Matildas triumph 3-0 over Uzbekistan in first Olympic qualifier

Matildas triumph 3-0 over Uzbekistan in first Olympic qualifier

Post By World Australia, games, live updates, liveblog, matildas, Melbourne, olympic, paris 2024, playoff, qualifying, sam kerr, Soccer, Sport, Tashkent, Tony Gustavsson, Uzbekistan

Michelle Heyman has scored her first international goal in almost eight years to inspire a 3-0 victory over Uzbekistan and drag the Matildas one step closer to a place at the Paris Olympics.

In their first match since superstar skipper Sam Kerr tore her ACL in January, Australia understandably missed one of the world’s best strikers at the Milliy Stadium in Tashkent.

The Matildas were scratchy and lacked cohesion, while Emily van Egmond had a horror night up forward, missing one sitter and failing to convert two other chances she would normally bury.

Coach Tony Gustavsson turned to Canberra United star Heyman, 35, to replace van Egmond off the bench in the 65th minute, and the veteran delivered just eight minutes later.

In her first appearance since 2018, Heyman headed home her 21st goal for Australia and her first since netting twice against Zimbabwe at the Rio Olympics on August 9, 2016.

Mary Fowler, who was wonderful in the second half, scored a sublime individual goal in the 84th minute, and Caitlin Foord headed home in the 86th to seal victory.

It means Australia will head into Wednesday’s second leg at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium with a crucial 3-0 lead in the tie.

Debutant Kaitlyn Torpey started on the wing, wearing Kerr’s number 20 but was hooked for Foord, who was having her game time managed, at half-time.

Australia had 75 per cent of possession in the first half but just four shots and one on target, but they finished with 26 (eight on target).

They should have taken the lead in the 21st minute when Torpey tried to square for van Egmond instead of shooting.

Hayley Raso dragged a first-time strike wide on the half-hour mark, and shortly afterwards van Egmond hooked over the bar.

Just before half-time, van Egmond failed to get a header on target from point-blank range.

In the 54th minute, Fowler curled a wonderful ball behind the Uzbekistan defence and van Egmond inexplicably failed to tap home.

Heyman headed over the bar a minute after coming on, then delivered the lead when she nodded a corner onto the bar before following up with a second header.

Fowler then intercepted a clearance with a wonderful first touch, weaved between defenders and ripped a fantastic long-range strike inside the near post.

Foord found space and turned home a Steph Catley cross to wrap up proceedings.

Check out how all the action unfolded in our live blog below.

Key events

Final thoughts

First of all: whew.

That first half was pretty rusty, as expected, but Tony Gustavsson’s substitutes gave the Matildas exactly the energy and dynamism they needed to unlock what had been, until then, a very solid Uzbekistan defence.

Michelle Heyman will be absolutely buzzing, scoring her first goal since 2016 upon her return to the national team after a four-year retirement, while Mary Fowler and the excellent Caitlin Foord added goals two and three.

You’d have to think the Canberra striker is a lock to start in the second leg in Melbourne on Wednesday: she provided Australia with a target player, height, power, and important movement to bring other players into the game around her.

Now that they’ve made it through this chilly first game, the Matildas return home with wind in their sails and a 3-0 advantage, which is exactly what they would have wanted.

Thanks so much for joining me on the blog for tonight’s game, and I can’t wait to be back here on Wednesday as we see whether the gals can qualify for their third Olympic Games in a row!

See you then!

Full-time: Uzbekistan 0 – 3 Australia

Crowd numbers

Robbie Thompson has said the crowd in Tashkent is just under 2,500 people.

As of today, almost the entirety of Marvel Stadium is sold out for Wednesday’s second leg.

The Uzbekistan players won’t be ready for noise like that, I reckon.

Permutations

What happens if Tillies win tonight and Uzbekistan wins Wednesday night? Who goes to Paris?

– EveWintergreen

It depends on how much Uzbekistan hypothetically win by.

If Australia finish this game 3-0 winners, Uzbekistan would need to win at least 4-0 in Melbourne on Wednesday to qualify for Paris.

