Act IV - Revelation

What is it about this team? Straight out of the blocks once more. In the 2nd minute Caitlin Foord puts a perfect through ball to Sam Kerr running into the box left of goal. Sam props and cuts in, leaving a defender in her wake, and drags her shot to the near post just wide.

There followed 15 minutes of Matildas’ dominance as they circulated the ball creating several half openings and another chance on goal, unsiezed.

But then the Norwegian midfield took control. With an extra player in that part of the field, and a strong press they started to force turnovers of possession and to mount some attacks themselves. This was always going to be a difficult match up for the Matildas: an opponent who defends strongly looking for opportunities to counter against an Australian team with a possession based focus holding a high line probing for openings. The question is whether the decisive opening comes before the midfield error.

And so it came to pass. A cheap turnover in the defensive third, and Herlovsen from Norway was through on goal, finishing clinically to put the Norwegians in front.

The Norwegians continued to dominate and the Matildas lost their composure for the remainder of the half. Several rushed poor decisions saw possession wasted and for a time a second Norwegian goal looked likely. Sam Kerr was having an off night. She was being very tightly marked but few of her passes were making their mark. Even then the Matildas created a “chance”, being awarded a penalty in the 43rd minute for a hand ball by Thorisdottir, which was later overturned by the referee herself on video review. But we made it to half time only one goal down.

I remarked to my co-spectators “now it’s the coach’s turn”. In previous matches, Ante Milicic had been arguably out-coached but this time he found the right words, had the courage to stick with his starting eleven and ultimately made timely and positive substitutions. The Matildas turned in their half of the tournament as they relentlessly pursued an equalising goal. They were composed, focused and creative. Hayley Raso was magnificent as she raided up the right wing, driving repeatedly into the box to put the Norwegian defence under all sorts of pressure. Perhaps surprising was the Norwegian approach which to their credit was proactive, allowing the Matildas also some opportunities on the counterattack.

Our goal came from an unexpected source, a corner, never seen as a likely positive route through the strong Norwegian defence. Elise Kellond-Knight whipped the ball in low towards the near post and the ball evaded everyone to go straight into the net. The final 10 minutes saw an open game with both teams creating chances, the best of which was a Norwegian curling shot that hit the far post, and with the spin nullified oozed back parallel to the goal line and away to safety.

The first period of extra time continued in the same vane until the RED CARD. There seems to be little doubt that Alannah Kennedy committed the foul on a Norwegian player, but she would have needed the speed of a doped sprinter and then some to reach the ball before the advancing keeper. It seemed a very harsh decision, and was definitely the point at which the match turned back to Norway.

But the Matildas defended bravely and saw the match through to penalties. The rest is best left uncommented. From the moment, Sam Kerr managed to contrive the worst kick of her career the Norwegians took a control they never relinquished. 1-4 and sadly not even a contest.

This was an epic match. Two evenly matched teams, each in turn taking the ascendancy and arguably turning in a fair result at full time. But neither could one argue that Norway did not deserve their victory. The Australian keeper certainly had the busiest night. Knockout football is ruthless and its essential characteristic is to leave a battlefield replete with broken teams. The Matildas lie vanquished on that battlefield but with their honour and support intact. We can be proud of our team - their efforts were outstanding, their courage unsurpassed. To not be the best in this company is a fate they will share with 14 other qualifiers.

A small part of the crew

Dubious creativity

As to the Matildas’ Supporters. Firstly, what is it about us that we travel in such numbers in search of a holy grail? Were our expectations too high? Yes, we’re fans, we’re not rational people. Do we like VAR? No, it is a blight on the game. Do we like VAR? Yes, the ref got that decision against us wrong. But are we good losers? Thankfully, yes.

Taunts from the opposition - one problem they were English

As to the team, many will rake over the coals of an unsuccessful campaign. The playing style was certainly skewed towards philosophy over pragmatism. Was the decision to burden star player, Sam Kerr with the captaincy the correct one? Certainly the burden weighed heavily upon her shoulders on the night. An outsider will never truly know the team dynamic but perhaps a sharing of this burden might have left her with a clearer mind.

On the positive side the next generation of stars has emerged. Chloe Logarzo, Ellie Carpenter and brave Hayley Raso rose to the occasion of this tournament and should be Matildas for many years to come. And that is not to diminish the giant contributions of established “veterans” such as Alannah Kennedy, Lydia Williams and Tamika Yallop. And while I was critical of the appointment of Ante Milicic, it’s a shame he is not sticking around long enough to lead this group of women for a while longer. They appear to have now dealt with a clear conflict of interest in the coaching/playing set up so there is much to look forward to.