Coming from Gosford, where Matildas fever had definitely grabbed the attention of the locals, Adelaide was somehow a completely different scenario.
There was little sign of a game taking place, a million miles from the livery and action photos that greeted us at the exit of the Adelaide airport in the lead-up to the Women’s World Cup in 2023.
There were strange looks from locals at the odd green and gold scarf, and this was a bog-standard Tuesday night rush hour as bemused locals wondered why their tram was slightly busier than normal.
But football in your home town is like that – you can fit it in after a day’s work, so that’s what you do.
Fast forward an hour or two and Coopers Stadium was a hive of activity. Young flag-waving fans did a lap of the field as the players came out to warm up; they had prime position to watch both teams go through their paces ahead of the game.
If pre-match drills were a reflection of how the teams would fare, the Matildas were going to win this contest handsomely – the Kiwis looked scruffy while the Matildas zipped around their half of the field with purpose and conviction.
The recalled Sam Kerr looked sharp as she drilled shots at her goalkeepers and the zesty final run-through by the starting eleven was finished with a round of high fives before the team walked off to the changing rooms to huge acclaim.
Plenty of changes from Friday’s game, and the Matildas were arguably an even more potent force tonight. A core five superstars retained their spots, Katrina Gorry and Kyra Cooney-Cross dropping to the bench after their five-star showing in New South Wales, with Alanna Kennedy straight back in after suspension.
The depth of the squad was obvious. This was some team, a group of players definitely capable of bringing success in the Asian Cup next year.
The red seats had been replaced with a sea of yellow and the sun was setting on a perfect South Australian evening over the cityscape behind. The floodlights flickered on and off as the line-ups were announced. What a scene!
Milly Clegg was almost played in early on as the Matildas started slowly, but the game came to life as Ellie Carpenter teased a ball over the defence for Hayley Raso to sprint clear.
Despite hitting the bar, it wasn’t convincing, but that was the spark. Kerr looked lively, going down easily to win a free kick in enemy territory and she snatched at a shot that was always going wide.
With ten minutes on the clock, Australia created a beautiful move, Raso and Kerr teaming up on the right and Foord was well placed to test Alina Santos in the New Zealand goal with the header at the far post.
The sight of Kennedy and Clare Wheeler being dispossessed was disconcerting, And Grace Wisnewski wasn’t far from snatching a surprise lead, Teagan Micah equal to her close-range shot following a corner.
The look on Kennedy’s face when she was given the opportunity to burst the net after Raso’s cheeky run in the penalty area was priceless – a mixture of relief and joy after missing Friday’s rout.
The Matildas had the lead. Now could they build from here and convince us all? Steph Catley and Micah got in a tangle from an innocuous long ball, getting away with it.
Wheeler and Foord were a touch too intricate in the penalty area to fashion a chance for Kerr, and the speedy Kaitlyn Torpey was excellent, tidying up where necessary. Clare Hunt’s precision tackle on the marauding India-Paige Reilly brought huge applause.
Swift interplay from Carpenter and Kerr presented Foord with a chance on the left, but her shot was wide, sections of the crowd off their seats expecting the net to ripple.
Torpey fashioned a glorious chance with a twinkle-toed run through the centre, pulling her shot just wide, and almost immediately Wisnewski had the big chance to get the visitors back on level terms reacting first to a slide-rule pass that split the surprised Matildas defence apart.
Following that up was a wild shot by Clegg when well-placed and all of a sudden one goal didn’t look enough approaching the break. There was time for Raso to poke a shot wide from Foord’s surge down he left, Foord herself should have scored when Kerr did the hold-up to slip here clean through.
The slow hand clap of the Adelaide crowd was neither in praise nor impatience and a single goal was all they would have to show for a dominant half, even after Santos had watched a curling shot from Foord clear the cross bar by a centimetre.
As always, the vexed look on the mums’ faces as they joined the horrendous queue for the ladies’ bathroom told a story, venues not on the same wavelength as they were two years ago to the increased female attendance, and the number of empty seats as the second half restarted was frustrating. Holly McNamara and Courtney Nevin were on for a new-look left-hand side, Foord back in the centre forward spot with Kerr and Carpenter withdrawn.
