Isuzu UTE A-League, Liberty A-League, AND the Matildas all in one night? You can’t possibly keep up with that much football… right?
Wrong!
KEEPUP followed on LIVE to bring you all the highlights, scores, analysis and biggest talking points from a footballing feast, as the A-Leagues action rolled into the Matildas kicking off their Asian Cup campaign.
Tonight’s live coverage breaks into three sections:
- The Matildas v Indonesia – Women’s Asian Cup
Mumbai Football Arena. Kick-off 9.00pm AEDT - Wellington Phoenix v Western United – Isuzu UTE A-League
WIN Stadium. Kick-off 7.45pm AEDT - Adelaide United v Wellington Phoenix – Liberty A-League
Coopers Stadium. Kick-off 6.35pm AEDT
Matildas v Indonesia – AFC Women’s Asian Cup
Why 18-0 Matildas win was a ‘missed opportunity’ on ‘disappointing’ night
“Tonight for me: great goalscoring, comprehensive win, missed opportunity.”
Those were the post-match words of former Matilda Grace Gill, who together with Paramount+ football analyst Georgia Yeoman-Dale vented the frustration of seeing an Australian lineup made up largely of a sensational cohort of Matildas stars in their prime mercilessly dismantle Indonesia in the green and gold’s first AFC Women’s Asian Cup group fixture.
The result was emphatic, the attacking blistering and the overall performance comprehensive against a nation ranked 94th in the world.
What Yeoman-Dale and Gill would have preferred to see, however, was further opportunities handed to generation next, with a number of promising young talents – particularly in attacking areas – forced to watch from the pine as the rampant Matildas machine went for the jugular.
“I have to say, I am really disappointed tonight, if anything,” Yeoman-Dale said.
“Fantastic, we’re scoring a lot of goals, but with what team? These girls have so many caps under their belts, they’ve got so much experience, they’re playing top-level football, and we’ve come out with our strongest team when we have an opportunity to play young players.
“Yes, we see Holly McNamara making her debut off the bench – fantastic. We see Clare Wheeler play 90 minutes, fantastic. But what about Cortnee Vine? What about Remy Siemsen?”
Gill responded: “I can’t help but agree with you. I think it’s a real missed opportunity.
“The names you just mentioned there, those substitutions at half time he brought on (had) over 200 international appearances collectively. You’ve got players on the bench who need minutes and who need international experience.
“Tonight for me: great goalscoring, comprehensive win – missed opportunity.”
MATCH REPORT: Kerr becomes Australia’s greatest ever scorer in Matildas thrashing
Leading 9-0 at half-time, Matildas boss Gustavsson turned to his bench for a quadruple substitution.
On came young Courtney Nevin (seven caps), along with Tameka Yallop (101 caps), Kyah Simon (105 caps) and Aivi Luik (33 caps).
The Matildas scoring machine rolled on, but all the while Yeoman-Dale looked on with frustrated eyes.
“You look at a Remy Siemsen or Cortnee Vine on the bench going ‘we’re winning 12-0 against Indonesia and I’m not getting a go’,” she said.
“(As a player) you’re kind of (thinking) ‘am I even in the picture here?’”
“That’s where that mentality comes from. You can be experienced on the other end (and think) ‘yeah it’s fine, we’re a squad mentality’, but as a player just coming in and on the fringe, this is the game you want your opportunity.”
Kerr ‘writes her name into the pantheon of Australian football’
Sam Kerr is officially in a class of her own, scoring four, yes, four first-half goals to fly past Tim Cahill’s record of 50 goals for Australia – the all-time record prior to the Matildas’ 9-0 first-half mauling of Indonesia in the Asian Cup.
The leading men’s scorer in Australian history gave a heartfelt congratulations to Kerr on the night she claimed the nation’s scoring record as her own outright.
Kerr had 49 international goals to her name prior to Australia’s first game in the 2022 tournament, but ended the first half on 53 as Australia ran rampant in India.
