CommBank Matildas Head Coach Joe Montemurro said that he was pleased with the way that the team controlled the game against the Philippines, and that they would build into the tournament.
He was speaking to media alongside Player of the Match, Caitlin Foord, after the team’s 1-0 victory in the opening match of the tournament.
“It was a controlled game. Happy to get it out of the way and we move on to the next one,” he said.
“It was our first game together for a while, and we're probably a little bit more conservative. Just wanted to make sure we got through this with a good controlled base. And then, we can get a little bit braver and become a bit more courageous. As the tournament goes on, I think you'll see a lot more opportunities open up.”
Foord echoed her coach’s thoughts on the game as a whole.
“We would have liked to score a few more goals, but like Joe said, we were in control the whole game,” she assessed.
“It’s about building into the tournament. We have a lot to work on moving forward, but, job done.”
Montemurro praised the Philippines defence, and pondered how the CommBank Matildas could have done better in breaking them down.
“They stayed very deep at times, making it difficult for us to break lines,” he said.
“It was very obvious what they tried to do, to reduce the score line. They got the success that they needed.
“We all talk about the final third, about finishing and so on. A lot of it is instinctive. It’s being a lot smarter in the moment. It’s just having that bit of coldness in front of the box. Can we be better? Yeah, absolutely. But we're getting there.
“We're getting in and around the areas and the more we grow into the tournament, the more we control these moments, the more we'll benefit from it. We controlled the situation. That was the most important thing.”
Chloe Lincoln made her fourth appearance for the CommBank Matildas when she started in goals this evening. It was a remarkable journey for the 21-year-old, who was not initially named in the 26-player squad.
“Unfortunately, Jada [Whyman] injured herself at a training,” he explained.
“She's come back from a knee situation, and unfortunately, she made a save at training and fell on it. It was just one of those freak occasions that happen. So I feel sorry for Jada. We're with her. She probably would have got her first cap tonight from that perspective.
“Mackenzie [Arnold] is okay. She just had a little bit of a calf fatigue. It was just a little bit tight, and we felt that giving her a little bit more time would be better. We've got to grow into this tournament, and not just from a football perspective, but also in terms of player recovery and making sure that we keep everyone healthy from that perspective. So we made a decision with Macca.
“But look, I think it sends a really good signal going forward that we've got Chloe, who's probably coming in as number four, that we felt really confident playing. I think it’s so good for the future.”
The coach delighted in calling his football ‘messy’, explaining that it allows players to push forward in different ways.
“You've got midfielders that are quite comfortable in higher positions out wide, picking up passes in between – it was fantastic,” he said.
“Katrina Gorry is the same. It was great seeing EvE [Emily van Egmond] popping out at times. It's hard to mark. You can't mark that. We look more at the principles of creating lines of passes, to break lines of passes, than actually just sitting in position.
“Even when Alana Kennedy came on, it was fantastic. What it does is allow our centre backs to push forward. You saw Wini [Winonah] Heatley pushing on as a number 10 at times. Ellie Carpenter is going out wide. So yeah, it’s a mess, but it’s a controlled mess.”
He concluded by conceding there was plenty to work on, but he was pleased with the efforts of his side at the first time of asking.
"We worked on a build-up in a certain way against the Philippines - we knew it [their defensive line] was going to be very, very deep, and we felt that with Steph Catley, Clare Hunt and Winonah Heatley, we could progress quite quickly and allow Ellie [Carpenter] to go in a little bit," he said.
"We were looking to overload an area, and that worked. We got through a few times. There are obviously some areas we need tactically to tighten up and clean up a little bit. But all in all, we progressed in the right areas. We just needed to be better in and around the box."
The team will have the opportunity to showcase what they have learned when they face Iran on Thursday evening.
AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026™
CommBank Matildas 1 v 0 Philippines
Date: Sunday, 1 March 2026
IR Iran v CommBank Matildas
Date: Thursday, 5 March 2026
Venue: Gold Coast Stadium, Gold Coast
Time: 7:00pm AEST/8:00pm AEDT
Broadcast: Network 10, 10 Play and Paramount+
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CommBank Matildas v Korea Republic
Date: Sunday, 8 March 2026
Venue: Stadium Australia, Sydney
Time: 8:00pm AEDT
Broadcast: Network 10, 10 Play and Paramount+
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