For the Westfield Young Matildas, although results did not sway their way, the squad can still take a great deal away from the AFC U19 Women’s Championships, departing Vietnam with only one win out of five games.
For the Westfield Young Matildas, although results did not sway their way, the squad can still take a great deal away from the AFC U19 Women-s Championships, departing Vietnam with only one win out of five games.
Last night saw the Korean Republic side snatch the three points with 4 goals to 2, therefore securing their 4th place, whilst the Westfield Young Matildas finish 5th with only 3 points from their initial win against Vietnam.
A depleted yet courageous young Australian outfit took to the Thanh Long Sports centre this evening against a strong and disciplined Korean Republic side.
During the opening spell of the match, possession was shared, an exciting game of football was being played with the ball traveling end to end.
Korea Republic opened up the scoring in the first half. A set piece was curled in to the box to have Choi Yoo-Jung clean up the scraps and slot the ball away in the 27th minute.
The score remained 1- nil leading in to the half time break.
The Westfield Young Matildas seemed to have come back rejuvenated following the break, equalising 4 minutes in to the second half.
Ash Brown had the ball at her feet, having sliced through the Korean Republic midfield, played the ball in to Tara Andrews stride and waited for the keeper to commit before calmly slotting it in over the line.
Australia appeared to be back in the game and the minutes that followed were frantic for both sides having opportunities at either end.
Korea were soon to regain their momentum and scored two successive goals to leave the Australian side only just holding on.
A brilliant display of team-work down the right hand side saw Australia claw back in to the game when substitute Marianna Tabain-s cross found Ash Brown at the far post to then volley in from meters out.
The game was alive and well, Australia were pushing for another equaliser, however two minutes later the Koreans scored again and sealed the win.
Speaking after the game in the press conference, Head Coach of the Westfield Young Matildas Jeff Hopkins stated although disappointed with the result feels as if the team really gave it their all.
“Everyone was so down following the last game, we needed a good solid performance like that. For most of the game we executed our plan. The girls really showed they can play some decent football,” Hopkins added.
“At times we frustrated the Korean side and we got ourselves back in the game in the second half. Unfortunately every time we scored they answered with one back.
“Everybody worked so hard. We got knocked around a little bit. There were a significant amount of girls playing out of position due to those who were unavailable for us today. I thought Ash Brown was excellent, the way we played really suited her.
“Teigen Allen really stood up today in the middle of the park alongside Kahlia Hogg.”
Australia will look to take as much as they can from the tournament, working on the areas in which they came up short.
“One thing we can learn from the team tonight is how defensively disciplined they were. They knew when to drop off, knew when to push up. They knew how to make strategic fouls and they would go very hard at the ball.”
“The Korean side tonight had great basic defending qualities. It is something we can all take away and work on and hopefully implement in to our own game in the future.”
The Westfield Young Matildas will now return home to their respective Westfield W-League clubs to begin preparation for the upcoming season which begins this weekend.
Westfield Young Matildas v Korea Republic 2012 FIFA Youth World Cup Qualifiers Australia 2 (Tara ANDREWS 49-, Ash BROWN 80-) Korea Republic 4 Sunday, 16 October 2011 Thanh Long Sports centre, Vietnam
Westfield Young Matildas line-up: Brianna DAVEY (gk), Stephanie CATLEY, Rebekah STOTT (2. Erika Elze 45-), Teigen ALLEN, Hannah BREWER, Tara ANDREWS, Kahlia HOGG (9. Caitlin Foord 76-), Linda O-NEILL, Ashley BROWN, Vedrana POPOVIC, Brit WHITFIELD (7. Marianna Tabain 76-)
Yellow cards: Nil Red cards: Nil