So, the long road it is then back to Sydney for what the Matildas hope will be a shot at Asian Cup glory.
Joe Montemurro’s squad will pack their bags and return to Perth after producing 45 minutes of what they hope to be and another 45 minutes of what the coach labelled “patchy” and “careless” as they wrapped up the group stage with a 3-3 draw with Korea Republic.
The result sees Korea Republic top the group on goal difference from Australia who now face a far tougher route to the silverware.
Captain Sam Kerr, summing up the mood post-game on Channel 10, said the draw “felt like a loss.”
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PRESSURE TEST VERDICT – THE FIRST HALF
This match shaped as the biggest test of Montemurro’s tenure so far. How would a possession heavy game plan that calls for brave decision making with the ball hold up under the glare of tournament football against an opponent ranked inside the world’s top 25 on home soil?
The first half provided a glimpse. It was brave, dynamic and entertaining and if it can be replicated for longer the Montemurro project is likely to be successful.
The coach deployed a midfield three of Alanna Kennedy in a holding role, Clare Wheeler slightly more advanced and Katrina Gorry in behind Sam Kerr as a number 10 playmaker.
Gorry, who usually occupies a deeper position, linked up superbly with Kerr and brought the Chelsea striker straight into the game.
When Australia couldn’t go short and simple they launched a rocket into the feet of Kerr who had Gorry for company. The Chelsea striker’s hold-up play in the first half was superb.
Korea Republic also had to worry about Mary Fowler and Caitlin Foord either side of that combination.
Foord and Gorry both had clear cut chances to score in the tenth and eleventh minutes respectively, but those missed opportunities came back to haunt the Matildas.
Korea Republic scored in the 13th minute off a blistering counterattack.
For that brief moment (and a few that followed) the space vacated by Ellie Carpenter charging forward from right back was exposed.
The hole was quickly plugged. All three midfielders spent time dropping into right back to cover Carpenter’s attacking advances.
Korea Republic’s first goal seemed a momentary lapse in that system rather than a deeper flaw in it.
The Matildas ended the half 2-1 up thanks to goals from Kennedy and Kerr, but the stat sheet once again hinted that the hosts should’ve been ahead by more.
Australia had 12 shots but just six on target and 54 per cent possession compared to Korea Republic’s three shots with two on target.
“We have ourselves to blame,” Foord told Channel 10.
“We had a lot of chances, myself included.
“We put those away early on, it’s a different game.”
PRESSURE TEST VERDICT – THE SECOND HALF
The platform had been laid for the Matildas to launch from, but instead it strangely fell apart.
Two goals in just under four minutes straight after half-time, including a penalty for handball in the box, gave Korea Republic a 3-2 lead.
The intensity of Australia’s press vanished, and the short, sharp use of the ball was replaced with longer balls.
Fowler was shifted from the wing into a more central playmaking role but didn’t get the ball with enough frequency to cause the type of chaos we know she’s capable of.
Kennedy struck just before full-time to ensure it finished even but Montemurro was left in no doubt his side needs to improve.
“You never doubt the confidence and the fight, but we need to manage games better,” he told Channel 10 after full-time.
“We were very patchy tonight, and I think when you play against a quality team and they can retain the ball you’re not going to get the result you want.
“I think we were just careless.
“We didn’t get our distances right, probably the ball speed was a bit too slow at times.
“It’s a pity because the first half especially we sort of adjusted tactically and it worked and then second half the whole idea was to manage the game and we got ourselves caught.”
ALANNA KENNEDY REBORN
Hands up if you thought Alanna Kennedy would be the Matildas leading goalscorer at the end of the group stage at this Asian Cup.
Kennedy, a mainstay as a centre back in green and gold throughout much of her career at international level, has been deployed as a deep lying midfielder under Montemurro.
Players in that position rarely score. Their job is usually centred around breaking up attacking raids and starting them for their team instead of being on the end of scoring opportunities. Kennedy has managed to score two goals in each of her last two games and looked every bit at home in the role.
“It’s something that I’m familiar with at club level throughout my whole career,” Kennedy told Channel 10.
“It’s just something that people probably haven’t seen a lot for the Matildas.
“I enjoy playing that role,” she said.
It’s an incredible change in fortune for the 31-year-old who, at one stage, appeared to have been consigned to a role on the bench as a host of young defenders pushed their claims.
Now, it’s hard to see Kennedy being left out of the starting side for the rest of the tournament.
KERR BANKS MORE FITNESS IN RETURN FROM INJURY
Lost amongst the disappointment of the result was the fact Kerr not only scored a well taken goal – her second of the tournament – but played the full match.
That’s two full games and one outing of an hour in the space of just a week for the forward who, in reality, is still in the relatively early stages of returning from an anterior cruciate ligament injury that kept her out of the game for 634 days.
By her own admission, she is not back to her lethal best just yet, but the signs are there that it is possible.
The captain worked tirelessly leading the press and tried desperately to link up play not just in the first half but also in a disjointed second half in particular.
CONCUSSION CONCERNS MOUNT FOR MONTEMURRO
The Matildas are now monitoring two of their best players for concussion symptoms.
Winger Hayley Raso was ruled out of the draw with Korea Republic after copping several knocks to the head against Iran on Thursday night on the Gold Coast.
Catley was hit in just the ninth minute at Stadium Australia, and while she tried to play on was eventually substituted 10 minutes later.
It’s not ideal with experience at this stage of a tournament in high demand but the health of these two players will come first.
MATILDAS HAVEN’T LOST WORLD CUP GLOW
Have you ever been to a concert where you can’t even hear the person next to you?
That was the level of noise at Stadium Australia. Put a roof on the place and it might get blown clean off.
The official crowd figure was 60,279 – the largest ever attendance for a Women’s Asian Cup match – and it sounded like double that.
The pre-tournament talk centred around whether the hysteria that followed the Matildas through the Women’s World Cup in 2023 had faded. It hasn’t.
Through balls were cheered like second half stoppage time winners let alone the volume generated by goals.
Even Mary Fowler’s effort in the 31st minute that was deflected into the side netting but looked like it had gone in set off the smoke cannons behind the goal.
The young girls who see this team as role models have returned clad once again in green and gold alongside the young boys (and grown men) in Sam Kerr jerseys.
Just over 60-thousand people on a Sunday night with school and work looming on a Monday morning in one of the toughest sporting markets on earth is a fair effort.
WHAT HAPPENS FROM HERE?
The Matildas head back across the Nullarbor to the scene of their opening group stage win against the Philippines in Perth.
Had they won against South Korea not only would they have stayed in Sydney, but the added prize would’ve been a date with one of the best third placed finishers and an extra day’s rest.
Instead, it’s a clash with DPR Korea or China on Friday in a quarter-final that not only has huge implications for their Asian Cup ambitions but also potentially their hopes of direct qualification for next year’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Spirits will need lifting before then.
“Hopefully it goes better than tonight,” Kerr said.
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