*MATILDAS LEFT TO LAMENT SLOW START
Captain Steph Catley has acknowledged the Matildas’ frustrations during their 3-1 loss to Brazil in Brisbane, admitting that Australia only had themselves to blame for the South Americans’ delaying tactics. The game, which was meant to honor the retirement of defender Clare Polkinghorne, was marred by an early Brazilian onslaught and a series of stoppages that allowed the visitors to waste time and disrupt the flow of the match.
Brazil gained an early lead with two goals from Amanda Gutierres within the first 13 minutes, taking control of the game. While Caitlin Foord pulled one back for Australia just before halftime in the 43rd minute, Brazil restored their two-goal advantage early in the second half thanks to a strike from substitute Giovana Queiroz.
As the match wore on, the Matildas grew increasingly frustrated with what they perceived as tactical play-acting from the Brazilian players, many of whom went to ground and required medical attention, resulting in long periods of stoppage time in both halves. In total, 22 minutes of added time were played, frustrating the Australians even further. Despite this, Catley was quick to point out that it was the Matildas’ own mistakes that allowed Brazil to take control of the game and implement their delaying tactics.
“It is frustrating, but that’s international football sometimes and that’s part of playing against teams like this,” said the Arsenal defender. “They’re very street smart and we let them get two goals early, and that opens the door to those kind of tactics, and that’s on us. If we’re in the game and we haven’t let them score, they have to score and they don’t have time to do stuff like that.”
Catley also mentioned the importance of staying focused and hoping that the referee would control the game despite the frustrations. “You’ve got to try to keep your head as much as you can, and hope that the referees are controlling it, and giving us as much of a chance despite the tactics.”
Interim coach Tom Sermanni also expressed disappointment with his team’s poor start. “Unfortunately early in the game, we weren’t able to nullify what their threats were,” Sermanni said. “Their pace and their aggression were a little bit better than ours early in the game and we got punished for that.”
Sermanni, who shared Catley’s frustration with the referee’s handling of the match, also criticized Brazil’s tactics. “I don’t think the referee necessarily determined the outcome of the game but she certainly determined how the game was played with her lack of control and allowing Brazil to basically bully her,” he said. “It changed the dynamic of the game and made it a little bit more difficult for us, so that certainly had an impact.”
Looking ahead to their next meeting on the Gold Coast, Sermanni hinted at making several changes to freshen up the team for Sunday’s match. “There’ll be some (player) rotation,” he said. “We will freshen up the team a bit. We will make some changes.”