Gabi Rennie went tumbling to try and buy a penalty from the Chinese referee who showed no interest, and the game was remarkably even. The game needed a Gorry or Cooney-Cross to boss the midfield and we got half of the duo, Tameka Yallop coming on with midfield general Gorry with New Zealand coping admirably in defence.
They watched on as Claudia Bunge almost gifted the home team a goal, waiting and waiting for instruction from behind that never came and almost pickpocketed right in front of goal.
The Aussie Aussie chants were laboured. The active support was again shackled, the safe standing area behind the New Zealand goal was all sitting down. Even some rogue flares at the other end, coming from the corner and filling the stadium with red smoke, failed to ignite the occasion, play paused for a moment as the groundsmen tried their best to extinguish the flames.
With twenty minutes to play, it was Raso who woke Adelaide from its slumbers, leaping to try and meet a corner kick that she would never reach, before turning and unleashing a fabulous shot that sailed past Santos as a visiting player lay on the ground after a blow to the face.
Quite the hit, a thumping finish to almost match the first goal. Raso was off soon after, Cooney-Cross getting the cheer of the night, perhaps in appreciation of her wonder goal on Friday.
Foord curled a shot just wide after fending off her defender, Cooney-Cross almost caught Santos dallying on the ball, and the Matildas now looked like a team in control. Foord again had half the stadium thinking she had scored, heading wide from a pinpoint cross from Cooney-Cross but she was denied in the next move, placing a shot at Santos who got a superb touch to push the ball away.
A kick to the face for Gorry was enough to fire up the midfield dynamo and the crowd lapped up her reaction.
Kelli Brown flicked Annalie Longo’s cross-shot just over the bar as New Zealand came looking for consolation, but their loose touches were making it tough going at the back.
Reilly smashed in a shot that Micah held well as the injury time extended beyond the original six minutes, Gorry wasn’t convinced that she hadn’t kept he ball in after a lung-busting run right in front of the assistant referee, but she saw the funny side in the end.
Fire lit both ends of the stadium as the crowd roared to welcome the final whistle. This had certainly not been as convincing as Friday night, the 90 minutes had given Joe Montemurro very little to work with and the majority of the crowd filed out as the final whistle sounded, entertained but not entirely fulfilled.
Men at Work was met with muted enthusiasm, but the young fans still wanted a piece of their heroes, waiting patiently for the Australian coach to deliver his words of wisdom to his team in the tight circle in the centre of the park.
There was applause in the tighter New Zealand circle as Annalie Longo was farewelled, the players hoisting her high in the air in celebration. The main reason that the young fans had stayed after the game was to catch up with the players, and as usual they were reluctant to join the crowd, only a couple of players peeling away and making a beeline to the perimeter.
Kiwi coach Michael Mayne was happy with what he saw today, after all they faced a forward line with hundreds of caps to their name and there was no disgrace losing to Australia on home soil.
Montemurro was flanked by his captain Kerr for the press conference, who immediately expressed her disappointment to have only played the first half. It was a cheeky quip, the medical team having made the call ahead of her coach.
Her coach then praised her cheekiness as one of the positive attributes she brought to the team, along with her confidence and leadership. This was fun banter. Kerr had found tonight a little crowded, but she was allowed to go out and enjoy her football.
The Australian coach wished that the Asian Cup was next week. There was an energy around the group, and there was a lot of depth in the squad, with players able to deputise in multiple positions.
New Zealand had played a lot deeper this evening, a lot more compact in midfield, but with Kennedy playing in front of the back two, this had given the central defenders licence to get further forward. Free-flowing football is the mantra, captain and coach agreed on that, and the willingness to take risks is definitely something we should get used to seeing.
This was a positive end to an ultimately positive night. A victory, a clean sheet, rotations and new combinations allowing us all to get a final look at the personnel available for next year’s big tournament.
While the casual fan in the 15,000+ crowd may not have been thrilled at the spectacle, any nailed-on supporter of the country’s favourite sporting team will be more than content that the year ends in a winning way.
Bring on Asia. We look forward to welcoming you to our beautiful country!
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