After scoring six in the opening half-hour Australia continued to turn the screws. Ellie Carpenter thumped home the seventh, before Kerr put her fourth in the back of the net in the 36th minute.
Australia won a second penalty of the first half, and Kerr selflessly handed it to Emily van Egmond to tuck away her first goal of the tournament, and ninth of the half for Australia.
But in the moment Kerr became Australia’s all-time record scorer, Network 10 commentator Robbie Thompson summed it up best:
“She’s written her name into the pantheon of Australian Football,” he said.
‘It is very much a night for the history books’ – Matildas romp by the numbers
Let’s take stock of that record breaking night in Mumbai.
Sam Kerr is officially the greatest Aussie scorer of all time.
Her five goal haul against Indonesia took her to 54 – she’s four strikes clear of Tim Cahill now, who ended his career with 50 goals for the green and gold.
The frightening thing is, Kerr’s career is in full flight. She’s only getting better as her years at Chelsea FC roll on – how far can the Matildas superstar extend her lead on the charts before the end of her international career?
Kerr could have made it six with a second-half penalty, but rattled it off the crossbar. She ended the game with five goals to her name, the second-most ever scored by a Matilda.
Kate Gill twice scored five in one game (twice in 2007) and Cheryl Salisbury did it in 1998; only Carol Vinson has scored more in a single game: six in 1991 against Papua New Guinea.
If Kerr’s penalty hit the underside of the bar and dropped in, that record would be shared. Sliding doors.
The 18-0 scoreline is the third-biggest winning margin ever recorded by the Matildas, and the most scored against any nation from Asia beating the 15-0 scoreline notched against Hong Kong in 2007.
The Matildas won 19-0 against Samoa in 2003, and 21-0 against American Samoa in 1998.
FULL-TIME: Matildas 18-0 Indonesia (10.55pm AEDT)
Hayley Raso has put the finishing touch on an 18-0 win over Indonesia for the Matildas in the opening game of Australia’s Asian Cup campaign in India.
It was a record-breaking night for the green and gold, and the third-highest winning margin the Matildas have recorded in their history.
Matildas 17-0 Indonesia: Aussies press on for record result (9.40pm AEDT)
After scoring nine first-half goals, Australia has refused to take the foot off the pedal. Eight more have flown into the back of the net since the break, with 10 minutes to play in Mumbai.
Carpenter scored her second of the night with an overhit cross which reached the top-left corner of goal. Young Liberty A-League star Courtney Nevin came off the bench for Steph Catley to apply the assist for Kerr’s fifth, then van Egmond put two away in as many minutes to put Australia 13-0 up before the hour mark.
Kerr won herself a penalty, which she rattled off the crossbar to deny herself a sixth goal of the day, but the Australian pressure continued. Carpenter set up substitute Kyah Simon to make it 14-0.
Emily van Egmond broke an offside trap to run onto an expertly-placed Clare Wheeler through pass to net her fourth goal.
Simon then added a second of her own in the 71st minute before Matildas legend Aivi Luik, off the bench in the second half, made it 17-0 with an audacious volleyed flick off the side of her right foot.
Matildas obliterating Indonesia with six goal opening half-hour (9.30pm)
The KEEPUP live blog is overheating as the Matildas goals continue to flow at Mumbai Football Arena.
Hayley Raso met a Foord cross with a committed diving header to make it 5-0 for the green and gold, before Kerr smashed home a strike from the spot to seal her first half hat-trick, and half a dozen goals for the Matildas within the opening 30 minutes of play.
It’s four for the Matildas in destructive display against Indonesia (9.16pm AEDT)
Twice a scorer in the opening 11 minutes, Sam Kerr turned provider for Caitlin Foord who put Australia 3-0 up over Indonesia with less than 15 minutes on the clock.
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson named an attacking lineup for the first game of his side’s Asian Cup campaign, and his starting side couldn’t have gotten off to a better start.
Mary Fowler made it four in the 17th minute of play with a tidy finish into the bottom left corner as a lethal Matildas attack begins to share the scoring load in Mumbai.
