Westfield Matildas coach Alen Stajcic has acknowledged his side are fortunate to have progressed to the final of the 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
Australia squeaked through courtesy of a 3-1 penalty shoot-out win over Thailand, but needed a last minute equaliser from Alanna Kennedy to even take their semi-final into extra-time.
“I thought [Thailand] were unlucky not to win the game,” Stajcic admitted afterwards.
“Their heart and spirit was fantastic.
“They played with everything they've got and to hang on for so long and lose by so little, I almost feel for them because I thought they deserved to win tonight,” Stajcic said.
WE MUST BE BETTER
By contrast, Stajcic found little to be positive about in his own side’s performance as they struggled against a side ranked 24 places lower than them.
“I didn't think it was a great performance at all,” he said.
“I didn't think I'd be sitting up here as a winner and being so glum and disappointed in ourselves.
“We're not happy with how we played.
“We've got a lot of soul-searching to do and a lot of reflection to see how we're going to improve in three days’ time.
“We didn't do well today and as a unit we need to be accountable for that and ensure that we don't play like that again.”