Australia v South Korea: How forced changes, new combinations helped Matildas to 1-0 win

The Matildas were without a number of their Olympic stars and yet, the forced restart caused by line-up and combination changes did the trick for a much needed confidence boost.

It is the go to solution for technology when something isn’t working – turn it off and on again but Tom Sermanni has proved the same theory works for national football teams.

The Matildas 1-0 win over Korea Republic wasn’t perfect – they didn’t even score their own goal – but the energy and willingness to attack the ball was something that has been missing for quite some time.

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And the forced reset which led to the inclusion of Holly McNamara had a big role to play in that.

McNamara, finally back to full fitness after tearing her ACL for the third time in 2023, probably wouldn’t have featured in the starting line up had Mary Fowler not been on managed match minutes and Hayley Raso injured.

Sermanni being forced to make mass changes effectively hit the on/off switch for the Matildas – creating new combinations across all three lines on the pitch.

The back line welcomed in Charli Grant and Jamilla Rankin.

Winonah Heatley, Emily van Egmond, Tameka Yallop and Kyra Cooney-Cross combined in the midfield.

Caitlin Foord and McNamara created some unseen magic in the front line. The new combinations played a big role in delivering the Matildas Energiser bunny style of play but it wasn’t the only cause.

Players watch as the own goal by South Korea heads towards the back of the Australian net. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Players like McNamara, Teagan Micah, Heatley, Grant, Rankin and even van Egmond all have points to prove – a spot to fight for.

For them this wasn’t just a friendly – it was an opportunity to say to whoever the next coach of the Matildas might be “pick me, look what I can do”.

A home crowd also can’t be discounted – they certainly didn’t have 37,000 people cheering them on in the USA.

And you can’t not include Sam Kerr. She wasn’t on the pitch but Sermanni and every player who has fronted the media this week has been quick to talk about the massive lift Kerr has provided the team.

The fans are certainly loving having her back – even if she was only in the stands. Every time she was shown on the big screen fans went wild – acting like we had just scored the winning penalty kick against France at the World Cup.

“You read a lot of stuff and hear a lot of stuff but the Matildas supporters showed what they think of Sam and they’re absolutely delighted to have her back and as are the team and the staff,” Sermanni said post match.

“Sam’s happy to be back, she might just take credit for the win (last night) as an assistant coach.

“She’s been a really positive influence around the squad and hopefully before long she’s back on the pitch.”

Holly McNamara was ruthless against the Korea Republic. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

MCNAMARA MAGIC

The biggest sticking point for the Matildas has been scoring goals.

It was still an issue tonight but a possible saviour was unearthed.

Anyone who follows the A-League’s Women’s wouldn’t have been greatly surprised by McNamara’s performance.

She is the joint leading goal scorer, with 12 goals, despite missing part of the season due to her injury.

McNamara, 22, was ruthless against the Korea Republic.

She wasn’t afraid to run with the ball, take on players or take a shot.

Her chemistry with Foord created a huge number of chances and should have really resulted in a goal.

Her willingness to attack meant there was much less sitting off the ball and more tackling the game head on.

The Matildas had 45 per cent of the ball on Friday night – taking 13 shots with three on target.

In their 4-0 loss to Japan at the She Believes Cup they had 41 per cent possession making just one off-target shot.

Across the whole three-game tournament they had just two shots on target.

So while it wasn’t a clinical performance in the final third it was greatly improved. And enough to deliver a win.

Holly McNamara competes for the ball on a night where she added a huge spark to the Matildas attacking effort. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

Sermanni was full of praise for McNamara.

“It’s a challenge when you come up from the A-League’s Women and then suddenly have to come up and play at this level, particularly when we had some changes in the team through injury.

“She’s a real threat, she’s a real handful and it’s great to have that kind of old fashioned centre forward that keeps trying to make runs in behind.

“She caused the defence a lot of problems and the more game time she gets at this level the better she’ll get.”

A humble McNamara said she was “grateful” for the chance to play alongside Foord.

“I’ve learned a lot and I’m still learning,” McNamara said.

“There are just unreal players around me, so if I can get as much as I can during this time and then build on that’s going to be the best thing for me.”

It is uncertain what McNamara’s role will be at the Asian Cup given the expected return of Kerr. But one of the best things about McNamara is her versatility. She can play anywhere and is more than happy to do so.

The Matildas thank fans after their 1-0 win over South Korea. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

CONFIDENCE BOOST

The Matildas went from a huge high – a historic fourth place finish at a home World Cup to being bundled out of the Olympics in the group stage. It did more than bruise their confidence – it shattered it. They haven’t been the same since.

Getting a win, even off the back of a far from perfect performance, will go a long way to putting the pieces back together.

Even better than getting a win was doing it without conceding a goal.

Matildas have only had one clean sheet performance post Olympics – a 6-0 win over Chinese Taipei in December.

“It was really critical to get the win and a clean sheet makes it even better,” coach Sermanni said post match.

“If you look back at our last several games, apart from the Taipei games, we’ve been on the back foot from the start and conceded girls early and always been chasing the game, but I thought our attitude from the start was very good.

Charlotte Grant of Australia takes a selfie with fans. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

“International teams have ups and downs based on a whole variety of things but at some stage you’ve got to try and get some momentum back and that was a key thing that we talked about because it changes the mood.

“It changes the confidence. So getting out there and getting that win was really important and hopefully that will give us momentum going into this next game and then heading into the Asian Cup.”

Van Egmond said the fact the victory was against another Asian team gave them even more of a lift.

“This gives us a boost, we’ve all been saying we have the Asian Cup around the corner so every game is important for us,” van Egmond said.

“So to be able to test ourselves against them and see where we’re at now and we’ve got a bit of time to fix what we need to fix and keep on the upward spiral.”

Here is hoping the confidence boost coupled with the forced shut down executed by Sermanni is enough to keep the Matildas on the right path.

Because anyone with a television, phone or laptop that has malfunctioned knows the turn it off and on again method generally only works once.

Originally published as Australia v South Korea: How forced changes, new combinations helped Matildas to 1-0 win