by Ben Gilby (1/6/24)
Above: Tameka Yallop and Tony Gustavsson speaking after yesterday’s 1-1 draw with China in Adelaide. Image: Football Australia.
Matildas head coach Tony Gustavsson admitted his side “were not aggressive enough” and “played too slow” in the first half of their game with China yesterday, but hailed their famed Never Say Die spirit in playing to the last second.
Gustvasson also outlined his reasoning behind the starting line-up, five substitutes early in the second half, and some previously unvoiced difficulties that the squad had to overcome in the build up to the game.
Reflecting on that latter point first, the Australia boss said: “We had a little bit of a challenge coming into this that those players who play in the A-League haven’t played a lot of football for a long time, so they are not in a season or in form. Other players are coming in at the end of a season and fatigued and tired from travel and playing. We needed to find the right balance.”
It took until the second half for that balance to be found, as Gustavsson admitted: “In the first half, for some reason, we looked tired. We were not as aggressive as we wanted to be. China won a lot of one-v-one duals – they were more aggressive than us – we played way too slow.
“I asked them (the Matildas) to provoke the press, be slow in the start of the build-up to draw them out, but once we break the first line change the tempo, and we really struggled with that in the first half – and also because China were extremely well prepared. I said to Ante (Milicic, China head coach) after the game ‘Congrats on a very, very impressive performance – they were very good… they were better than us in terms of the game plan, the aggressiveness, they were very well prepared.”
Whilst many will point to the five substitutions made in the early period of the second half as the stimulus for the improved performance in the second 45, Gustavsson actually believes the recovery began slightly earlier.
“We did some tactical tweaks at halftime that started to pay off, we were more dominant before the subs. We wanted to evaluate players, and that influenced the game – a new relationship on the left side, a new relationship on the right side, a new relationship in the centre – a lot of new things. It wasn’t a synched and connected as you usually see in a Matildas team.”
Those connections were a focus of this particular game as Gustavsson wanted to give a final opportunity for players to state their claim for a spot in the Olympics squad, and how they handle the responsibility.
“You look at different scenarios – if this happens…what we said we wanted to do with this game was to look at as many players as possible in terms of decision-making, but at the same time use the game for preparing connection, relationship, and consistency. Instead of doing links where we have one or two players who don’t normally start and have a mix through 90 minutes, we said, ‘let’s look at a mix from the beginning,’ and if we have the opportunity to bring…those who normally start in to try and have some cohesion and connection…”
In the end, the Matildas came back from all the puzzles that China posed them along with the formation and personnel changes showing their long time battling beliefs.
“We had the support of the crowd, and the Never Say Die spirit of the players to never, ever give up – we played until the last second paid off once again,” Gustavsson smiled.
“Maybe it’s no coincidence that it’s Michelle Heyman there scoring that goal, being in the spot at the right time. I think that was important for her and the team.”
The jubilation over Heyman’s last-gasp leveller was tempered by the injury that Caitlin Foord left the field with shortly after being introduced as a substitute – it remains to be seen how serious the situation is.
“I’m a bit concerned,” Gustavsson admitted, “and I’m looking at myself here. Some players came in very tired mentally and physically…she was one who hasn’t trained fully until yesterday. I met with my SSSM team and…when something like that happens, you think ‘should I have used her today..?’ As a coach, you always think that way. We played it safe. She said she felt something, and I think if that had been a World Cup game or an Olympic game she would have tried to play on, but at this point, there is no way we would risk that.”
The Australia boss admitted that he was concerned about the additional load imposed on his players involved in the A-League Women All-Stars v Arsenal exhibition match the previous week in Melbourne, and believes the growing trend towards such games needs to be factored into player management in international selections.
“I…understand the ‘why’ behind it (exhibition games). I think we’ll see it more in the women’s game, we’ve seen it for years in the men’s game now…the interest in the women’s game, you can understand why clubs do it, it’s up to us to learn to handle that and look at the well-being of the players.”
All focus now though is on the second game against China in Sydney on Monday along with the Olympic squad announcement that follows shortly. After Friday’s draw, the Matildas head believes he is now almost there in deciding his 18 names, but is dreading telling those who haven’t made it.
“I am closer (to finalising all the spots). Without saying any names, there were one or two players who locked their spots because of their performance, but I also want to look (back) at the game (again) with less emotions.
“The players will be told individually face-to-face if they are selected or not…we need to keep it as professional as possible and always thinking of the person more than just a player because there will be some tough decisions and tough conversations which will hurt some feelings unfortunately, and that’s a tough part of this job.”
Tameka Yallop emphasised how tough Australia found the challenge set by China, but feels that they will reap the rewards for experiencing it in the games ahead.
“It was a challenging game. They came out and were very organised and very structured. It was a challenge for us to break them down, which is something we’ll face (at the Olympics), and they gave us a lot of respect with the speed we have in behind. It was up to us to break them down.”
China were set up to frustrate Australia’s desire to play on the front foot, and the Brisbane Roar player recognised that it took a lot of moving the pieces of the puzzle around to solve the problems that Ante Milicic’s side posed them.
“We are always a possession-based team and we want to play good football. They were well structured and very disciplined, so for us it was about trying to play through, around, over, and to mix up our game and look how we could break down different opponents. With a lot of players coming in and rotating through, we all needed to get to know each other in different positions.”
Hayley Raso reflected on the importance of mental and physical recovery ahead of a tight turn around between now and Monday’s second game with China – something the Matildas in good stead for the Olympics where nations could play seven matches in less than 17 days.
“For us, it’s about recovering mentally and physically. In the Olympics, it’s going to be really tight turnarounds for all the games, so it’s good preparation for us for that.”
The Real Madrid attacker also highlighted how important the challenges of Friday night’s game with China will be for her team to remember and build on as the battles get more intense over the coming weeks.
“It was a good test for us against a quality opposition, they were really strong defensively…we’re just looking to take some learnings from that game into the next one…Coming on (as a sub), we knew we needed to get a goal or try win the game, so for us it was just about giving everything we had to do that.”
Immediately ahead now is Monday’s second game with China, and an opportunity to farewell both fans and Lydia Williams ahead of departing for the Paris Games.
“I absolutely love playing in Sydney…To have our last game before the Olympics with all our family, friends, and fans, and to celebrate Lydia (Williams) who is retiring, so I think it will be a special night.”
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