Gielnik raring to go as Westfield Matildas arrive in familiar surrounds

They say home is where the heart is and it couldn’t be truer for Westfield Matildas forward Emily Gielnik as she prepares to grace the Suncorp Stadium turf.

Although born in Melbourne and now plying her trade for Victory in the Westfield W-League, Gielnik moved to Brisbane as a child and spent just under a decade with Brisbane Roar.

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With the Westfield Matildas arriving in the Sunshine State ahead of their clash with Korea Republic, Gielnik said she couldn’t wait to step out in green and gold in front of loved ones.

“Obviously Brisbane being my home for such a long time it’s nice because the Matildas haven’t had a game out there for such a long time so it’s a good opportunity for the fans, friends and family to see us play on home soil and Brisbane is home to me so just really excited,” Gielnik told matildas.com.au.

The 26-year old opened the scoring on Matchday One of the Cup of Nations against New Zealand at Leichhardt Oval.


With two goals in her past two international appearances, Gielnik said it was extra special when finding the back of the net at this level.

“As a striker, we love scoring but especially when you’re representing your country and in that green and gold jersey there’s something more special about it so yeah of course I’m happy,” she said.

Sunday’s match-up with the Taegeuk Ladies will serve as head coach Ante Milicic’s second in charge and Gielnik took time to praise his game plan and work with the team so far.

“With the short time we’ve had to prepare and get used to his playing style I think we’ve replicated it as best as we can and it’s been a really short space of time,” she said.

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“I think we executed as best we could last night and it’s promising, it’s attacking and it’s good, exciting football so really looking forward to Sunday.

“The squad depth is honestly phenomenal, it’s good to see how much depth we do have in the team and no matter whether we’re starting or coming off the bench we’re strong overall and we’re strong as a group in general so it’s really promising.”

Mattix