Yeah so we lost the semi's to our bogey team- North Korea, 3-0, who went on to beat China in the Final. Then in the 3rd place playoff, they lost to Japan 3-0, who also beat us in the Group stages. Check out this link http://www.the-afc.com/eng/competitions/fixtures/index.jsp_AWC-2007-506.html for all the results, fixtures & reports. I don't know if anyone else saw it but there was a nice documentary on SBS covering the Matildas in last years Women's World Cup, on I think last Saturday night? Keep an eye out if they show it again, as it is interesting.
They just finished playing in the Gold Cup in Korea, where they lost to the Yanks 2-1, but then came back with two big wins- 3-0 over Italy and the massive one 1-0 over Brazil! Results and match reports here..... http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/Matildas/default.aspx?s=aus_mat_results
Hey hey. Ho ho. Tom Sermanni's got to go. Recently, the Matildas haven't pulling their weight as much as their Socceroo counterparts. Sermanni's arse is getting a nice tan. Maybe too nice.
That's going to my point: the Matildas, in the past, were performing better than they are now. This team is on the decline because of the recent string of results. The guys, meanwhile, are on the upswing. I am seeing both sides heading into opposite directions, instead of the same direction, therefore something needs to be done. Hence, my previous post.
In spite of the recent slump against the big shots, Dianne Alagich's last international match saw her ride out into the sunset a winner. From the FFA site:
http://news.smh.com.au/sport/matildas-through-to-asean-semifinals-20081014-50f4.html Australian line-up: Lydia Williams (gk); Clare Polkinghorne, Kim Carroll (c); Brooke Spence, Christine Walters (Leena Khamis 73’), Renee Rollason (Ella Mastrantonio h/t), Amy Chapman, Lauren Colthorpe, Ashleigh Sykes (Jenna Tristram 58’), Tameka Butt, Victoria Balomenos
http://news.smh.com.au/sport/young-matildas-thrash-india-180-20081102-5gcl.html Now that's impressive.
I don't know if that's a world record for most goals scored in an women's U-19international match, but that sure looked like one to me. India's team may want to go back to plying their trade in field hockey...they didn't stand a chance. As for the ladies against Vietnam a few weeks ago...Sermanni was lucky to have that final end in regulation, with Polkinghorne and Chapman having their marching orders against Myanmar. Thank God for Do Thi Ngoc Cham. She may as well have saved Tom's reputation that night.
And that reiterates my stance on the senior side needing a senior managerial change. In a hurry. But what about the Young Matildas? To add misery to defeat, they choke against Thailand (of all sies, 2-1). Granted, Iran never had a chance (6-0 win) and they already qualified for the tournament proper, but one would think that they would deliver the same inspiring performance against the Thais. Adding to the wild and wacky, Singapore's U-17 girls couldn't lift a skirt to the Australia in a 17-0 caning! Mercy!
Ouch! Thanks, Loyalty. You gotta feel for those two countries. My university team could knock them out. And to cap it off, they defeated Thailand, 2-0, to qualify without conceding a single defeat. There you go.
And in other news, it's retirement central atm........ http://www.footballaustralia.com.au...px?s=insideffa_newsfeatures_newsitem&id=26505
The FFA website gives almost no indication that anything at all out of the ordinary happened that night other than losing the game 'gallantly'. http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/2009Australia/default.aspx?s=aus_news_news_display&id=28491 But now the ramifications are becoming clearer, that it was a pretty full-on brawl. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/06/2648259.htm?site=sport§ion=all There's a video there too. And aside from the biffo, their 4-0 win against Taiwan in the final game was not enough to progress out of the group stages, so no U20 Women's world cup appearance for the second time running.
Interesting (perhaps !) thread on tbe big u-19 "BRAWL" here, with more videos - https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1012474&page=5