Polkinghorne's key takeaway from Netherlands defeat

The Westfield Matildas went down 3-0 to the Netherlands in their final FIFA Women’s World Cup™ warm-up match on Sunday morning (AEST).

After the match, www.matildas.com.au caught up with defender Clare Polkinghorne.

Read on for her thoughts on areas the team need to fix, facing a world-class Netherlands front three and playing in front of a full house in Eindhoven.

REPORT: Westfield Matildas close World Cup preparation with Dutch defeat
BLOG: As it happened: Netherlands v Westfield Matildas

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On the performance...

“(It was) definitely not the result that we were after but I think there were some good patches in the first half and if we had taken a couple of our chances then it could have been a different game."

On the areas the team need to work on...

“(We conceded) a couple of goals on set-pieces which we will have to tighten up.

"But this is why we play these warm-up games, to find the areas that we need to fix up and to work on leading into game one."

Polks
'This is why we play these warm-up games'

On a world-class Netherlands front three...

“Their front three are all quality players and you saw the pace that they had up front.

"We are going to have to learn how to deal with teams with pace and who look for those balls in behind us as well. So, there are a lot of things that we can take from the game."

On a fantastic atmosphere in Eindhoven...

“It was a great atmosphere (and) really nice to play in a packed stadium. Usually I like the orange, but today not so much."

Matildas
Polkinghorne says there's plenty of things for the Westfield Matildas to take out of their Netherlands defeat

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FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™ – Group C – Australia Matches

Australia v Italy
Date: Sunday, 9 June 2019 (AEST)
Venue: Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes
Kick-off: 9.00pm AEST (1.00pm local time, same day)

Australia v Brazil
Date: Friday, 14 June 2019 (AEST)
Venue: Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier
Kick-off: 2.00am AEST (6.00pm local time, Thursday 13 June)

Jamaica v Australia
Date: Wednesday, 19 June 2019 (AEST)
Venue: Stade des Alpes, Grenoble
Kick-off: 5.00am AEST (9.00pm local time, Tuesday 18 June)

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This article was originally published on the CommBank Matildas website.
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