Matildas Defeat Denmark 2-0 in Round of 16
The Matildas showed up and showed out last night in front of 75,000 fans at Sydney’s Accor Stadium. The Aussies were able to use the home crowd to their advantage defeating Denmark 2-0 and booking their spot in the quarterfinals.
However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Matildas who came out a touch slow as Denmark took it to them early.
The Danes, led by the world’s most expensive female player Pernille Harder, were controlling much of the ball and seeing solid scoring chances over the games opening 20 minutes.
Harder herself had one of the best chances for Denmark as she attacked Clare Hunt one on one at the edge of the box before pushing the ball to her right and getting a shot off. Thankfully for the Matildas, she didn’t quite make perfect contact with the ball as is curled straight into the arms of goalie Mackenzie Arnold.
Then came the game’s first controversial moment. Steph Catley took some contact from a Danish player and stayed down opting to have her ankle tended to by the medical staff.
Many found this to be obvious gamesmanship given that Australia was in need of a break from Denmark’s domination and Catley returned almost immediately after play resumed.
Commentator for Channel 7 Grace Gill raised this question immediately saying, “It’s a good question as to whether this moment was just a quick tactical discussion, because… there was a quick gathering of the players around Tony Gustavsson.”
The Matildas began settling into the game over the next 10 minutes before they broke the deadlock in the 29th minute.
A wayward Danish cross found Caitlin Foord who tapped the ball to Mary Fowler. Fowler evaded a tackle and worked up the middle of the field as Foord sprinted down the left side.
Still well on her own side of half Fowler delivered a gorgeous through ball hitting Foord in stride at the edge of the 18-yard-box. Foord took one touch and then finished brilliantly between the legs of Denmark’s keeper to give Australia a 1-0 lead.
The second half saw Denmark pressing for an equalizer early, but the Australian defense did well keeping attackers to the outside.
In the 70th minute the Matildas would double up their lead as Mary Fowler once again made a brilliant pass to lead to the goal.
Fowler received the ball at the edge of the 18-yard-box and chipped a cheeky pass to Emily Van Egmond in the six-yard box. Van Egmond stayed composed and turned away from goal to find Hayley Raso with space who blasted the ball on her first touch into the far corner.
The score line remained the same for the rest of the match, but Matilda fans were still given something else to cheer about when Sam Kerr was brought on in the 79th minute.
Sam Kerr Electrifies Aussie Fans with Late Substitution
Warming up for much of the second half, Kerr seemed eager to get on the field. In the 79th minute she did just that as she was brought on for Hayley Raso. The fans inside the Accor Stadium went ballistic when her substitution was announced.
Kerr had a few touches and even a solid crack at goal that went too high. Most importantly she looked healthy and her pace seemed solid.
Kerr will be crucial in the team’s hope to win this World Cup and bettors who backed Australia at any of the country’s legal betting sites will be happy to see that she’s in good shape.
