CommBank Matilda Amy Sayer reflected that it was extra special to be on the scoresheet in her first start at a major tournament for the senior team.
Sayer scored the team’s first goal, a long range effort from the right-hand side of the field.
“The biggest feeling that I had was just gratefulness that I was able to start the game,” she said.
“I didn't expect to score. I was hoping that we would have a big score line, but I didn't expect to be one of the names on the sheet, so it was extra special at that.”
She admitted that she had intended to put in a cross instead of floating the ball into the back of the net, but she was delighted with the outcome regardless.
“I've seen a lot of players on the far post, and I was aiming for there,” she explained.
“You can see from my reaction, I'm all smiles, because I lifted it a bit too high and I went top corner. I mean, a goal is a goal, no matter how it comes about, but I was definitely aiming for an assist!”
The goal was just one of many occasions in which she combined well with Ellie Carpenter on that side of the pitch. She heaped praise on the right-back, explaining that their understanding on the pitch has been years in the making.
“Ellie and I have played together from a very young age, probably since we were about 12,” she recalled.
“She was always one year older than me, and I relished any chance that I could to play up an age and play with Ellie, because she was the star of New South Wales football and Australian football.
“She's just a fantastic player to work with. She's really easy to be around. I'm always grateful whenever I'm on the right-hand side of the midfield, because I know that Ellie's always a safety net behind me, and she's a fantastic attacking force as well.”
She said that Head Coach Joe Montemurro had given the team a lot of attacking freedom out there today and that reflected in their play.
“He wanted us in the midfield to play free and fluid,” she said.
“We knew that Iran would sit back quite a lot in defence, so there was going to be a lot of rotation around, but there wasn't too much instruction from Joe. In general, he just wants me to play my type of football play free.
“There was a bit of rotation around in the midfield. I ended up in the front line a lot, sometimes a bit deeper to support the team, so it was a bit of a fluid role, and that's what I enjoy the most.”
The game was a challenging one in terms of the amount of stoppages that stifled Australia’s momentum, particularly in the second half. Sayer explained that it was something that the team was getting used to as the women’s game evolves.
“It's a new phenomenon that we have to deal with,” she said.
“We haven't always had it as female football players, and even recently, we never used to have it in the group stage. So it's something that we're getting used to. It’s an extra mental element that we have to deal with and perhaps improve on.
“But I think we responded well, we were able to get those four goals pretty quickly. The two goals that were disallowed obviously makes it a lot harder, because we want the goal difference, but we're very happy to come away with the win.”
She is expecting a tight clash against Korea Republic on Sunday evening in the final group stage game.
“Fans should expect another fast-paced game from us,” she said.
“It'll be physical. Korea Republic are already a really tough team to come against, and we know that the goal difference doesn't really matter because we want to win the group, so we need those three points.
“You can expect that we'll come out with a lot of intensity. We all want to get ahead in the score line pretty quickly, but you'll just see the classic Australian football that we like to play and that Joe likes to play as well.”
AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026™
CommBank Matildas 1 v 0 Philippines
Date: Sunday, 1 March 2026
IR Iran 0 v CommBank Matildas 4
Date: Thursday, 5 March 2026
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+
Buy Tickets