HISTORY MAKER! Kerr goes into a class of her own (9.12pm AEDT)
Goals number 50 and 51 in green and gold take Sam Kerr ahead of Tim Cahill as Australia’s all-time leading goalscorer – and the two strikes came within two minutes of one another as Australia make a barnstorming start to their Women’s Asian Cup campaign.
Kerr finished with authority after getting played in on goal for a one-one with Indonesia’s goalkeeper in the 9th minute of play, before tapping home into an unguarded net to double the advantage in the 11th minute.
History is unfolding before our eyes at Mumbai Football Arena – and with a 2-0 lead before the 15-minute mark, Australia’s gun spearhead looks to be just getting started.
KICK-OFF IN MUMBAI! Matildas get Asian Cup campaign underway (9.00pm AEDT)
After all the talk, all the hype, all the questions about formations, the preferred starting XI and all the conjecture of how far the Matildas would travel through the Asian Cup… it all starts tonight at Mumbai Football Arena.
Clare Wheeler kicks the action off as the Matildas look to apply the early clamps on Indonesia.
Matildas lineup is IN for first Asian Cup bout (7.50pm AEDT)
Tony Gustavsson has named an attacking lineup for the Matildas’ first fixture of the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup against Indonesia kicking off at 9.00pm AEDT.
Clare Wheeler looks set to slot in at number six, just in front of a backline which could shape as a traditional back four with Steph Catley and Ellie Carpenter as full-backs.
Sam Kerr will look to bag her 50th goal for Australia, with a supporting cast of Mary Fowler, Hayley Raso and Caitlin Foord all on hand to cause Indonesia problems.
With this strong lineup, Gustavsson will be hoping for a big first win against the nation ranked 94th in the world.
ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE, FULL-TIME: WELLINGTON 2-1 WESTERN
MATCH REPORT: Sandoval scores as Phoenix break losing streak
Late Lustica consolation gives ten-man Western false hope in Isuzu UTE A-League (9.37pm AEDT)
A stoppage time goal from Steven Lustica was nothing but a consolation for Western United in a 2-1 loss to bottom-placed Wellington at WIN Stadium on Friday night.
Tomoki Imai received his marching orders for a last-man challenge heading into extra time as his Western side trailed 2-0 against the Phoenix.
In the moments after Imai’s dismissal, Lustica lashed home a shock goal for the visitors which halved the deficit, but that’s how the score remained until the full-time whistle.
It’s just the second time Wellington have collected three points this season, as Western squander the opportunity to take top spot on the Isuzu UTE A-League table.
Half-time in Isuzu UTE A-League: Hooper and Sandoval put Phoenix in control (8.35pm AEDT)
A number of clutch saves from Phoenix keeper Alex Paulsen has allowed Wellington to make Western United pay down the other end in a two-goal first half display.
Sandoval scored on debut to break the deadlock before Gary Hooper put his name on the scoresheet with a strike which wrong-footed Western stopper Jamie Young in the 35th minute.
Western began the round in third spot, and Wellington in 12th – but the team on the foot of the Isuzu UTE A-League table has come out firing in Wollongong.
Sandoval scores debut goal in ALM bout between ‘Nix and Western (8.05pm AEDT)
Wellington’s Mexican recruit Gael Sandoval took just 16 minutes to score his maiden goal for the club on his Isuzu UTE A-League debut.
The ‘Nix are ahead of Western United at WIN Stadium thanks to Sandoval’s strike tucked into the bottom-left corner of goal, found by Gary Hooper after a searching ball played into Wellington’s attack was not cleared by the United defence.
KICK-OFF in Isuzu UTE A-League: (7.45pm AEDT)
The whistle blows at WIN Stadium to get Western United’s first game since Boxing Day, 2021 underway.
John Aloisi’s side are up against Wellington Phoenix, hosting this Isuzu UTE A-League fixture at their home away from home at WIN Stadium, Wollongong.
