All square in Seoul - Full Report
The Westfield Young Matildas has drawn its first of two games against Korea Republic at the KFA National Training Centre in Seoul.
The Westfield Young Matildas has drawn its first of two games against Korea Republic at the KFA National Training Centre in Seoul.
Neither side could break the deadlock, although Marianna Tabain went close to securing a win for Australia at the end, but her effort hit the crossbar.
The draw was a good hit out in humid conditions, as they continue their final preparations before heading off to the AFC U19 Women's Championship in Wuhan, China in early August.
Australia did have a scare though, when Courtney Beutel needed to go to hospital after copping a knock to the head and neck region. However a CT scan was all positive and cleared of any serious damage. The match was held up for 25 minutes during the second half as medical officials assisted Beutel on the field.
It was an even start to the match for neither side really creating too many good chances. Korea had several shots which Casey Dumont was able to take comfortably.
Australia-s first decent chance came after 25 minutes when Beutel battled and won ball on right; cut inside and crossed to Tameka Butt on the edge of the box, but her shot on the run went over the crossbar.
The second half was much the same with neither side really able to take a stranglehold of the match, with most chances coming from set pieces.
In the 66th minute, Dumont pulled off a terrific save to deny Korea what looked a certain goal, diving and touching the shot onto the post.
Soon after came the delay for the Beutel, with medical officials showing a lot of concern for the talented striker.
After play resumed it was Tabian that came closest to breaking the deadlock, her looping shot beating the Korean keeping, but hitting the crossbar, before the Korean defence eventually cleared.
Coach Alen Stajcic was pleased with the performance and with the team-s preparation on track.
“It was a pleasing result and solid performance against a very well organised and highly technical Korean side,” Stajcic said.
“We created a few good opportunities to score, and defended well for the most part, especially with some players in new roles; van Egmond and Tabain in particular.
“It's great preparation for next week, looking forward to another hit-out on Monday.”
Match Details
Korea Republic 0 Australia 0
Australian line-Up: Casey Dumont (GK), Marianna Tabain, Emily van Egmond, Jessica Seaman (Rebecca Kiting 68-), Elise Kellond-Knight, Teresa Polias, Kyah Simon, Tameka Butt (Ella Mastrantonio 68-), Teigan Allen, Gema Simon (Nicole Sykes h/t), Courtney Beutel (Ruth Blackburn 68-)
Cautions: K. Simon (40-), Beutel (41-)