The CommBank Young Matildas opened the PacificAus Four Nations Tournament in the best possible way, defeating the Vanuatu senior national team 9-0 in front of a strong crowd at Viking Park, Canberra.
Attacking midfielder Sienna Saveska was the architect in the first half, grabbing two goals and two assists in her 45 minutes, while six other Australians got on the scoresheet 鈥 highlighting the genuine team effort from the Young Matildas.
It was a brave effort from Vanuatu who defended stoutly but struggled to maintain possession outside of their defensive third.
Australia opened the scoring in the 12th minute when Saveska capitalised on good build-up play with a strong strike that found the back of the net via a small deflection. Saveska scored her second goal after a goal mouth scramble saw her given the chance to spin and score.
Australia extended their lead through the head of Grace Kuilamu when the winger was first to the rebound following a long range Saveska strike hitting the crossbar: jumping high to tap-in the ball directly off the woodwork.
It was 4-0 shortly after when a short corner routine saw Talia Younis鈥 shot saved by Amelia Reddy, but the ball fell kindly to Josie Allan who converted with a composed shot.
Australia鈥檚 defence was tested from the kick-off when a Vanuatu long ball forced Maya Lobo to take evasive action for Australia, earning a yellow card for her effort in what was Vanuatu鈥檚 first touch in Australia鈥檚 half all match.
Nelly Kaltack鈥檚 free kick was goal bound until a diving Ilona Melegh fingertipped it over the crossbar.
With half time approaching, Madeleine Caspers scored arguably the goal of the game when Saveska鈥檚 skilful killer pass set-up Caspers for a one-one-one with Reddy, the midfielder making no mistake with her finish to put Australia 5-0 up at the break.
The second half started as the first ended, with a goal to Australia as half time substitute India Breier鈥檚 corner was misjudged by Reddy and fumbled over the goal line.
Moments before being substituted, Lobo got her name on the scoresheet with a thundering strike from distance, the centre back taking a touch into space before unleashing a stunning drive that evaded the diving Reddy.
Mary Stanic-Floody finished off the scoring with two goals in the final 17 minutes, including a long-range bomb with the final kick of the match.
Interim head coach, Kory Babington, said the result highlighted how well the young Australian players performed against senior women.
鈥淭here were a lot of 16-year-olds out there and you probably can't tell who the really young ones are because these girls are physically well-conditioned, they're tactically astute, and they're involved in senior environments every week with their A-League team,鈥 said Babington.
鈥淭here was a good crowd today and the more that come down the better it is for the girls. Everyone likes playing in front of a crowd and they played some entertaining football today, so hopefully on the weekend the fan turnout can be better again.鈥
The CommBank Young Matildas will continue their campaign on Saturday, 22 February when they take on the Solomon Islands national team. Kick-off is 6:30pm at Viking Park, Canberra. Vanuatu face Thailand U-20 team in their next match.
MATCH DETAILS
CommBank Young Matildas: 9 (Saveska 13鈥 17鈥, Kuilamu 30鈥, Allan 34鈥, Caspers 44鈥, Breier 50鈥, Lobo 63鈥, Stanic-Floody 72鈥 90鈥+4)
Vanuatu: 0
Date: Wednesday 19, February 2024
Venue: Viking Park, Canberra
Kick-Off: 3.00pm local time
Broadcast: Live & Free on the
Thailand Under 20 too strong for the Solomon Islands
Thailand U-20 started their PacificAus Four Nations Tournament in fine form with a convincing 8-0 win over the Solomon Islands senior women鈥檚 national team.
Six players got on the scoresheet for Thailand with Kurisara Limpawanich and captain Rinyaphat Moondog both bagging a brace.
The young Thai team started strong and maintained their intensity throughout as their technique and structure proved too strong for the Solomon Islands who 鈥 despite the scoreline 鈥 showed glimpses of promise across the game.
Thailand capitalised on their early dominance, opening the scoring when Julaiporn Jaimulwong鈥檚 wide free kick was steered into the net by the head of Pinyaphat Klinklai.
Limpawanich doubled the lead soon after as she unleashed a thunderbolt of a shot which rocketed into the goal.
Next up for Thailand, it was Moondong who found some space to carry the ball into the box and finish comfortably past the outstretched arms of Joan Hanigaro.
Solomon Islands had a chance of their own when Lorina Solosaia intercepted a pass in the Thailand backline, her effort finishing wide of the goal.
Thailand continued their attacking ways as Rasita Taobao made a nice cross from the right wing to Limpawanich who had a perfectly timed run to meet the ball and score in a composed fashion.
To close out the first half, Thailand scored their fifth goal through Thanchanok Cheunarom as she scored a first time finish off another lovely Jaimulwong delivery.
The second half played out in a similar manner to the first, with Thailand continuing to pile pressure onto the Solomon Islands.
The sixth goal came as Klinklai lofted a ball forward onto the edge of the box which drew Hanigaro off her line, allowing Taobao to meet the ball first, take a touch around the keeper and tap-in to an empty net.
Moondong scored once more for Thailand as she made tidy work of a Madison Casteen chipped cross to the back post with a well-placed header before Matika Thaprik completed the scoring for Thailand as her classy shot beat the keeper into the bottom left corner.
MATCH DETAILS
Thailand U-20: 8 (Klinklai 7', Limpawanich 20鈥 38鈥, Moondong 34鈥 62鈥, Cheunarom 40鈥, Taobao 56鈥, Thaprik 78鈥)
Solomon Islands: 0
Date: Wednesday 19, February 2024
Venue: Viking Park, Canberra
Kick-Off: 6.30pm local time
Broadcast: Live & Free on the F
