Above: Joe Montemurro and Ellie Carpenter at Coopers Stadium. Image: Football Australia.
By Genevieve Henry (1/12/25).
Matildas defender Ellie Carpenter and head coach Joe Montemurro talked to the press ahead of their second friendly match against New Zealand in the December international window. The match will take place Tuesday night at Coopers Stadium in Adelaide.
After putting 5 past the Ferns in a rampaging performance, the Matildas are not expecting things to be quite as easy the second go around.
“(New Zealand) definitely wouldn’t be happy with their performance, and I think they can expect a totally different New Zealand tomorrow evening,” Carpenter said. “We’re prepared for that. We’re going to play our own game, our own style of play, and bring it to them again.”
Friday’s five-star showing was arguably the Matildas’ best performance under Montemurro. The beginnings of a football identity began to show to great effect. While the quality of the opponent certainly dictated how easy it was to exert their own control and style in the match, the Matildas are on the right track for the Asian Cup.
“Do we need some more continuity? Absolutely. How we’re going to find that continuity when they all go away tomorrow night might be difficult, but I think the thing that I’ve said from day one is to get some key messages on what we believe is the best way to approach games. We saw a good base the other night,” Montemurro said. “We’ve been building an idea of football because we believe it’s what we need to go ahead, not just to the Asian Cup, but as a nation, and also as an elite national team.”
Montemurro discussed an underdog complex he has seen in the side – an idea he regards as incorrect and possibly destructive.
“We think that we’re so far behind, or we’ve got this inferiority complex to the rest of the world in football, but we’ve got coaches all around the world. We’ve got top players all around the world at top clubs. So we must be doing something right, and we should be celebrating that.”
“I think what we’ve done in the last couple of months has been important,” Carpenter said. “The recent game was probably our best performance in a long while, really gelling and playing the style of play we want to play.”
Montemurro said Sam Kerr, who missed out on the first game in the series, is training well. “We just want her to be like every player. We assess their situation and we assess where they’re at. We ask the players also how they’re feeling because they know their bodies better sometimes.”
While Kerr’s progress at Chelsea has been coming in waves, Carpenter is thriving at her new club – especially with her compatriot. “It’s lovely to be in the same club team as her and also building those connections on the pitch. That’s only going to help us here, obviously, with the national team.”
“I’m really enjoying my football at the moment. It’s a new challenge for me, a new environment,” Carpenter said. “I’m just playing freely and I have a lot of confidence at the moment. I’m really happy with how I’m performing.”
Carpenter, who was named player of the match and scored her 5th goal for Australia on Friday, has been a key player for Australia for around a decade already, but her influence is growing stronger as she gains more leadership and confidence. She is one of few players who will feel as though they have a cemented spot in the Asian Cup squad. For the rest, this match against New Zealand is all-important, as well as their club form for the next few months.
“Tomorrow is another good opportunity, just before the Asian Cup, because we all go back to our clubs tomorrow night, and we come back together in March. So tomorrow night’s really important.”
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