Colthorpe double secures win over China

The Westfield ‘Promising’ Matildas have secured a 2-1 win over the Chinese U/20 team in a friendly match played at the AIS in Canberra. Lauren Colthorpe scored the winning goal with less than 10 minutes remaining.

The Westfield ‘Promising- Matildas have secured a 2-1 win over the Chinese U/20 team in a friendly match played at the AIS in Canberra. Lauren Colthorpe scored both Australia's goals in the win.

With the young team preparing for the AFF (Asean) Women-s Championship in Vietnam next month, the match was a good solid hit out for the girls. China is preparing for the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup.

China took the lead after 10 minutes with a shot that gave Australian keeper Lydia Williams no chance.

The equaliser came after 37 minutes following a penalty converted by Colthorpe. It followed a red card to the Chinese keeper after she brought Leena Khamis in the penalty box. However as it was not an official match, China was allowed to replace the keeper to keep the match at 11 players apiece.

The second half saw Australia dominate possession, but were finding the well-drilled Chinese defence hard to penetrate.

The winner came via a free kick in the 82nd minute after the replacement Chinese keeper had held the ball for too long in the penalty box. Victoria Balomenos played a short ball to Colthorpe, who blasted her shot past the wall into the top right corner.

The Westfield ‘Promising- Matildas coach Alistair Edwards was satisfied with both the performance and result after the match.

“We've had three sessions together as a group where we worked on how we wanted to play, which is a new system for many players,” Edwards said. “The players adapted well to the new system and put in a good performance.

“I'm extremely happy to get a result against a team in the final stages of preparation for a World Cup and I-m really looking forward to working with this talented group of players in the upcoming tournament in Vietnam.”