Matildas thrash Vietnam to all but book Olympic passage
It seems almost treasonous to say so, but Sam Kerr is struggling in the wake of her move to Chelsea despite helping the Matildas put one foot on the plane to Tokyo with victory over Vietnam.
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The Matildas’ passport to the Olympics is stamped and almost sealed.
Only a quite catastrophic defeat in the return leg of their play-off with Vietnam next week will deny Australia passage to the Olympics, carrying a five-goal advantage from an utterly one-sided contest at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle.
Two goals to Sam Kerr, plus one each to Chloe Logarzo, Emily van Egmond and Clare Polkinghorne, eventually swept aside a Vietnam side who struggled to compete physically throughout, and whose technique failed them at every key moment.
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In truth the margin should have been far greater, as Ante Milicic’s side once again created a swathe of opportunities but couldn’t match them with a similar conversion rate.
It’s a conundrum Milicic will ponder long beyond Wednesday night’s second leg, though the primary goal of actually getting to the Olympics is almost assured – assuming the coronavirus allows the Games to actually go ahead.
SAM’S STRUGGLES
It seems almost treasonous to say so, but Sam Kerr is struggling for form in the wake of her move to Chelsea, for all that she contributed two goals on the night.
The first was a neat header from Ellie Carpenter’s measured cross, and Kerr converted a penalty for her side’s fifth comfortably enough after Hayley Raso was clipped in the box.
But by her own lofty standards Kerr looked like a player fractionally out of her normal rhythm, struggling to find those around her and extremely well marshalled by the Vietnam defence.
So great is her international profile that such attention is standard, but the effects of niggling injury and significant travel appear to be taking a toll.
CATLEY’S FIRING
Steph Catley continues to burnish her reputation as one of the world’s best left backs with another influential display.
Hers was the cross that Emily van Egmond deftly converted at the near post for Australia’s third goal, and hers was the clever reverse pass to release van Egmond that led to Clare Polkinghorne crashing in the fourth.
Catley’s forays forward remain a key part of Australia’s attacking threat, but the speed of her defensive recovery is equally important.
FORWARD THINKING
The utility of the Matldas forward line remains one of its strongest assets, with Caitlin Foord deployed out wide when she can also offer so much of a threat through the middle.
Just short of the half-hour, Foord’s cross was headed on by van Egmond for Chloe Logarzo to sidefoot in her side’s second goal.
At that point a landslide of a result seemed on the cards, but the litany of missed chances was almost too long to detail.
Van Egmond was particularly culpable but Logarzo, Tameka Yallop and Kyah Simon all spared Vietnam a far heavier defeat amid an absolute blizzard of chances in the second half particularly.
At the Olympics itself, that profligacy will prove a far greater risk to Australia’s hopes of progressing.