Uzbekistan v Matildas: Olympic qualifying playoff, first leg – live | Matildas

Half-time: Uzbekistan 0-0 Australia

45+5 mins: Australia continue to push and Catley gets in behind on the left from a throw-in. She picks out van Egmond with her cross but the resulting header glances well wide.

45+4 mins: The ball spends a rare couple of minutes in Australia’s half with Uzbekistan winning repeat throw-ins down their attacking left. Nothing threatening comes of it and Australia seize the opportunity to play on the counter through Fowler, but with two teammates in the box she fails to beat the first defender.

45+2 mins: Lovely feet from Kennedy, allowing the ball to run across her body and invite danger before striding out of trouble. She releases Raso down the right and Australia should have a corner but inexplicably the set-piece goes Uzbekistan’s way.

45 mins: Australia get a free-kick from deep. Catley lofts it in, it comes off an Uzbekistan head and Jonimqulova makes a simple save. The hosts can’t play their way out of defence again though but Torpey cannot capitalise.

43 mins: Australia have gone off the boil in possession in the past ten or so minutes, but there’s nothing wrong with their workrate winning the ball back. Carpenter and Gorry in particular have been busy and physical.

41 mins: An indication of the problem facing Gustavsson is when Fowler takes possession off Hunt on the left wing near the halfway line, looks up, and sees only a gaping hole where a recognised striker should be. Either Fowler needs to be further up the field or a forward not named Kerr needs to be trusted with that role.

39 mins: Fowler then gets on the ball in attack and curls over a delightful low cross that arcs between the goalkeeper and back four, inviting Torpey to challenge at the back post and force a corner. Nothing comes of it.

38 mins: Uzbekistan string two passes together around halfway and Kurdatova has space to run into. But not for long with Fowler soon on the scene to cover. That’s as good as it’s been for half-an-hour for the hosts.

35 mins: Meanwhile, Kennedy is very fortunate not to be booked for lunging after a loose ball and catching Nabikulova high on the shin.

34 mins: I hope Mackenzie Arnold is wearing thermals because she’s had nothing to do in the freezing cold.

33 mins: Uzbekistan are all over the place. They cannot retain possession and continually give the ball away cheaply trying to play out from the back.

31 mins: Now van Egmond should score! Another cross from the right causes panic in the Uzbekistan defence. Jonimqulova can’t deal with the threat under pressure from Raso, but from eight yards out van Egmond slices a volley over the bar with the goal at her mercy.

30 mins: Chance! Best of the night so far perhaps and the outcome of another demonstration of Australia’s preferred pattern of play. The build up is precise down the right, with a ball into the channel freeing the wide runner, Torpey. She pulls the ball back for Raso, but on the burst she scuffs her shot across the face of goal. That’s the move we’ve seen so often from the Matildas in recent seasons.

29 mins: Uzbekistan make a meal of playing out from the back but, not for the first time tonight, Torpey looks uncertain what to do with the ball at her feet. She is clearly playing in an unfamiliar role.

27 mins: I know we’re only 27 minutes in, but I’d already sub on Michelle Heyman. Uzbekistan have fashioned absolutely nothing. The tie is there for Australia to win tonight and turn Wednesday into an exhibition.

24 mins: Gustavsson’s repeated reluctance to replace Kerr with another genuine striker is frustrating. Surely Australia cannot head to Paris without having a serious look at an alternative No 9, not just a rotating cast of No 10s.

22 mins: Somebody shoot! The Matildas carve their way through Uzbekistan with Carpenter underlapping superbly, but after feeding in van Egmond on the shoulder of the last defender the auxiliary striker eschews the shot and the extra pass is cleared.

20 mins: And Torpey should score on debut! The play began wide on the right, as expected, and Raso whipped in a perfect cross that van Egmond could have attacked first near the penalty spot, but she leaves it for Torpey at the far post. Instead of shooting, the San Diego signing tries to square the ball back across goal but missed her target. She will regret not going for goal.

19 mins: Torpey was down for a while after suffering a knock, but she’s good to go.

17 mins: Hunt and Gorry demonstrate that relationship to execute a precise move out of defence that breaks the initial press. The shift to the right then frees Australia down the flank but from the wide attacking area the ball cannot make its way into a shooting opportunity in the box. That looks to be the pattern of the match. The Matildas just lacking that attacking threat, as you might expect without either Kerr or Foord in the line-up.

