Late blitz all but seals place in Paris for Matildas

The first 72 minutes felt a bit like Waiting for Godot. The first of two legs between the Matildas and Uzbekistan for a place at the Olympics was watched by fewer than 2000 spectators in Tashkent bearing witness to a search for meaning most present did not know existed.

Milliy Stadium became the theatre of the absurd, one of constantly shifting patterns and passages of play evoking hope that a goal would eventually materialise and a sense of purpose restored. That the Matildas are just fine without Sam Kerr and also without a benched Caitlin Foord, against unfamiliar opposition in an unfamiliar place and the Paris Games on the line.

Which is to say: but can they do it on a cold snowy Saturday in Tashkent? Well, it took what one suspects might have been an earlier-than-anticipated half-time introduction of Foord, then Michelle Heyman’s first international goal since 2016 – in her first Matildas appearance in almost as long – and an individual wonder goal from Mary Fowler. But who can argue with 3-0 – even when it’s at the death – when the home leg is the Matildas’ very own party town of Melbourne in four days’ time?

The test in this zero-degree qualifier was whether the Matildas would be able to break down a low Uzbek block. In the end, an overall strong Australian line-up did not allow the home side to settle into said block, posing their attacking enquiries with enough variation that the world No.47 outfit’s resilience eventually tired.

The Matildas finished with 27 shots, including nine on target, while Uzbekistan had one shot and none on target. Goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold would have been freezing.

But it does not solve the attacking issue which will undoubtedly be talked about in the lead-up to Wednesday’s home leg at Marvel Stadium. Foord, possibly the next definite starter behind Kerr – back in London rehabbing an ACL tear – was on the bench. Football Australia cited load management after a string of taxing games for Arsenal, suggesting her powder was being kept dry for the next game.

Michelle Heyman is swarmed by Matildas teammates after her goal.Credit: Getty

In her place was a debutant wearing Kerr’s No.20. Kaitlyn Torpey’s rise has been so swift she had found herself in unfamiliar territory more than once in the past few weeks. Earlier this month, there was the $75,000 transfer from Melbourne City to San Diego Wave. Last week, the 23-year-old got her first Matildas call-up. This week she was straight into the starting line-up – not as a defender, but a winger.

Not 20 minutes in, her first international goal beckoned when a terrific cross from Hayley Raso fizzed over the box. Emily van Egmond could have probably taken a stab near the penalty spot but left it for her new San Diego teammate, who was lurking at the back post. Torpey, too, played the selfless act, and tried to square the ball back for van Egmond only to miss her target.

If there was a theme to Torpey’s debut, it was probably of a new player not backing herself when opportunities arose. If there was a theme to Australia’s collective first half, it was of a team creating half-chance after half-chance and lacking a final ball to give them an advantage. Raso flashed wide. Van Egmond tried and failed to keep a half-volley down. Even Alanna Kennedy rushed into the box from defence. Fowler was like honey to a swarm of bees – surrounded at every opportunity.

In Foord’s absence, the aim of this particular game was to get the ball to the feet of Fowler. It happened for the first time in the 13th minute when the Matildas’ most ephemeral being drifted, in that transient way of hers, into the area and stepped in for a low, hard shot Maftuna Jonimqulova did well to save. Early in the second half, Fowler delivered a cross so flawless it made van Egmond’s subsequent miss from the goalmouth appear all the more wasteful.

By that point, coach Tony Gustavsson had already made a half-time substitution, bringing Foord on for Torpey. Only 20 minutes more would pass before he finally relented and injected an out-and-out striker into the action. In terms of style, Heyman is the closest thing to Kerr this current Matildas squad has. And as devastating as the Fowler-van Egmond false nine set-up can be, this match was increasingly calling for a strong No.9 who can hold up the ball.

Less than seven minutes into her first shift in seven years, she did what she came to do. A Steph Catley corner swung into a busy box. Jonimqulova punched away the initial effort but Heyman was a predator lying in wait for the follow-up. In practicality, it was a regulation poke home. Symbolically, it was a wee bit more than that.

Whether it’s enough to get Heyman on a plane to Paris come July – should the Matildas qualify – is another matter for another day. But her almost immediate impact confirmed (once more) that for Australia to be a chance of an Olympics medal, they must have a variety of attacking options.

Twelve minutes and several gilt-edged chances later, Fowler zigzagged towards goal and deposited a tidy finish into the left corner. Two minutes later, Foord made it three via a header thanks to a ball from Arsenal teammate Catley.

The Matildas will fly straight back to Dubai on Saturday, before both they and Uzbekistan depart for Melbourne on Sunday morning.

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