The Matildas put up a gutsy performance in their first match of the World Cup, defeating the Republic of Ireland 1-0 in front of a record 75,784 fans.
With Sam Kerr ruled out late with a calf injury, Steph Catley took the captain’s armband and led out a starting line up that included five players featuring in their first World Cup.
Cortnee Vine, Clare Hunt, Mackenzie Arnold, Kyra Cooney-Cross, and Mary Fowler all made valuable contributions for their side against a physical Irish opposition.
Throughout the match the home side struggled to find space and resorted to long balls in attack. The scoreline remained even for the duration of the first half and up until the 52nd minute when Catley converted a penalty kick for her team.
Having spent the build up to the World Cup extending the depth of his squad, head coach Tony Gustavsson said knew is his players could step up to the task.
“We knew it might be one of those games where we need to find a way to win,” he said.
“They may have been nervous and shaky and getting in their heads, but they were in the moment that was right in front of them and I’m really happy about that.”
As co-hosts of the tournament, the Matildas were always going to attract large crowds, but these numbers were brought to new heights as they set two football attendance records within six days.
Gustavsson credited the support of the home crowd with helping lift the team during the final minutes of the match against Ireland.
For the players, Vine is no stranger to a Sydney crowd coming off the back of a championship with Sydney FC, yet the sell-out attendance was nothing like she had experienced before.
“It was unbelievable. The crowd was crazy, it was nothing that I have experienced with 80,000 people there. It was loud, it was amazing, it was great,” she said.
It didn’t just stop at the debutants who were in awe of the support, Matildas most capped player, Clare Polkinghorne, is now at her fifth World Cup but says this one already outranks the others.
“Just hearing the crowd sing the national anthem it gave me goosebumps and probably one of my proudest moments in this jersey, it was a really special feeling,” she said.
With Kerr likely to be out again for their next match against Nigeria, the Matilda’s will be hoping the nerves have settled as they potentially draw on more World Cup debutants next week.
Feature image credit: FIFA
Enjoy this content? Support The Football Sack
Due in part to COVID and lack of current sponsorship we are at risk of not having the funds to continue running The Football Sack. If you enjoy our content and support our work in training talented young writers, please support us with a donation. If every reader contributed just $3, our funding would be covered for over ten years.
| DONATE |