15 mins: Australia’s core five of Arnold, Kennedy, Hunt, Gorry, and Cooney-Cross are so assured now as a unit. There is great understanding, they know how to trust each other without the ball and how to find each other in possession. It provides such surety to side to have that portion of the pitch locked down.

13 mins: There is Mary Fowler! For the first time tonight the Manchester City schemer got on the ball and drifted gracefully into the finally third, stepping inside onto her right foot and rifling a low shot that Jonimqulova does well to save low to her right. She suffered a bump to her lower back in the process but she’s fine to continue. Fowler showing her obvious class there. Australia need to get her on the ball as often as possible.

11 mins: Raso again uses her pace to find some space – on the right this time – but she loses control and the ball runs free.

10 mins: Australia’s speed is all out wide. On the right Carpenter is eager to overlap, while on the left Raso is darting around linking up well with Catley. Fowler hasn’t seen much of the ball yet though, and she will be the vital link between those wide sorties and a goal threat.

8 mins: Uzbekistan are set up in a 4-2-3-1 without the ball, holding their shape nicely, unafraid of conceding space to van Egmond, not the paciest lone striker going around.

6 mins: Catley gets away with an awful pass out of defence, straight to Khabibullaeva. Bodies get around the ball and the eventual shot from range is deflected behind for a corner, that is dealt with easily.

5 mins: All Australia in these early stages, keeping the ball moving in defence and midfield, not allowing Uzbekistan to settle into a low block.

3 mins: Australia are looking bright early on and switch the ball from back to front quickly through Catley and Raso – now buzzing over on the left. The move ends when Gorry can’t pick out a target in the box from deep.

2 mins: Catley’s inswinger is dangerous and earns another corner. The second set-piece is menacing too but Kennedy can’t divert her header on target and Uzbekistan deal with the second effort.

1 min: As expected, Torpey does start wide on the left, but it’s the Australian right side that begins proceedings brightly. Raso and van Egmond dovetail nicely and as the latter darts into the box the ball is smuggled behind for a corner.

Kick-off!

Out come the two sides into the freezing conditions. Uzbekistan are top to toe in royal blue. Australia are in their change uniform of teal. The match ball manufacturer is… Molten.

The TV camera pans out to reveal around 1,000 or so fans in the stands, wrapped up warm.

A clutch of intrepid Matildas fans have made the journey to Tashkent. There don’t appear to many locals around to drown out their chants.

The Matildas will be playing in their teal change strip tonight.

Tony Gustavsson has had a few words with Channel 10, most of them were not worth reporting, but he did drop an interesting nugget about Australia’s style of play tonight, and especially the importance of Alanna Kennedy. “Extremely good on the ball,” Gustavsson said. “She knows when to hold off and when to invite pressure, when to penetrate, through and around and over, almost like a quarterback. She is very important for us.”

The Matildas have spent the past week in a training camp in sunny Dubai. They landed in frigid Tashkent yesterday where temperatures are hovering around zero. They are currently “warming up” as light snow drifts onto the turf.

Paris 2024 qualification is almost complete. Seven of the 12 teams are already known:

France (hosts)
USA & Canada (CONCACAF)
Brazil & Colombia (CONMEBOL)
New Zealand (OFC)
Spain (UEFA)

By the middle of next week they will be joined by:

Australia or Uzbekistan (AFC)
North Korea or Japan (AFC)
Netherlands or Germany (UEFA)

And finally, sometime in April, two sides from CAF will complete the line-up.

Torpey’s selection continues a meteoric ascent. The 23-year-old, Melbourne City’s players’ player of the year, has just joined San Diego Wave in the NWSL for a record transfer fee understood to be $75,000.

Australia XI

Uzbekistan XI

With a return leg to come on Wednesday in Melbourne, it makes sense for Australia to adopt a risk-free approach in Tashkent. It might not make for the most thrilling contest, but that’s qualification football.

“Sometimes those sort of games can be a little frustrating. But we’ve got a few tools now to use to break down the opposition,” explained veteran defender Clare Polkinghorne.’ It’s key for us to remain positive and remain calm and stick to our processes and our gameplan.”

Preamble

Jonathan Howcroft