'We knew the goals would come' - Patient approach puts Westfield Matildas in control

Westfield Matildas captain Sam Kerr praised her side's patience and persistence after Australia's 5-0 win over Vietnam on Friday night.

Australia are in the box seat to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games as a brace from Kerr and strikes from Chloe Logarzo, Emily van Egmond and Clare Polkinghorne saw the Green and Gold emerge dominant victors in the first-leg tie in Newcastle. 

Vietnam - ranked no. 32 in the world - arrived in the Hunter Valley with a plan to stifle Ante Milicic's side, employing a six-player defence in an attempt to keep Australia's attackers frustrated.

It required a clinical, fast-paced front from the Westfield Matildas and three first half goals broke the visitors' resistance.

Despite an impressive assault on the Vietnam goal, with Australia bossing the shot-count 28-7, Kerr feels there is still improvement to be made before Wednesday's away leg in Quảng Ninh Province, and, should Milicic's side progress - beyond. 

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Kerr at the double as Westfield Matildas take five-goal advantage to Vietnam


"We planned for it," Kerr said of Vietnam's strategy.

"We knew it was coming and it was a little bit slow because they had five or six at the back but we planned for that and just had to keep our patience, and we knew the goals would come and they did.

"We weren't as sharp as we would like to have been at some points... but five-nil a good performance by a lot of the girls. 

"I thought Polky [Clare Polkinghorne] had an outstanding game and it's always nice to get a clean sheet."

Matildas


Be sure to follow all the reaction - including player interviews and analysis - from tonight's win over Vietnam on the official Matildas website.

Or, keep an eye on the Matildas’ TwitterFacebook and Instagram pages.

Opta post-match facts

  • Australia have won each of their last seven women’s international fixtures against Vietnam, keeping a clean sheet on each occasion and averaging just under six goals scored per game (5.9).
  • Australia have won their last three women’s internationals in succession at McDonald Jones Stadium, scoring exactly five goals in each of the last two matches in that span (5-0 v Chile, 13 November 2018).   
  • Australia had 28 total shots in this match; there have been only two instances in this Asia Olympic Women’s Qualifying Tournament where a team has had more shots in a game (38 – Australia v Thailand, 10 February 2020 and 31 – Korea Republic v Myanmar, 3 February 2020).
  • Caitlin Foord created six scoring chances in this match, only one player has created more in a game of this Asia Olympic Women’s Qualifying Tournament (Emily van Egmond – 8 v Thailand, 10 February 2020).
  • Sam Kerr has scored five goals in her last three matches for Australia at McDonald Jones Stadium.
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Next match

Vietnam v Australia (Away Leg)
Date: Wednesday, 11 March 2020
Kick-off: 6.00pm local; 10pm AEDT
Venue: Cẩm Phả Stadium, Cẩm Phả, Quảng Ninh Province, Vietnam

International Friendly 
United States of America v Australia
Date: Friday, 10 April 2020 (local time)
Kick-off: To be confirmed 
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah, USA
Tickets: www.ussoccer.com

International Friendly
Canada v Australia 
Date: Tuesday, 14 April 2020 (local time) 
Kick-off: 7.30pm – 12.30pm Wednesday, 15 April 2020 
Venue: BC Place, Vancouver, Canada 
Tickets: www.canadasoccer.com 

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This article was originally published on the CommBank Matildas website.
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