FOOTBALL – OLYMPICS –
The Matildas have been eliminated from the pursuit of gold in the Women’s Tournament at the Tokyo Olympics after being defeated for a second time by Sweden in the Quarter Finals on Monday, August 2.
It was a close affair throughout the 90 minutes and both sides found patches of dominance.
The Coast’s Ellie Carpenter put in an exhaustive performance throughout, playing as both a reliable final defender and a dynamic play builder.
Tacoma’s Kyah Simon, also a local, played in her 100th match for the Matildas, becoming the ninth ever to do so.
The Swedes will now make their way to the Gold Medal Match on Friday August 6, against a Canadian team who surprised the competition with a semi-final win over the USA, also 1-0.
The Matildas will face the USA, for a second time, in the Bronze Medal Match.
It has been a difficult tournament for the Australian women who entered the Games as the world’s ninth-ranked team and third highest within their pool.
They showed their ability to play beyond expectations against Sweden and then America and forced those teams to play at their very best.
The team reached a physical and emotional peak during 120-minute quarter-final scrap with Britain, ending 4-3 to the Tillies.
The first half involved tiresome defensive practices from the possession-starved Matildas against aggressive attacks on goal, yet they were still able to find the lead via the accurate head of Alanna Kennedy in the 35th minute.
The Aussies controlled possession in the second half but were unable to add to their score.
Britain scored against the flow of play when Ellen White scoring her first of three that night.
White’s second came nine minutes later.
Sam Kerr found the net in the 89th minute to boil the game over into extra time.
The first extra-time period was controlled by Britain until the Aussies broke the stalemate with a goal for Mary Fowler in the 103rd minute.
A fourth goal was found by Kerr in the second period of extra time before White came back to seal up her hattrick.
This win gave the Matildas plenty of confidence going into their semi final with Sweden, but they were unable to find the same goal-scoring form.
The Swedish defence proved to be too well structured throughout the entire match, and once their lead was established with a messy 46th minute goal for Fridolina Rolfo, they were able to stay composed and absorb the pressure put on their own net.
Swedish goalkeeper, Hedvig Lindhal, was directly called into defensive action four times, a couple of them involving loose handlings that were close to leading to conceded goals.
The European powerhouse endured to the end and set them up as favourites heading into the Grand Final.
This match against Canada will be played at 12pm (AEST) on Friday, August 6.
The Bronze Medal Match between Australia and America is scheduled for 6pm on Thursday, August 5.
CCN