Australia has gone down 2-0 to Canada in their opening group F match of the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The Aussies began in the worst possible fashion, conceding in the opening 20 seconds via a Janine Beckie goal.
Despite having the numerical advantage for 70 minutes following Shelina Zadorksy’s red card for a challenge on Michelle Heyman in the 18th minute, the Matildas could not capitalise on their dominance.
Sam Kerr and Elise Kellond-Knight had the best chances of the half for the green and gold.
The second half saw Canada continue to protect their slim advantage and eventually the team in red were able to counter attack more and more.
Australian goalkeeper Lydia Williams was called on to save a penalty and Laura Alleway was forced to clear the ball off the line before Canada was able to find a second.
Williams was well off her line and Sinclair only had to place her shot to cap off a crazy game.
A game that had everything
You can’t make games like this up. Canada opened the scoring within 20 seconds, a misplaced pass was pounced upon by Canadian captain Sinclair and was coolly finished off by Janine Beckie. Australia eventually settled into the match and the team was further aided by the sending off of Shelina Zadorsky around the 20 minute mark.
Australia’s dominance in the first half could not be translated onto the score sheet and as the second half progressed Canada’s counter attacks became more frequent and more nerve-wracking for Australian fans and Australian defenders alike.
A dubious handball call against Caitlin Foord led to a Canadian penalty kick but Lydia Williams was able to make a save. Laura Alleway was also on hand to clear the ball of the line further on in the second half.
Canada was able to double its advantage, through a counter attack, with Williams coming well off her line, and Sinclair simply placing her shot. It seems the only thing this game lacked were some Australian goals.
Sam Kerr is back
Sam Kerr injured her foot in November of last year which saw her miss majority of the W-League season for her club, Perth Glory. She was still injured for the Olympic qualification tournament earlier this year. But her return to the Matildas starting line-up was brilliant.
Kerr had not played for the Matildas since October 2015. #canvaus
— Ann Odong (@AnnOdong) August 3, 2016
She’s a strong, intelligent and quick player and these attributes were on display against the Canadians. She was on the receiving end of some great balls for Katrina Gorry but couldn’t use them properly. She was replaced at half time, perhaps because the match was her first Matildas game in 10 months, but she will continue to shine at this tournament if that 45 minutes is anything to go by.
Looking ahead
A loss is never ideal. A loss when you have a numerical advantage for 70 minutes and dominate proceedings is even less so. Australia next face world number 2 Germany on Sunday morning Australian time. It was always going to be a tough match but now with the added pressure of the Canada result, it’s going to take a monumental effort.
The nature of short tournaments means there should be some rotation in the squad. Steph Catley could return to the starting XI as could either Kyah Simon or Lisa De Vanna, which would allow Chloe Logarzo a rest after she limped off the pitch following a challenge.
It’s not an impossible task, but it is definitely going to be a tough battle for the team to finish in the top two.
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