90′ Three minutes of time added on

Same, honestly

UZB’s goalie kicking the ball back in the net after the third goal is so real. I would be so frustrated

– Em for Matildas

89′ Australia substitution

Ellie Carpenter comes off for Charlie Grant.

Catchy!

The song we sing here, Hey hey Heyman ooohh ahhh, I wanna know if you’ll kick that goal!

– Canberra is cool

Yiew!!!

And again ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️
Mary Fowler

– Vic in Vic

HaHAAAAAA! Heyman + Fowler

– Big Ben

Mary Mary Mary you beaute

– Em for Matildas

Just my luck. I step out to put stuff in the fridge, and the Tillies score a goal. Belated Hooray, anyway!

– SeonaBath

Floodgates open. Thanks Caitlin! ⚽️💚💛

– Leo

85′ GOAL AUSTRALIA

Caitlin Foord makes it three!

The Matildas have been trying this move all night: a winger chipping a pass in behind Uzbekistan’s defenders to find the head of an attacking player, and this time Caitlin Foord is there, all alone, to nod home a perfectly-weighted cross from Steph Catley.

3-0!

Hail Mary!

Mary Fowler you superstar! 😍⚽️💚💛

– Leo

83′ GOAL AUSTRALIA!

MAGIC MARY FOWLER MAKES IT TWO!

The midfielder has been chipping away at Uzbekistan’s defenders all night, and this time she just goes route one: picking up the ball in deep midfield and dancing past three players all by herself.

She skates towards the top of the box and steadies herself, unleashing her lethal right foot through the rubber to send a shot low and hard across the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner of the net.

2-0!!!

82′ Australia substitutions

Aivi Luik replaces Alanna Kennedy, while Tameka Yallop comes on for Hayley Raso.

80′ Chance Australia!

Goodness me, that was almost a bizarre second goal for the Matildas.

A long, dipping cross from Mary Fowler far out on the left wing is falling perfectly into the Zone Of Hesitation between Caitlin Foord and Uzbekistan’s goalkeeper, with both of them thinking the other was going to touch it, only for neither of them to get it at all.

Instead, the ball bounces past all of them and a gasp goes around the ground as it almost nestles into the far corner of the net, but bounces just wide instead.

77′ Matildas want a second

They’ve been attacking Uzbekistan in waves for the past five minutes, coming in at all angles and trying to keep the tempo and pressure up on their opponents.

Catley’s corners have been on-point all night, and are looking like Australia’s best attacking weapon at the moment. Alanna Kennedy could have nodded home the Matildas’ second goal a few minutes ago, but she mistimed her jump. Clare Hunt did the same just now.

You’d think they’ll be working a bit more on finishing their headers in the interim before the second leg of this series on Wednesday night, but wouldn’t it be great to snag one or two more goals here so that the pressure is off in Melbourne?

I sure would love that.

Woohoo!!!!

YYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!

– Natty

Finally ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️ Michelle Hayman

– Vic in Vic

Oh Michelle! I’m in tears! ⚽️💚💛😍

– Leo

CRYING SCREAMING THROWING UP I AM SO HAPPY

– Em for Matildas

Finally! Tillies score off a corner in how long? Thank you Ms Heyman and welcome back.

– Big Ben

72′ GOAL AUSTRALIA!

MICHELLE HEYMAN SCORES IN HER COMEBACK GAME!

A brilliant corner from Steph Catley angles in towards the front post, bobbling off Heyman’s shoulder and clanging off the crossbar.

It could have deflected anywhere, but it fell straight back to her, and she nodded it over the scrambling Uzbekistan defender on the line and into the net.

1-0!

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Michelle Heyman’s Matildas recall highlights Australian football’s striker problem

Post By World ACL, Australia, Caitlin Foord, Hayley Raso, injury, mary fowler, matildas, Michelle Heyman, olympic, Paris, qualifying, sam kerr, Soccer, Sport, squad, striker, Tony Gustavsson, Uzbekistan

When news broke in January that Matildas captain Sam Kerr had torn her ACL, keeping her on the sidelines of the sport for the better part of the next year, a question that had been simmering in the background of Australian women’s football for the past few years suddenly reached boiling-point.