TEAM NEWS: Isuzu UTE A-League nears kick-off (7.10pm AEDT)
It’s Wellington Phoenix v Western United in the Isuzu UTE A-League on Friday night – and a club debut awaits for Wellington’s Mexican playmaker Gael Sandoval.
Gary Hooper, Reno Piscopo, Tim Payne and Louis Fenton are into the starting lineup for the ‘Nix – but Western have a key trio of their own returning to the starting XI, with Alessandro Diamanti, Ben Garuccio and Aleksandar Prijović all playing from the start.
LIBERTY A-LEAGUE, FULL TIME: REDS 1-0 ‘NIX (8.30pm AEDT)
MATCH REPORT: Reds grind out 1-0 win over ‘Nix
It was anything but convincing by Adelaide United, but a Paige Hayward strike proved enough to defeat the winless Wellington Phoenix in the Liberty A-League at Coopers Stadium on Friday night.
Hayward broke the deadlock in the 68th minute with a sliding finish from close range, set up by captain Isabel Hodgson playing her 50th game in the Liberty A-League.
The Reds draw even on points (12) with third-place Melbourne Victory, but more importantly strengthen their grip on fourth spot. Adrian Stenta’s side now hold a four-point gap over the fifth-placed Jets.
Hayward puts Reds ahead in Liberty A-League (8.00pm AEDT)
It took more than an hour of play to break the ‘Nix down, but Adelaide have finally pulled ahead of their resilient visitors through a close-range Paige Hayward finish.
It was a terrific piece of interplay between the Reds, as Fiona Worts came to feet in attack, feeding the ball out to captain Isabel Hodgson who crossed with pinpoint accuracy to find a sliding Hayward to finish from close-range.
1-0 to the Reds heading into the final 20 minutes!
Second half underway in Liberty A-League with scores level (7.40pm AEDT)
There was nothing to separate both Adelaide United and Wellington Phoenix after the goalless first half of their Liberty A-League clash at Coopers Stadium.
The ‘Nix are in search of a club-first win in the league, and a usually porous Wellington defence remained resolute through a goalless first half as the Reds attack struggled to string together a fluent approach to play in the final third.
Adelaide forward Paige Hayward vented her frustrations to Paramount+ at half-time.
“It’s not as good as we hoped, but we can only come out in the second half to give it all we’ve got and hopefully develop in the final third, it’s what we need to do.
“We need to check in for the ball and have a runner behind, look at our options and go from there.”
Sideline reporter Max Burford spotted a potential area in Adelaide’s game Wellington looked to expose in the first stanza.
“I’ve got a good quote from Wellington Phoenix coach Gemma Lewis here written down during the week,” he said. “She was talking about the way Adelaide United likes to play, she said they live in chaos, they love it. The way they press, counter press, defensive transition, counter attacking, they actually thrive in chaos.
“It’s about flipping that around for Wellington and so far for them, you’d have to say they’ve defended quite well in that regard compared to the chaos that Adelaide seem to bring.”
KICK-OFF: Phoenix and Reds underway at Coopers Stadium (6.40pm AEDT)
We’re underway in Adelaide as the Reds look to strengthen their grip on a spot in the top four with a big win over the ‘Nix.
Reds captain Isabel Hodgson is playing her 50th Liberty A-League game in front of her home fans, and it’s the hosts making the stronger start, testing Wellington goalkeeper Lily Alfeld on two occasions in the opening two minutes.
READ: Hodgson shares her not-so-secret gift with KEEPUP in pre-season
TEAM NEWS: Adelaide United v Wellington Phoenix (6.00PM AEDT)
The teams are in as we draw ever closer to kick-off at Coopers Stadium for a Liberty A-League clash between Adelaide United and Wellington Phoenix.
Both sides are unchanged from their last respective hit-outs, with the Reds looking to bounce back from their 1-0 loss to Melbourne City.
Wellington’s brave attempt at recording a maiden Liberty A-League victory fell flat last time out, with Brisbane coming from two goals down to beat Gemma Lewis’ side 3-2.
But the signs are promising for the Nix, who travel to face an Adelaide side desperate to cling to its spot in the top four.
