Here is Jo Khan’s match report:
Through a brooding sky the clouds parted directly above the turf as if to say, “Matildas, it’s time to shine.” And so they did, with unforgiving ferocity against the Philippines, delivering an 8-0 thrashing in front of an adoring crowd of nearly 60,000 as hat-tricks from Sam Kerr and Caitlin Foord and another a level of class from Mary Fowler and Clare Wheeler put the Matildas that bit closer to 2024 Olympic qualification.
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Summary
Thank you for joining me today for a thoroughly satisfying outing for Australia. The Matildas’ first XI shone in front of almost 60,000 fans in Perth to take another confident step on the road to the Paris Olympics.
Hat-tricks to Sam Kerr and Caitlin Foord will hog the headlines but there were individual stars aplenty with Mary Fowler, Hayley Raso, Ellie Carpenter and Steph Catley all excelling.
Moreover it was the style of play that made those performances so satisfying with Australia pinging the ball around crisply with sophisticated one-touch pass-and-move football suggesting Tony Gustavsson is ready to take his side to another level freed from the pressure of a world cup on home soil.
Stay tuned for more from Perth over the coming days and live coverage of Wednesday’s clash with Chinese Taipei.
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