How can the country’s greatest ever goal-scorer be replaced? Which player is ready to step into the 30-year-old’s golden shoes? Who is next in the production-line of Australian strikers?

This question was being asked even when Kerr was fit and healthy. Since the 2019 Women’s World Cup, doubts were festering that the Matildas had become too reliant on the Chelsea forward, and that the team struggled to find the back of the net without her.

Sam Kerr’s ACL injury has put a spotlight on Australian football’s ongoing struggle to develop strikers.(AAP Image: Richard Wainwright)

The 2022 Women’s Asian Cup quarterfinal against South Korea was a case in point: Kerr started that game and had a handful of open-net chances which, for some reason, she failed to finish. The Matildas lost 1-0 and exited the competition at the earliest point in their history.

The question was the subtext to Kerr’s calf injury on the eve of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, too: how on earth would the team perform without their star player? Who else do we have waiting in the wings to take over?

While head coach Tony Gustavsson was able to rapidly shuffle the team’s structure and rely more on other players like Caitlin Foord, Hayley Raso, Mary Fowler and Emily Van Egmond to step up in her place, Kerr’s memorable goal against England in the semifinal — the only bright spark in an otherwise fatigued performance from the rest of the team — left many wondering how much further the Matildas could have gone had she been available the whole time.

But there is no day-by-day countdown clock on Kerr’s return now, as there was last July. Today, we have certainty that she won’t make a miraculously speedy recovery to be fully fit for the Olympic qualifying play-off against Uzbekistan in about two weeks, nor for the Olympic Games in Paris in just five months’ time. The question has now come into full and urgent focus.

One of the slimmest silver linings to Kerr’s injury, perhaps, is that it has given Gustavsson and his staff more time to pivot; to look further and deeper for the next best striker in Australia, and give them more time to prepare for one of the most scrutinised and pressurised roles for the Matildas.

There were already a couple of names swirling around who had been handed opportunities over the past two years.

Larissa Crummer, currently playing in Norway with SK Brann, was one. Remy Siemsen, who’s signed for Leicester City in England, was another.

Emily Gielnik, now with Melbourne Victory, had a chance back in 2022, while Kyah Simon, who’d been controversially selected for the World Cup and has recently returned to the field with the Central Coast Mariners, was vaguely in the conversation, too.

Both Mary Fowler and Amy Sayer have taken turns ghosting into the role from their more natural positions in attacking midfield, as have wingers like Cortnee Vine and Holly McNamara (injured).

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But none of them quite worked. None of them were able to offer the strength, the speed, the game awareness, the combination play, or the goal-scoring instincts of Kerr. Not even close.

So for the first international window of 2024, Gustavsson has opted for someone else entirely: 35-year-old striker Michelle Heyman.

On paper, Heyman’s selection makes sense. Fresh off scoring her historic 100th goal in the A-League Women — the first player ever to do it in the history of the competition — the centre-forward currently leads the Golden Boot race with 10 goals in 14 games.

Her goal-return rate throughout her Canberra United career has been similar, averaging roughly a goal every two or three games. She’s the only player outside of Sam Kerr to have won both the Golden Boot and the Julie Dolan Medal twice.

The Matildas need a goal-scorer, and Heyman knows how to score goals. Simple, right?

But what does it say about the state of Australian football’s striker pool that Gustavsson has had to turn to a player who has been retired from international football for the past five years in order to fill this gap?

In the same way as the Socceroos called up 36-year-old former Uruguayan striker Bruno Fornaroli for their recent Asian Cup campaign, Heyman’s selection speaks to a chronic lack of centre-forwards that have been developed within the early-to-mid-20s age bracket in Australia: players who should have already been prepared to step into the space currently occupied by the late-20s to early-30s “golden generation,” who will likely retire within the next two World Cup cycles.

