They again came in their thousands, State of Origin players included, to worship at the altar of the Matildas. And the 76,798 crowd massed inside Sydney’s Olympic Stadium were treated to a much-improved performance and a victory as the Matildas returned to winning ways against China and Tony Gustavsson got a final chance to settle his thoughts on his squad to take to the Olympic Games.
The match doubled as a farewell to the retiring Lydia Williams, who played what could be the final 45 minutes of an international football career that has spanned nearly 19 years before she departed to a rapturous ovation in spine-tingling scenes, the likes of which this stadium is no stranger to. Whether the 36-year-old extends it further depends on Gustavsson’s inclination to include her on his list of 18 players for the Paris Games.
“It was all pretty emotional,” said Williams, who choked up after receiving a traditional buka cloak from another Indigenous sporting great, Evonne Goolagong, before the match. “To receive that gift from Evonne was just incredible. And I think that was the moment that took me over, emotion-wise. That was a cap off to the kid that grew up in the desert and fell in love with football.”
After Friday night’s opening game of this two-match series, Gustavsson indicated he was set on 15 or 16 of the players, leaving him to ponder the remaining two or three places on the evidence of Monday night. The decision to send out a strong starting line-up, missing just three of what could conceivably be his strongest XI in France, indicated there was perhaps little the Swede still needs to be convinced about.
With Williams in the side, there was no place for regular No 1 Mackenzie Arnold, who dropped to the bench in deference before entering the fray just before the break, while the injured duo Caitlin Foord and Katrina Gorry were missing entirely. Emily Van Egmond and Tameka Yallop got the nod, tasked with delivering some of the spark in the final third that had been missing from Friday night’s lacklustre performance against the same opponents in Adelaide.
Gustavsson had demanded more energy, power and attacking play for the game in Sydney and the Matildas responded well enough. Ellie Carpenter and Hayley Raso in particular combined well down the Australian right, and Raso twice brought the Chinese keeper, Huan Xu, into action early on. Yallop had earlier fluffed her lines from close range, before she dragged a shot wide of the far post.
It also appeared that Michelle Heyman had been listening to Gustavsson, and one bullocking run from the Canberra United striker in particular demonstrated everything her coach wanted to see. The Paris hopeful was full of power and determination but directed her shot wide of the upright. Crucially, an end product remained elusive.
That was to change soon after the break as Clare Wheeler, on as a half-time substitute, broke the deadlock with a header from a perfectly delivered Steph Catley set-piece and Raso at last found the back of the net with a neat finish after latching on to a divine Cortnee Vine through pass.
The quick salvo took the wind out of the game – after just 56 minutes there was very much a feel of “job done” and the intensity the home side has managed to previously conjure largely evaporated while the vibrant atmosphere inside the ground – which is expecting another big crowd for this year’s opening State of Origin in two nights’ time – subsided.
But Gustavsson said afterwards he was pleased with the change in pace from Friday night, and the flexibility his side showed. “We weren’t to happy with our performance in the last game,” he said. “This game, we wanted to show who we are. We were very, very aggressive and very attacking minded and we should have been 2-0 up after 20 minutes if we converted those chances
“We finished the first half a bit slow. We did some tactical changes, not personnel wise, but we did a change in rotation on the left side, and that caused a lot of problems for them to solve. Again, credit to the players, it’s the tactical flexibility that I talk so much about that we need to have in a tournament.”
All thoughts now turn to Tuesday morning’s squad announcement as Gustavsson weighs up how to whittle his squad down to 18. Decisions made on Monday suggest any major surprises are unlikely. The Swede has an unenviable task, but says he will speak to each of those players individually. A sleepless night inevitably awaits.
