The Young Matildas have come away with the Bronze Medal at the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup with a 1-0 victory over South Korea on Saturday night.
After a come from behind victory against the Koreans in the group stage, Leah Blayney went with a strong side especially with a medal on the line and that starting side featured three Sydney FC players in Shay Hollman, Maddie Caspers and Zara Kruger.
Korea Republic had the better of the chances in the first half. Kim Shinji had a free kick from just outside the area, and her team had several corners. Park Soo Jeong came close on a couple of occasions as well, one shot forcing a great save from the unflappable Chloe Lincoln at the near post and another volley squeezing just wide.
Momentum again swung towards the Young Matildas after some fresh legs were brought onto the pitch. Enter Indiana Dos Santos for Daniela Galic. Minutes later, Milly Boughton and Lara Gooch were introduced in place of Kahli Johnson and Shay Hollman.
It would be Gooch who would make all the difference. After a searching through ball, Gooch showed off her straight-line speed and got a touch ahead of the Korean goalkeeper. The touch was enough – it found the back of the net and would be the only goal of the game.
The CommBank Young Matildas will now look forward to the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Colombia 2024™ which will run between 31 August – 22 September 2024.
Overall, all but one of the six Sydney FC players all received minutes throughout the tournament and they will return to the Sky Blues camp with plenty of experience following an intense match schedule in Uzbekistan.
They will be assessed this week ahead of Sunday’s clash at home against Adelaide United with the premiers plate race heating up once again.
All six players will be available for selection against Adelaide.
Congratulations on a great tournament ladies!
Australia Line Up: 1. Chloe LINCOLN (gk), 5. Jessika NASH (c), 6. Shay HOLLMAN (19. Lara GOOCH 67’), 10. Daniela GALIC (20. Indiana DOS SANTOS 59’), 11. Kahli JOHNSON (7. Milly BOUGHTON 67’), 13. Peta TRIMIS (22. Georgia CASSIDY 89’), 14. Zara KRUGER (84′), 15. Alexia APOSTOLAKIS, 17. Maddie CASPERS, 21. Naomi CHINNAMA, 23. Sasha GROVE.
Subs not used: 2. Tijan MCKENNA, 3. Tegan BERTOLISSIO, 4. Gemma FERRIS, 8. Alana MURPHY, 9. Jynaya DOS SANTOS, 12. Tahlia FRANCO (gk), 16. Claudia CICCO, 18. Grace WILSON (gk).
