The ‘Matildas’ in the Women’s Asia Cup tournament

The 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup has just been completed in Jordan. This was the 19^th occasion of the holding of the Women’s Asian Cup, which is competed by the women’s national teams in the Asian Football Federation (AFC), including Australia. . It was held in Jordan from the 6th to the 20th April

The tournament this year, also served as the final stage of Asian qualification for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup  with the top five teams qualifying for the World Cup in France. The defending champions leading up to this tournament were Japan.

The 8 teams which qualified for the 2018 Asian Cup [after some earlier elimination qualification matches were played last year] were divided into two groups for the purposes of the preliminary matches.  The final draw for matches was made in December, 2017.  In Jordan, all games were played in the Jordanian capital,  at either the 17,600-seater Amman International Stadium, or the 13,000 seater King Abdullah II Stadium The allocated Groups were:

Group A: were  China, Jordan, Philippines and Thailand.

Group B were Australia, Japan, Jordan [automatic entry as the hosts], Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.

Japan,  Australia and China qualified automatically as a result of finishing in the first three places from the 2014 tournament, and Jordan qualified as the host nation.  The other competing countries competed in earlier preliminary group matches over the past 12 months or so.

This was Australia’s 6^th appearance in the competition, having won the Cup in 2010, and being runners-up in 2014. China have won the World Cup on 8 occasions. On the basis of their form over the past year or so in various tournaments, the Australian team [known as the ‘Matildas’] were considered in some quarters to have top billing to win the tournament.

An experienced 23-player squad, with 1108 international caps between them, represented Australia, with Coach Alen Stajcic at the helm. The Matildas had a number of top players returning from injury which it was hoped would represent a major boost to the team’s hopes of success.

Matildas squad: Lydia Williams (GK), Caitlin Cooper, Aivi Luik, Clare Polkinghorne, Laura Alleway, Chloe Logarzo, Steph Catley, Elise Kellond-Knight, Alex Chidiac, Emily van Egmond, Lisa de Vanna, Casey Dumont (GK, Tameka Butt, Alanna Kennedy, Emily Gielnik, Hayley Raso, Kyah Simon, Mackenzie Arnold (GK), Katrina Gorry, Sam Kerr, Ellie Carpenter, Larissa Crummer, Michelle Heyman.

A little description from one of the web sites promoting the Cup, from the view of Australian supporters, with some information about Amman………………”In April in Amman, sunrise is 6am and sunset is 7pm. Temperatures range from between 21c and 32c with very little rain and low humidity. In 2016 approximately 2.5 million visitors travelled to Amman, which made it the 5th most visited Arab city. The city has a population of 4 million and is among the most popular locations in the Arab world for tourism and business. Jordan is a fascinating mix of modernity and ancient wonders. Visitors will live it up in the cosmopolitan city of Amman, explore the biblical sights at Mt Nebo and Madaba, float in the Dead Sea, explore the Roman town of Jerash and visit the stunning ruins of Petra on an enriching and exciting tour of Jordan. With cultural gems, ancient artefacts and warm hospitality waiting around every corner, Jordan is an enthralling and magnetic land to visit and combine with supporting the Matildas at the Asian Cup.”

But, back to the competition itself, and some of the results, initially, the preliminary matches to decide the finalists for 2018.

Group A:  Philippines defeated Jordan 2-1;  China defeated Thailand 4-0;  China defeated Philippines 4-0;  Thailand defeated Jordan 6-1;  China defeated Jordan 8-1;  Thailand defeated Philippines 3-1;

Subsequent rankings:

1. China: 3 wins [9 pts]  GF: 15; GA: 1;    +14;
2. Thailand: 2 wins, 1 loss [6 pts]: GF: 9; GA: 6; +3;
3. Philippines: 1 win, 2 losses  [3 pts] ; GF: 3; GA: 7;  -4;
4. Jordan: 0 wins, 3 losses [0 pts]; GF: 3;  GA: 16; -13.

