Tameka Yallop, Michelle Heyman and Sharn Freier were at the fore as the CommBank Matildas drew 1-1 with Switzerland in an international friendly on Saturday (AEDT).
The three Ninja A-League stars featured for the Matildas, who saw Caitlin Foord’s first-half penalty cancelled out by Geraldine Reuteler 13 minutes into the second half in Zurich, where interim head coach Tom Sermanni oversaw his first match in charge.
Brisbane Roar star Yallop started for Australia alongside a cohort of A-Leagues graduates – Mackenzie Arnold, Courtney Nevin, Kaitlyn Torpey, Foord, Mary Fowler, Alanna Kennedy, Clare Hunt, Katrina Gorry, Ellie Carpenter and Kyra Cooney-Cross.
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Roar teammate Freier came off the bench in the 65th minute, along with Canberra United and A-Leagues legend Heyman, while Western United’s 19-year-old goalkeeper Chloe Lincoln was an unused substitute.
Daniela Galic – the 2023-24 Boost Young Footballer of the Year who left Melbourne City for FC Twente this season – made her Matildas debut.
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“More so in the first half, I thought we were a little bit off the pace,” Sermanni told reporters as he temporarily fills the void left by Tony Gustavsson’s departure.
“I thought Switzerland were a little bit sharper than us, got the ball a little bit quicker, but in general we still looked fairly solid and safe.
“For big patches of the second half, we dominated possession of the game without creating a lot of chances.
“I was a little bit disappointed with the quality of the goal that we gave away. I thought it was very messy defensively from us.”
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Sermanni added: “In fairness to Switzerland, I thought they defended very, very well. Sometimes you’ve got to give credit to the opposition and what they did.
“For part of the time in our midfield, we didn’t quite work out how to press, or when to press, and I think that the result of that was that Mary never really got a foothold in the game at any time.”
Next up for the Matildas is a showdown with Germany in Duisburg on Tuesday, October 29 (AEDT).
“We certainly need to step up, based on tonight’s performance,” he said. “But tonight was the first time with the team for a while. The Germany game, I think, will be an entirely different game.
“I think Germany will come out to play more open football, more attacking football, and that might actually give us a better chance to play and get the ball and get in possession.
“Hopefully the German game might be a little bit more open, which makes it a little bit more dangerous defensively, but it also may give us more opportunities attacking-wise.”
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Featured image: Football Australia
