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 defender 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.
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.
The Matildas celebrate Kaitlyn Torpey’s goal.Credit: Getty Images
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 So-yun 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 Min-jeong.
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.
“I was really, really delighted with the performance tonight,” Sermanni said.
“I thought we played some really incisive, dynamic football at times, particularly in the second half.
“I would’ve liked to have scored another goal, to make it easier, but outside of that, I thought we kept the ball well and made a lot of good decisions in possession … overall, I thought the performance tonight - considering we were backing up from three or four days earlier, was excellent.”
