Physical Address
Suite 5, 181 High Street,
Willoughby North NSW 2068
Sheargold apologises for Matildas rant | 04:33
The Matildas’ SheBelieves Cup campaign came to an end with a brave 2-1 defeat to Colombia in San Diego as Football Australia CEO James Johnson revealed they’re in “advanced discussions” with coaching candidates with Tom Sermanni to remain in charge in an interim role for friendly matches against South Korea in April.
Get all the latest football news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!
It was a much-improved performance from the side, but walking away from the tournament empty-handed will sting Australia’s pride.
The Matildas fell behind in the 15th minute after Wendy Bonilla finished off a devastating counterattack following a turnover from Katrina Gorry. Michelle Heyman, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Gorry couldn’t capitalise on great opportunities that all fell between the 21st and 25th minutes.
Ellie Carpenter went off with a tight hamstring just before she was due to be substituted at half-time and was replaced by Kaitlyn Torpey – a testament to the depth that is building in this squad ahead of the Asian Cup on home soil in 12-months.
Tottenham’s Hayley Raso got Australia back on level terms in the 69th minute after a string of half-chances, but just as the prospect of a first point at the SheBelieves Cup beckoned a cruel deflection off a Catalina Usme shot in the 73rd minute handed Colombia victory.
HOW DID THE MATILDAS PERFORM OVERALL?
The SheBelieves Cup might be a friendly tournament, but it’s one which is highly respected in the sport.
This was the first time Australia had competed at the event. The Matildas were the only side to walk away without a win. USA, Japan and Colombia all managed to secure at least one victory.
Defender Clare Hunt described their results as a “massive wake-up call” with three losses, albeit against competitive opposition, less than ideal for a side desperate to rebuild confidence after a group-stage exit at the Olympics in France late last year.
PROBLEMS IN-FRONT OF GOAL AND DECISION MAKING IN ATTACK
Australia conceded eight goals in three matches and scored just two with several players given the opportunity to lead the line.
Caitlin Foord, Michelle Heyman and Holly McNamara spent time playing striker. Foord and McNamara battled hard with little supply while Heyman scored in a 2-1 defeat to the USA. The 36-year-old had a golden chance to add to her tally against Colombia, but uncharacteristically couldn’t find her feet.
Amy Sayer is also recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered in May last year, but the simple answer could be the impending return of Sam Kerr.
The performance against Colombia was Australia’s most dynamic of the tournament in attack.
They finished with an even share of possession and created 34 final third entries, but frustratingly converted that into only 15 touches in the opposition box; producing nine shots with only one on target.
It’s still better than 41 per cent of possession and one shot with none on target against Japan and 33 per cent of the ball and six shots with one on target against the USA.
Sermanni trialled Kyra Cooney-Cross further forward as a playmaking number 10 in behind Heyman with Raso and Tameka Yallop on the right and left flanks respectively and that experiment showed promising signs. Cooney-Cross has the vision and temperament to unlock opposition defences but needed to see more of the ball.
“Pretty frustrated at the moment with the outcome of the game,” Sermanni said post-game.
“I thought we, possession wise, chances wise, football wise we created enough chances to win the game.
“The disappointing thing for me is that when we got ourselves back in the game that should’ve been a key for us to then really start to push forward, really start to dominate the game and they basically went to sleep almost immediately after we scored a goal and again gave up a really cheap goal.”
Natasha Prior of Australia. Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images)Source: Getty ImagesFOWLER PROBLEM POTENTIALLY SOLVED
Mary Fowler was a second-half substitute with Sermanni rotating his squad again as promised.
The question of where the Manchester City star is best utilised at international level has troubled consecutive coaches now.
However, we might’ve seen enough in a 30-minute outing against Colombia to give Sermanni and whoever eventually replaces him something to ponder.
She played in the number 10 role against Japan and the USA, but like Cooney-Cross couldn’t get on the ball enough to influence the game.
Fowler was deployed on the left against Colombia and was given far more time and space to work in than the clutter of a more central position.
“I thought she did very well when she came on tonight,” Sermanni said.
“She created things, her passing is excellent as it always is and yeah that could be the position that she ends up playing.”
ANOTHER EARLY GOAL BUT DEFENSIVE SHAPE AND EFFORT IMPROVES
Once again, the Matildas conceded an early goal.
It’s the fifth time in the last eight games the side has gone 1-nil down in the opening 15 minutes.
The players are all too aware it is becoming a habit and have addressed it in camp.
There was huge improvement though in how the side pressed Colombia inside its own half.
The USA and Japan easily escaped from difficult positions as Australia’s defensive structure was caught lacking. This time that structure looked much more organised and there were far less instances where Colombia was able to play its way out of trouble.
GOALKEEPING BATTLE
Teagan Micah seems to have broken Mackenzie Arnold’s stranglehold on the goalkeeping position.
Arnold wasn’t at her best against Japan and Micah, in contrast, made several important interventions in her appearances against the USA and Colombia.
The fight for a starting role is a slightly lopsided battle at the moment.
Micah has started the last seven games for Liverpool in the Women’s Super League while Arnold, the hero for Australia between the sticks at the women’s World Cup in 2023, is still in pre-season with NWSL side Portland Thorns after leaving West Ham.
Charlotte Grant talks with Hayley Raso. Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty ImagesSource: Getty ImagesTHE FUTURE
Tom Sermanni will still be the coach when the Matildas touch down in Sydney for two friendly games against South Korea in April.
Sermanni now has 147 matches to his name as coach of the Australian women’s national team and the clash with Colombia was the ninth game of this third stint in charge.
The task facing the 70-year-old is incredibly difficult. He’s holding the fort while trying to build depth and keep confidence high. Stylistically, he’s aware there’s work to be done to be competitive at the Asian Cup next year, but ultimately that responsibility will fall to someone else.
His record in this third coming as coach sits at one draw, three wins and five losses. Australian football owes him a debt of gratitude regardless of what that record looks like by the end of the April window. The search for Tony Gustavsson’s successor has gone on far longer than most expected, but FA CEO James Johnson has signalled that head office is closing in on its preferred choice.
“We are at the very back end of a process that has been very thorough,” Johnson said at an event to mark the looming milestone of one-year to go until the Asian Cup.
“We’ve looked at candidates abroad and also locally.
“We’re in advanced discussions and we know there’s an urgency to appoint the coach, but as we’ve said all along, we want to get the right coach because we’re still a year away from the women’s Asian Cup.
“What’s more important is getting the right coach in once that coach is available to coach a team.”
That seems to mean the desired candidate is currently employed elsewhere and an appointment can be finalised when that person has finished coaching for the season.
