Pre-Game Festivities for Polkinghorne a Touching Tribute
35-year-old Clare Polkinghorne has been a staple of the Matildas backline since the late 2000s, capping her 168th match against Brazil.
On and off the pitch she has meant so much to this team and women’s soccer in the country.
Because of this, it’s especially bittersweet that her great Matildas career is coming to an end. In what was a great display of respect she was given a guard of honour by her teammates and family as she walked onto the pitch at Suncorp Stadium.
It was an emotional moment as the sold out crowd cheered and applauded as the legend greeted them.
She’s not quite at the end of her career yet, as she will still be in the squad on Sunday against Brazil and in two matches to follow against Taiwan. However, this was the perfect place to send her off in her home city of Brisbane.
Matildas Dominated by Brazil
In a match that had the Hollywood storyline to make it a perfect send off, unfortunately on the pitch the Matildas were unable to make the magic happen.
It didn’t take long for Brazil to silence the crowd and put a slight damper on the vibe around the stadium as in the sixth minute they found the back of the net.
It was a perfectly timed run by Amanda Gutierres to beat the line of Matilda defenders and leave herself in a race to the ball with Mackenzie Arnold. The Brazilian was able to get their first as she dribbled around Arnold before slotting it into the empty net to give her country the 1-0 lead.
The coming minutes weren’t much better for the Matildas as they seemed rattled by the early concession and struggled to hold possession.
Just seven minutes later it was a disaster for the Matildas as they went down by two.
A quick counter attack by Brazil caught the Australian’s in a scramble as Aline Gomes released with the ball down the left side of the pitch. She cut into the box and picked out Gutierres cutting across who took it with her first touch into the bottom right corner.
The Matildas were given life in the 43rd minute thanks to Ellie Carpenter and Caitlin Foord. Carpenter first spun off two Brazilian defenders in the right corner before cutting the ball through the 18-yard-box. Van Egmond smartly let the ball pass her to Foord who controlled it with a spin before tucking it home to cut the deficit to one.
The second half saw the match get a little chippy as the referee had done poorly not to penalize harshly a few rough tackles.
As the intensity ramped up, Brazil again took the wind out of the sails of the stadium with a 56th minute marker. It was a gaff by Alanna Kennedy in the back line as she was stripped by Gio who calmly dribbled into the box, cut back past Polkinghorne and put the ball past Arnold.
As the game continued to get more aggressive, the Matilda’s were unable to find their way back.
The Brazilians were finally punished for their suspect tackling in the 86th minute as Vitoria Calhau received a second yellow card but it was too late for the Matildas who tried to push forward but weren’t able to make them pay with the little time remaining.
The clock ran out with the score still 3-1 for the understaffed visitors.
The Matildas had a chance to do something special in Brisbane in what was a send off match for Clare Polkinghorne. However, it was the visiting Brazil side that carried play and came away with a 3-1 victory at Suncorp Stadium.
