by Ben Gilby (4/6/24)
Above: Clare Wheeler (left) speaking to the media alongside Clare Hunt. Image: Football Australia.
It’s been a rollercoaster ride of a week for the Matildas. Two final chances to impress Tony Gustavsson before he named his squad for the Olympics, and Australian icon Lydia Williams’ final game on home soil. There was a lot for the duo of Clare Wheeler and Clare Hunt to reflect on with the media.
Starting with the fact that the Everton star recorded her second international goal – in perhaps the most unlikeliest way possible with “the shortest player on the pitch heading home” – Wheeler collapsed into fits of giggles reminiscing about the moment.
“It wasn’t planned (scoring with a header), and the celebration definitely wasn’t planned! An opportunity came up, I was the one to take it and I was as shocked as everyone!”
After mixing Olympics qualification with losses in Canada and then a win over Mexico last time out, Wheeler felt that it was hugely important to produce two back-to-back performances where there were clear signs of progress. Overall she felt it was job done.
“It helps us with momentum. We wanted to come back and make an impact on the last game in Adelaide, and we definitely did that with our performance and a lot of positives and key learnings to take away.”
Whilst the Matildas had a late, late equaliser from Michelle Heyman to save them in the first match against China in Adelaide, Monday’s win over the same opposition in Sydney came with a much more consistently impressive performance. Hunt outlined the key focus points for the team that led to that showing.
“We were more aggressive, more attacking, we changed our formation slightly to allow for that and then also the personnel we had on the park were more attacking players. We pressed higher up the park as well and that was beneficial for us, particularly in the second half, we won a lot of ball and led to the second goal, so that gave us momentum and opportunity to capitalise on errors from China but also keep them under pressure.”
Both players also shared their stories about how special sharing a final camp on home soil with retiring goalkeeping legend Lydia Williams, with Hunt saying: “It’s always a privilege to share a field with Lyds and share a training environment with her as well.
“She’s a very old head and very experienced. It’s amazing to be in an environment where you can learn from her every single day, and I feel very grateful to have shared the 40-something minutes with her on the field today and all the memories I have of her in camp as well. It’s amazing to have her still part of a team and today was an awesome celebration of all she has achieved in her career, but also Australian women’s football and football across the world.”
Wheeler emphasised the deep-lying emotions around the celebration of Williams’ career had not just on the keeper, but on the wider team due to her impact
“In the lead up to it, behind closed doors, preparations and everything was handled and I think she (Williams) knew there was something that was going to commemorate her and her career, and seeing how emotional she was, taken back by it all, I don’t think anything can ever prepare you for that.
“Everyone in the team knows how much Lydia brings – her leadership and her compassion – to honour her in every way – that’s what the team wanted to do because she gives that tenfold back.”
The send-off for Williams individually and the team for the Olympics collectively was watched by another record Matildas crowd of just under 77,000 – a fact that Wheeler is still blown away by, and recognises the importance of the team rewarding their huge fan base with performances and achievements.
“It’s special. It’s so special. It’s always an honour and a privilege to wear the badge and just seeing the amount of people coming to see our games – it’s the new norm, selling out…it’s not lost on us. We’re privileged to have so many people coming out to support us and we want to keep this momentum going and we want to make everyone proud of us at the Olympics.”
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