Midfielder Sally Shipard sat down with teammate Stephanie Catley to discuss life inside the Matildas camp. In part one of their interview they analyse their defeat of the Football Ferns to claim the Centenary Cup.
Midfielder Sally Shipard (SS) sat down with teammate Stephanie Catley (SC) to discuss life inside the Matildas camp. In part one of their interview they analyse their defeat of the Football Ferns to claim the Centenary Cup.
SS: Last week-s games against New Zealand were a great opportunity to see where we are at as a squad. What did you take away from the games?
SC:: Those games were definitely eagerly anticipated by us, we’d been working on a lot of things during camp we were yet to test in match conditions. I think that defensively, especially in the second game we were pretty solid. Coming away with two wins against New Zealand who have played quite a few internationals this year and are rapidly improving, was a massive positive considering we didn’t believe we played our best football.
SS: How did you enjoy the crowd-s support at the game for the Centenary Cup on Sunday, pretty good turnout wouldn-t you say?
SC: The crowd was brilliant, Canberra really knows how to create an atmosphere. It was nice being there and having support from the sidelines as opposed to the usual passionate Canberra United supporters! (Laughs)
SS: How have you found the changes in the Matildas set-up?
SC: I only had Tommy (as a coach) for a short time, so I found adjusting wasn’t too difficult. Everything Hesterine (de Reus) has brought to the Matildas has been positive and as a group we-ve really gelled together. It was a challenge for everyone because a new coach means that everyone starts from scratch and that really challenged everyone to lift the standard at training.
SS: You have a very good friend in Teigen Allen in the squad; do you decide together how high you are wearing your bun and what colour boots to wear?
SC: Cheeky! No, we definitely do not plan our outfits. The bun happens to be the most comfortable and camp-friendly hairstyle, and the boots I guess we both just have great taste!
SS: How important are these games for our development as a squad?
SC: Playing practice matches is so important for us, we haven’t had many at all this year so this tour to Europe will be a massive test for us and an amazing experience. It’s good to have matches outside of Asia too, so that we can compare ourselves against other countries before heading to World Cups and Olympic games.
