CommBank Matildas forward Cortnee Vine was a bright spark throughout game one of the ‘Til It’s Done Farewell Series against China on Friday night.
Post match, she spoke about what the team will be looking to work on as they continue to build towards Paris 2024™.
“China came out and played fantastically, I thought,” she began. “They were very strong, well structured and hard to break down.
“I felt it [the pressure] when I got the ball. There were three players on me. For us, it’s something to look at, having more options off the ball," she continued.
"There needed to be a bit more movement from us. But again, that’s something to reflect on and focus on for the next game.
“We were just a bit static. I think that’s the word I can sum up with and that's what we were talking about at half time. Being 1-0 down, obviously, it’s tough to come back from but we’ve been in those situations before and we come back with a never say die attitude.”
Vine stressed how vital the two-game series is in the lead-up to the Olympics.
“These games are so important,” she emphasised. “We’re going to be versing teams like this at the Olympics. Fantastic teams, world-class teams with world-class players.
“China really put on a show tonight, and that’s what we have to expect. We have to better, we have to be stronger, we have to be more direct, we have to score more goals.”
The Sydney FC star finished by reflecting on what the squad will take from this game into Sydney on Monday night.
“I’m looking forward to Sydney to be honest,” she smiled. “Obviously, I’m going to have my home crowd there.
“I think for us, [it’s about] playing our style a bit more [next match] and drawing them out. I think we really struggled to make China press us. They held their structure really well. They sat in a nice block in the attacking third. We need to work on being patient on the ball, drawing them out more, finding pockets, and breaking that line.”
Match Two
CommBank Matildas v China PR
Date: Monday, 3 June 2024
Kick-off: 7:40pm AEST
Venue: Accor Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales
Broadcast: 10, 10 Bold (PER), 10 Play and Paramount+