Gustavsson - "Mixed feelings about performance against IR Iran"

Goalscorer Ellie Carpenter and CommBank Matildas head coach Tony Gustavsson spoke to the media after Australia’s 2-0 victory over IR Iran on Thursday.

Carpenter opened the scoring in the first half. She explained that the game was frustrating, but that ultimately the three points were most important.

"It’s always great to score for your country,” she said. “I was very pleased with it and tried my best for the team. We knew it was going to be hard to break that block of Iran, and we just knew we needed to score goals and get the three points, so I think we had a job to do and we did that tonight.

“We stayed focused, we knew what we had to do, we knew it was going to be a game a little bit like this [stop-start], but I think we stayed very professional and got the job done.”

She credited her teammates in a rotated lineup for performing well in their combination play.

“The players that came into the lineup tonight, credit to them, I think they performed well, they really gelled with other players on the field and I think we had some great combination there,” she said.

She was also asked about the crowds in Perth and the legacy of the World Cup.

“The World Cup was incredible and to have that support following on, we couldn’t be more proud to have changed football in Australia,” she answered. “The first game atmosphere was great and I’m sure on Sunday will be even louder.”

Head coach Tony Gustavsson was up next. He said that he had mixed feelings about the performance.

“This might have been one of the most challenging preparations that I’ve had with this team,” he explained when assessing the performance. He cited player availability issues and a lack of time with the team before the game.

He was pleased with the way that his side addressed two key improvement areas – regaining the ball after losing it, and being braver with the ball. However, he admitted that the team was rusty.

He was particularly pleased with the performance of Amy Sayer, Clare Wheeler and Ellie Carpenter, who was playing in an inverted role in possession that allowed her to be in the right place to score. He also praised Mary Fowler’s performance, playing as a wide forward where she has been playing club football.

“Mary’s performance… was just mind-blowingly good,” he said. “I think she was best, she was so good, which means we have another tool in the wide areas.”

When asked what the lineup may look like against the Philippines, while there was subject to change, Gustavsson was very clear in what fans should expect.

“You will see a lot of new faces in that lineup compared to tonight, yes,” he stated.

Looking ahead to that game, he was asked about what he was expecting from the Philippines on Sunday.

“It’s a very well-organised team, and they work extremely hard,” he said. “They don’t hesitate to tackle either, there’s some physicality there that really impresses me. You can see they have a very, very clear about what they want to do. There’s some impressive character in this team."

“We know that will be a tough challenge. When we played them last time it was 0-0 at halftime at the Asian Cup and we struggled, we struggled to create something, and then finally we opened up the deadlock with a corner, then it opened up a little bit. We know it will be a very, very tough challenge.”

MATCH DAY 2
Philippines v Australia
Date: Sun, 29 October 2023
Kick-off: 3.10pm AWST
Venue: Optus Stadium, Perth, Australia