 

Group B:  Japan defeated Vietnam  4-0;  Australia drew with South Korea 0-0; Australia defeated Vietnam 8-0;  South Korea drew with Japan 01-0;  Japan drew with Australia  1-1;  South Korea defeated Vietnam 4-0;

Subsequent rankings:

1. Australia: 1 win, 2 draws, [5 pts]: GF: 9; GA:1; +8;
2. Japan: 1 win, 2 draws: [5 pts]: GF: 5; GA: 1;  +4;
3. South Korea: 1 win, 2 draws [5 pts]: GF: 4; GA: 0;  +4;
4. Vietnam: 0 wins,  3 losses [0 pts]:  GF: 0; GA: 16;  -16.

 

Play-off for 5^th and 6^th places [16^th April:

South Korea defeated Philippines:  5-0.

Semi-finals [17^th April]:

1st Semi- Final:  In front of what seemed to be a virtually empty stadium, Australia drew with Thailand 2-2, and in the penalty shoot-out that followed after extra time, won that 3-1.. Australia were lucky to get away with that one, playing a very enthusiastic Thai team, for whom there were some suggestions by the commentary team  that because Thailand had achieved their aim in this tournament, i.e., to qualify for next year’s World Cup, they would not be too concerned about the outcome of this game. Someone forgot to tell that to Thailand’s players who did everything except win in the end, and towards the closing stages of full time, and for the extra time period, Thailand played with just ten on the pitch following a red card send-off.

From Fox Sports – ‘The Matildas  escaped from a monumental semi-final scrap with Thailand, needing an injury-time equaliser and penalties to edge the minnows and reach the Asian Cup final.  The Australian girls  stood on the brink of elimination at the end of 90 minutes, trailing 2-1 after a shambolic display.  But Alanna Kennedy and goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold rectified shocking defensive efforts with clutch moments to send Australia into a third-straight continental final’.

And later, reporting from ‘The Women’s Game’, we read:  ‘Matilda’s goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold says the playing group is looking to move on from their performance against Thailand leading into the Asian Cup Final against Japan on Saturday (3am AEST).. Arnold and the Matildas found themselves on the back foot in the semi-final as Thailand took it to Australia as the game was settled from the dreaded shootout.  The goalkeeper was the hero for Australia in the end, saving three penalties as the Matildas prevailed 3-1 in the shootout to book a place in the final against the Japanese.  Australia smashed Thailand 5-0 in the Asian Cup send-off game in Perth, but Arnold was adamant the Matildas weren’t complacent in the semi-final.  “We still went into it knowing we needed to win it because it was a semi-final,” Arnold told The Women’s Game.  “We were never going into it with complacency, they were counter-attacking us early on and when they got those first few chances, maybe some panic set in or I don’t really know what to call it, but it wasn’t complacency.

Arnold said the Matildas were now looking ahead to the final, but felt they could learn a lot from their performance.

“Last night we looked back on it briefly, not much as we normally would and we’ve decided to put that game behind us and scrap that one,” she said.  “We all spoke about it last night and now we all have really high hopes. I’m very excited for the final coming up and we’ll try play our game this time and try not to let other tactics creep in.” ‘

2nd Semi-Final:   Japan defeated China 3-1;  a convincing win to the team from Japan, and putting them into the final, at that stage, against Australia. Japan had won the tournament in 2014 [against Australia] for the first time in 14 attempts, and were hoping to make it two consecutive Asian Cups.

The Final matches. [20^th April].

 Play-off for 3^rd and 4^th place [20^th April]: China versus Thailand  played at 11.45 pm, AEST on Friday night [7 hours ahead of Jordan]  – played in an empty stadium apart from large groups of very enthusiastic supporters for both teams, the China team prove too dominant for their gutsy opponents, eventually winning the match 3-1

Asian Cup Final: [20^th April]:   Japan versus Australia.  This game was played at 3am Saturday morning, Eastern Standard time in Australia, but that time would not deter the true lovers of women’s football.

