National coach Tom Sermanni outlined three objectives for the Matildas heading into the Asian Cup: to get through the group; to win their semi final and guarantee 2011 World Cup qualification; and to win the Asian Cup.
The Matildas took the first step to achieving their first goal with a 2-0 win over Vietnam in Chengdu, China today. The win came courtesy of a Leena Khamis header in the first half and penalty taken by Kylie Ledbrook after Tameka Butt was bodychecked in the box in the second.
Khamis' goal was her third for the Matildas and also the third she'd scored for the Matildas with her head, something that both she and Sermanni find amusing. She isn't the tallest player on the pitch and she's playing with precautionary strapping after hyper-extending her knee in recent weeks, so it's perhaps surprising that headers are becoming her trademark.
But, as Khamis noted, she's always liked heading the ball and while she'll 'hopefully' get one with her feet in upcoming matches, 'as long as the goal goes in the back of the net, any way is fine'. Sermanni said that such aerial skill is a huge asset to the team, before quipping that perhaps he should try to keep the ball away from her feet.
Jokes aside, Sermanni is 'relieved' to open the Asian Cup, which doubles as a World Cup Qualifier, with a win. Vietnam isn't the strongest team in the group, but their defensive approach (which included starting with a 4-4-1-1 formation) and willingness to slow down play can make them tough opponents.
'We knew it was going to be one of those games that you're expected to win,' Sermanni said, before adding that he was also acutely aware that the Vietnamese team's style of play made them very good at preventing such a win from happening. Instead, he took a proactive approach: 'We wanted to go in and pressure Vietnam and keep a high tempo so we didn't get lulled into a game of stoppages.'
The game wasn't pretty and there were patches where the Matildas struggled to maintain the tempo, but they managed to-as Sermanni set out to do-keep a clean sheet, come through injury free, and make substitutions in order to rest players and ensure they were fit for the tournament long haul.
Sermanni is expecting tougher, more structured and technically gifted opposition from Korea and China in the coming days. Korea are, he says, 'very disciplined, very compact defensively' and dangerous on the breakaway, while he expects a slightly more expansive, almost more western-style tempo from the Chinese on Sunday.
And while Sermanni and the Matildas will be focusing on winning each match, we at home can also concentrate on whether the scoreboard will list the team in the upcoming matches as 'Australia' or 'Austria' as it did, much to our bemusement, for approximately half of the Vietnam game.
Australia takes on Korea on Friday 21 May. The match will be broadcast at 5pm AEST on ABC1.
