piece towards the front post, where the keeper isn’t able to catch it and the deflection falls right to the feet of Heyman, who pokes it home.
1-1!
93′ Where are our goals coming from?
The hole left by Sam Kerr’s absence is starting to look bigger and bigger with every minute that goes by tonight!
– stumcin
Hopefully Caitlin Foord doesn’t have a serious injury, this would be disastrous for the Matildas 55 days out from the first game in the Olympics.
– Adam
As I wrote at the start of tonight’s blog, the Matildas really haven’t figured out the answer of how to score goals without Sam Kerr.
As Adam says, this injury to Caitlin Foord is a worry. She was massive for the Tillies during the World Cup when Kerr was unavailable. Mary Fowler’s wobbly form in this game is a concern, as has Michelle Heyman’s kinda-nothing performance.
So what’s the answer?
91′ Chance China!
Another counter-attack from China sees Wu Chengshu through one-on-one with Clare Hunt, who’s backtracking into her own box, trying to hold up the energised substitute.
Chengsu twists and turns and finds a half-space, swinging her foot through the ball, but she doesn’t quite connect and it fizzes into Mackenzie Arnold’s hands.
Five minutes of added time
87′ Hunt gets crunched
A wildly spinning aerial ball from Hayley Raso that deflected off a Chinese player falls dangerously towards the top of the box, where Clare Hunt and substitute Wu Chengshu both race towards it, trying to nick it out of the air and do something.
Hunt is the tallest of the two and is able to head it away in time, but Chengshu barrels straight through the centre-back, sending her crashing into the grass.
There’s a couple words exchanged between the Chinese striker and Steph Catley afterwards as Hunt catches her breath. Not so friendly after all, this.
86′ Big Woman Up Top
I don’t know how you folks feel, but when I see Alanna Kennedy thrown up front into the centre-forward position, that’s when I know that Tony Gustavsson is running out of ideas.
Like, I get it. She’s tall and good in the air. But so is Michelle Heyman. Is this really Plan B if the Matildas are behind during the Olympics?
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85′ China substitutions
Mengwen Li is off for Mengyu Shen.
Shuang Wang Shuang is replaced by Cong Yuan.
And Yanwen Wang is off for Jiali Tang.
82′ Michelle Heyman’s gone missing
Another watcher/reader (Olive) mentioned that Mary Fowler was “struggling to do her Mary magic here”. I wonder if both her and Michelle Heyman are suffering from not being fed enough good balls? Hopefully, the subs will change that and improve distribution.
– Ingrid
Is hayman in her space jam version?
– First
She’s really just been a warm body out there for this second half, hasn’t she? It’s like the game has been happening around her and she’s just kinda been watching from a really awesome front-row seat.
I do think that the build-up play has affected her tonight, though. She barely connected with the two midfielders in the first half, and now is having to deliberately involve herself in plays to try and get anywhere near the ball.
She leaps onto a moment now, spinning on the ball after a China error, and takes a couple charging steps into the box, but just as she tries to shoot, a Chinese defender gets a toe on the ball and it spins into the keeper’s arms.
80′ Chance Australia!
They’re throwing more bodies forward now, trying to overload China’s backline and create a bit of chaos.
Another corner is taken short, with Fowler delivering the ball to the very back of the box, where Hayley Raso nods it back towards the penalty spot.
Kennedy is there, and tries an acrobatic sideways kick, but she doesn’t quite catch it and it spins over the bar.
79′ Not many beliEVErs on the blog tonight
Surprised TG left EVE out there….thoughts?
– Tania
not sure why tony is so keen on emily van egmond? she cannot play as a striker and as a midfielder not anymore effective than clare wheeler or yallop…
– alex
Honestly? I agree. Emily Van Egmond doesn’t seem to have the speed or style that you associate with this high-intensity Matildas team, so it’s odd that she’s played such a pivotal role in the side for so long.
78′ Aaaaaand she misses
Kennedy goes for it, trying to whip the ball up and over China’s wall and into the top corner, but it flies over the crossbar instead.
78′ Matildas win a dangerous free kick
Emily Van Egmond was clipped from behind by a clumsy Chinese player just outside the top of the box.
Steph Catley and Alanna Kennedy are standing over it. China have five players in the wall…
Crowd: 52,912
Hectic. Well done, Adelaide!
76′ Australia substitution
Uh oh.
Caitlin Foord, who came on only 15 minutes ago, goes down in the grass, gesturing towards her hamstring.
A minute later, she walks off the field, replaced by Brisbane Roar winger Sharn Frier.
75′ China substitution
Goal-scorer Zhang Linyan is off for Liu Yanqui.
74′ Chance Australia!
A more characteristic passage from Australia with Ellie Carpenter slotting through the speedy Hayley Raso down the right wing.
She cuts the ball back from the by-line, aiming for the penalty spot, where Mary Fowler is steaming in to meet it.
But Carpenter is there instead, and gets in the way of Fowler’s swing, so she doesn’t quite meet it properly and the ball deflects off a China defender and bounces away up-field instead.
Bugger.
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