The Matildas overcame a spirited South Korea - and some self-inflicted friendly fire - to complete a clean sweep of their two-match international friendly series with a 2-0 triumph in Newcastle on Monday night. A bumper crowd of 28,019 was stunned into silence in the 33rd minute when Australian midfielder Alanna Kennedy and midfielder Tameka Yallop clashed heads in a high-speed collision. Both players stayed down for treatment for several minutes, and Kennedy was sporting a massive shiner under her right eye when she finally regained her feet. But after heading to the sidelines for further assessment, both opted to play on, providing an inspirational boost for their teammates.
The Matildas celebrate Kaitlyn Torpey’s goal. Credit: Getty Images Ten minutes later, the Matildas opened the scoring when veteran midfielder Emily van Egmond dissected Korea’s defence with a sweet pass that Mary Fowler controlled and then banged into the net with a classy right-foot finish. It was the 22-year-old’s 16th goal for her country and would have no doubt have impressed skipper Sam Kerr, who was watching from the grandstand as she waits to make her return from a knee reconstruction. Fowler’s boyfriend, rugby league superstar Nathan Cleary, was sporting a beaming smile in the crowd.
Other than Fowler’s moment of magic, clear-cut chances were few and far between before half-time. Lively Holly McNamara put herself in some promising positions in the early exchanges, and Korean striker Ji Soyun was narrowly off target with a shot in the ninth minute. Experienced Caitlin Foord came on for McNamara after half-time, replacing her at the point of the attack. Foord wasted no time in getting involved and delivered a crafty pass in the 57th minute that Yallop blasted into the hands of Korean goalkeeper Kim Minjung.
Kennedy was eventually replaced in the 60th minute. Five minutes later, Fowler whipped in a cross to Foord, who had three cracks at goal, one of which rebounded off the crossbar. Eventually, the ball popped up opportunely for Kaitlyn Torpey, who buried it. The match could be Tom Sermanni’s last as Matildas coach. Appointed late last year on an interim basis, his replacement is expected to soon be named. If it was his swansong, the Matildas at least sent him out on a positive note.
Latest posts Great stuff by Mary Fowler to give the Matildas a deserved lead, and some nice passing in the build-up from Courtney Nevin and Emily van Egmond. That’s Fowler’s 16th goal for her nation and an assist for the hometown hero van Egmond. The Tillies look good when they move the ball quickly and crisply like that. Mary Fowler unleashes against Korea. Credit: Getty Images The Matildas have enough injuries at the moment - they don’t need to be making more of them on their own.
There’s a stoppage in play right now because of a friendly fire collision between Alanna Kennedy and Tameka Yallop. The latter has some sort of knee problem, while the former has a massive bruise on her face... which the crowd has just seen. That will probably look like a black eye tomorrow. Let’s hope there’s no structural damage for either player. This isn’t the first time Kennedy has copped a facial injury in a game, by the way. There’s a rather famous meme of her reacting to seeing herself with a broken nose on the big screen in a friendly against New Zealand two years ago. This was a bit like that.
Advertisement Goal! Not surprisingly, Mary Fowler has opened the scoring, controlling the ball then banging it in after a neat pass from Emily van Egmond penetrated Korea’s last line of defence. Bad news for the Aussies. Alanna Kennedy and Tameka Yallop are down for treatment after a high-speed head clash. Kennedy appears to be sporting a massive shiner under her right eye. Both players have opted to play on, earning a huge cheer from the crowd.
G’day from the Ashfield bureau. It’s been a very open start to this game, with the Koreans easily getting in behind the Australian defence on three separate occasions already, clearly intent on a square-up after Friday night’s defeat in Sydney. The Matildas need to tighten things up on the run because they will be punished eventually if they keep letting that happen.
It’s worth noting, by the way, that we haven’t seen the central defensive pairing of Clare Hunt and Alanna Kennedy at all during this window, with Steph Catley used at centre-back instead next to Kennedy. We don’t know why Hunt has been benched; she hasn’t had the greatest season at Tottenham Hotspur, but it could also be loading-related. Australia’s Charlotte Grant crashes into Korea’s Mun Eunju.
Advertisement Mary Fowler has caused the crowd to gasp with a curling left-footed shot that Korea goalkeeper Kim Minjung scooped up, just as the lively Holly McNamara appeared set to pounce. It’s a pretty even contest thus far. Australia looking slightly more threatening, but there have been no clear-cut chances yet for either team. Obviously it’s only a friendly, but it’s still a bit weird watching Australia playing on home turf and not wearing the traditional green and gold. What do you all think of the strip? We’re off and running here in Newcastle, and the big crowd is pumped after the national anthems and fireworks. They’ll be hoping the home team can provide some pyrotechnics of their own.
The Matildas head to the sheds after completing their warm-up. Advertisement The fans would no doubt rather she was on the pitch, but Sam Kerr will be a face in the crowd supporting her Tillies teammates tonight. The inspirational skipper is still recovering from a knee reconstruction, but she’ll no doubt be busy signing autographs and posing for selfies with her adoring supporters. Sam Kerr in the crowd at Newcastle.