One of Australia’s long-term members of the team was 33 year old Lisa de Vanna, who if selected, would be playing in her 3^rd consecutive Asian Cup Final. She and goal keeper Lydia Williams are the only players remaining from the final, played in Adelaide, 12 years ago, which Australia lost in a shootout against China on that occasion. However de Vanna would get to hold the Asian Cup aloft four years later, with the team’s only Cup victory in 2010. She has represented Australia internationally for 14 years, and achieved 140 caps with the Matildas in that time.

As for the 2018 Final, there were eight Matildas playing who had featured in that 2014 loss, and they were seeking redemption on this occasion, on the next chapter in what was becoming an epic rivalry.

As a television viewer, I was disappointed to once again see a relatively empty stadium at Amman, just appeared to be small clusters here and there of Australian or Japanese supporters with little apparent local interest. I had to wonder why Jordan in fact had become the venue  [the first time the event had been held in the Middle East]– their football team, only in the tournament as the host nation, were no match for any of the opposition – presumably the crowds came to see their team play, but otherwise there was no apparent interest in the tournament. I would guess that the persuasion of money and the rewards of extra tourism played a large part in the venue selection. I could only imagine that for the players involved, to perform on an international stage with few spectators would not have been particularly inspiring.  In a stadium, not built for the kind of crowds Australian cities have for example, it was quite disappointing to see those empty stands.

Anyway, be that as it may, the match got underway at 8pm local time on a very cool night in Amman, and an extremely windy one. I noted that the Australian coach, who in the semi-final had been patrolling the boundaries in a pure white shirt, tonight had a pullover on, like most of the other team support, spectators, etc, to ward off the cold breeze.

After the traditional playing of the respective national anthems, the 1^st half got underway, with a lot of early attacking moves [without any result, other than putting the Japanese defence under pressure] came from Australia, and in fact, for a large part of that half [with a brief period midway through] the Matildas were consistently dominant around the ground. At around 14 minutes into the match, Australia was awarded a penalty [result of a Japan handball], and one should have anticipated a goal would follow. Not so  – the Japan keeper saved that not very strong attempt, and an opportunity was missed.

The Australian girls did not allow that to depress their play however, as thy continued to keep attacking, while at the same time resisting an increase in the number of Japan offensive moves towards their goal. I noticed that the Australian coach seemed to be becoming frustrated with some of the referee decisions [interestingly, the referee and most of her assistants were from North or South Korea].

At halftime, the scores were 0-0, with Australia in particular having missed a number of opportunities.  At the start of the 2^nd half,  no substitutes had been made by either team, with only one yellow card having been issued, for the earlier handball. At 15 minutes, the Australian veteran Lisa de Vanna was subbed off, and replaced by Kyah Simon. WE continued to see positive play by the Australians, but for no scoring result – much of that I put down to lack of strength in the attempted goal kicks, while considerable credit must go to the Japan goal-keeper who simply didn’t allow anything to go past her.

With 20 minutes to go, Japan’s star goal scorer came into play, while both teams continued with attacking moves that were repulsed by the opposition, or miskicked.  With seven minutes of regular time to play, Japan scored that elusive goal, and all of a sudden, the hopes of an Australian victory began to fast diminish, as Japan took a rare opportunity when it arose.

The match ended after a couple of minutes of injury time –    Japan: 1;  Australia: 0  –  Japan were consecutive  Women’s Asian Cup champions

As my Face book comment would note after the game:

‘Women’s Asian Cup Final, 2014 repeated, Japan defeats Australia 1-0, scored in 83rd minute in Jordan. Australia dominated the match but could not convert their chances. Japan had a few, took just one, while Australia missed a penalty shot early in the match, and many shots for goal lacked strength. Japanese keeper made no errors, she alone deserved the outcome.’

Meanwhile my apologies to the members of the successful Japan team, at the time of writing, I’ve been unable to find a list of the player names, but in the context of the match, your win was reward for persistence and strong defence, and for taking the opportunity when it arose.

 

I shall return on another occasion!!