Remy Siemsen (left) is one of very few Australian strikers in the mid-20s age bracket who the Matildas can call on.(AP: Chad Hipolito)

This is not to say that Heyman doesn’t deserve the call-up, nor that she won’t potentially be the best striker-in-waiting while Kerr makes her slow return to the team.

Indeed, to get to the point of even being considered for selection is a testament to her longevity, her consistency, and her professionalism to continue pushing her body in order to keep up with the increasing pace and expectations of the modern game.

As Gustavsson himself said when asked about Heyman on Tuesday: “The way Michelle has played, she deserves to be selected.

“For me, it’s not about age in the Matildas. It’s about the quality you have as a footballer, whether you’re 17 or 35. It doesn’t matter; if you have the quality, you deserve to be selected.

“Heyman has played herself into this team [with] the way she plays. She’s in tremendous form, she’s scoring for fun.

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“And we also feel, playing these type of qualifiers, when we think we’re going to play against a very well-organised Uzbekistan, it’s going to be difficult to get in behind, we need an in-and-out number nine in the box that needs half a chance to score. And that’s Michelle.”

And he’s right.

Heyman fits a particular profile of striker: a classic centre-forward who is strong on the ball, powerful in the air, makes clever runs off of defenders’ shoulders, can play with her back to goal, combines well with wingers and midfielders, and can finish chances from all sorts of angles and speeds.

So against a team like Uzbekistan, who is expected to defend deep and attack Australia in transition, having a centre-forward who can offer those qualities is important.

But what about longer-term? Is Heyman the answer to Kerr not just for this window, but for the next several windows? If not, who will be? Or will it all ebb and flow depending on the type of game and type of opponent the Matildas face?

Will we see a traditional striker like Heyman deployed in one window, and two inside-wingers combining with two attacking midfielders the next? Is that a sustainable approach, or a way to provide consistent national team development to whoever does come after Kerr? Or is this simply a more sophisticated approach to the more sophisticated demands of the modern game?

But more broadly, where is the next crop of Australian strikers coming from? In the A-League Women, many clubs this season (and in the past) have opted for foreign strikers, with just two clubs in the current top six regularly using Australian centre-forwards this season, while the youth national teams are only just beginning to meet more regularly for camps and international tournaments, though youth friendlies remain rare.

Where, then, will they develop? Where will the next Kerr not just be found, but made?

Gustavsson, for his part, doesn’t want to look too far into the future. Perhaps because he’s not too sure of what he sees there himself, either.

“We talked a little bit about the experience in the World Cup [of] how we handle Sam’s absence then, and we’ve talked about how to handle it now,” he said.

“We’re just focusing on making sure that we can maximise what we’ve got in front of us. I know for a fact that Sam wants it to be about the team and not about her right now; it’s all about the team qualifying for the Olympics.

“Who is replacing that spot up in that nine-slash-false-nine role? We have looked at different options before, as you know, with Caitlin, with Mary, with EVE.

“We have some 10s coming in with form like [Chloe] Logarzo, we have a Heyman coming in, we have a [Yallop] performing, we have an Amy Sayer that we’ve looked at in that role.

“It’s about multiple options; it’s just looking at how can we maximise that short-term right now, because right now it’s just about one window and the qualifiers.

“And then, hopefully, if we do our job in the qualifiers, we can look long-term at how we build our team for the Olympics.”

The Matildas face Uzbekistan in the first Olympic qualifier on February 24 at 8pm AEDT.

Matildas squad vs Uzbekistan

Goalkeepers: Mackenzie Arnold, Teagan Micah, Jada Whyman

Defenders: Ellie Carpenter, Steph Catley, Charlotte Grant, Clare Hunt, Alanna Kennedy, Aivi Luik, Clare Polkinghorne, Kaitlyn Torpey

Midfielders: Kyra Cooney-Cross, Mary Fowler, Katrina Gorry, Chloe Logarzo, Amy Sayer, Emily Van Egmond, Clare Wheeler, Tameka Yallop

Forwards: Caitlin Foord, Michelle Heyman, Hayley Raso, Cortnee Vine

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Tag: qualifying