She is rubbish. Needs to go. Fowler went missing the last 20 as well.

Are FA still charging low prices for Matildas' tickets or have they started using them as a cash cow?

You can't compare the two games so no point trying.

This is much more of how the Matildas should be playing. The defensive effort of the Chinese team is very effective but we are working our way through, over and round them.

The intensity and commitment is there, and the cohesion is positive and strong.

Carpenter has shown moments of brilliance with her touch and running alongside her usual heavy footed touch as well. It may be the best game I have seen from Raso in terms of the actual skill and quality of her ball movement. Both Carpenter and Raso are showing what they have gained by playing in big football.

Van Egmond's ratio of bad to good play in significant moments is sitting around 5:2. Her first two touches gave the ball away outright and her pace was unable to get to the pass for a third. If the ball is not delivered right to her feet someone else gets it. Fantastic vision and execution on the looping pass out to Raso.

Game still well in the balance with our dominance meaning nothing yet. Shame Yallop could not control her shot or Heyman finish her great run with more quality.

A good 'friendly' to watch with the intensity and quality on display.

Peach of a ball to the far post.

Every game, Van Egmond puts a couple of top quality moments in. They may be goals or they may be brilliantly executed passes.

Unfortunately, I think Gustavsson is quite happy to have us playing with 9 outfield players for most of the 90 minutes to receive the benefit of the very few moments that can swing a tight game. The problem is, she stuffs up so many times that it actually makes them tight games.

When you're getting sell outs 14 games in a row and negotiating a doubling of the TV deal you can get away with cheaper tickets. 

Long may it continue. 

Great pass by vine, great strength by Raso to get in front of her defender, tidy finish too.

And this is what I was asking for from Gustavsson. Two new faces alongside a team of experience (and Van Egmond gone of course).

Great play by Vine to link in that move  and a good goal from Raso on the end of it.

Raso is on fire 

Why have they taken the foot off the pedal. Needs to make 2 more subs.

Just like the Socceroos the Matilda’s live and die for the transition, set pieces are a useful thing with your struggles in possession but again we haven’t created much in general play. 

But unless they can get away with it in the Olympics, like they did at the World Cup they need to be better in possession against the top sides if they want to medal. 

Farking polkinghorne can you believe it?

Also 76K on a Monday night is quite incredible, easily the most popular national sporting team in the country. 

Fowler may as well not be there this half.

after watching so many dysfunctional midfields for our underage matildas the last few months it was a real difference seeing cooney cross consistently open passing lanes, never standing square, and having so many strings in her bow to break that first line. She can turn quickly with her first touch, drive through the lines, or play quick circulation football 

glad to see she is just 22 too! So the future might be better for the matildas than youth football performances have suggested? I was really worried after last game just how static our mids were. Wheeler also was busier off the ball this game

That was just a gimme cap. I didn't mind her coming on for a few minutes like that.

I don't know if we have heard the final names for the Olympics but maybe that was her last hurrah unless she gets called on through injury.

The only weakness I see with Cooney-Cross is that once she starts to avoid tacklers she gets tunnel vision and tries to keep on holding the ball. If they swarm her in that moment like China did a few times she loses the ball to sheer numbers. I really like her body movement and foot skills with the ball at her feet.

A shame that extra substitutions after the first two in the second half watered down the side. Wheeler and Vine made a huge impact, and I was really pleased to see that Wheeler kept looking to run into space when we were bringing the ball out (or at least when I noticed). Vine was free to use her pace and the difference was obvious from last game. A forward can play with a lot more confidence and freedom than a winger with defensive responsibility.

I would have loved to have seen that second half line up playing longer together to build on the synergies of the first team. The last game before the Olympics I can understand a lot of competing priorities in selection and rotation. But I can imagine how good they could be playing if Gustavsson had taken opportunities through out his tenure to just work a few players into the squad rather than his experimental, confidence draining flops.

Yes, we lost our intensity as the second half wore on but we did not look to defend the lead at least and played out an enjoyable match.

For the refs in here - at 31:30 Carpenter is called offside, but the ball that came back to her was off a Chinese player.

It was not driven directly at goal and it was not a reflex action - so shouldn't that have been play on?

I was wondering whether they should do the same with the Socceroos.

2018 Qualifying playoff v Honduras
And before that? The Asian Cup Final of 2015.

As for a friendly...?
Well, last time we got over 50k for a friendly was the 2014 World Cup send-off v South Africa (50.5k in Sydney).
Mind you, there was a friendly against Brazil at the MCG since then that was just, just shy of 50k (June 2017, pre Confederations Cup)

I’m curious of those fans whom watch the Matilda games how many watch the aleague?

I went to a Socceroos game awhile back and was quite surprised some around me don’t watch football let alone the aleague, it appeared they were more eggball watches which was weird. 

Not deliberately played at so doesn't reset the offside.

Or I should say wasn't deemed 'deliberately played at'.

There's a bunch of considerations for 'deliberately played'.

I was OK with that call. 

From Law 11.2.

A player in an offside position receiving the ball from an opponent who deliberately played* the ball, including by deliberate handball, is not considered to have gained an advantage, unless it was a deliberate save by any opponent.

Stan have released a doco on the Matilda's..

Trailer...

https://www.stan.com.au/watch/trailblazers-2024

  

As I saw it a China defender had run over the behind line during the play and made her way back onto the pitch meaning there was 1 player and the keeper between Carpenter and the goal.  Does this play Carpenter onside?  Is the timing of the player coming back on to the pitch critical in the call?

NB.  I had an injection into my eye a few hours earlier so my vision wasn't too good so I may have not seen it correctly, but the question is still worth getting an explanation on.

A defending player who is temporarily beyond the goal line is considered to be on the goal line for the consideration of offside.

Great sell out by the Sydneyites for the Tildas and fittingly so.
Thankfully they did us proud despite the negatives for there will always be alot to improve on.
Whilst other leading sports have floundered (and not many are interenational in the first place) our lady Roos/Tildas have taken the mantle as No1 National brand the public luv getting behind.
All the best at the Olympics do us proud.

Ah that girl. Yes, I wasn't sure if she was on or off the pitch when that happened but what keeper66 is saying is correct then she should have been onside.

EDIT: I think what I've written here is wrong. See the top of the next page.

Yes great night for football. Shows there is a passion for the game if marketed right.
Are you watching APL admin?