After the Commonwealth Bank Matildas continued their perfect start to their 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup campaign, head coach Tony Gustavsson spoke to the media in the official post-match press conference.
After a 18-0 win over Indonesia in their opening game, Tony Gustavsson and his coaching staff knew a youthful Philippines side would be difficult to break down and score against.
"We knew this was going to be a very different game from the opening game. I have to give a lot of credit to the Philippines, I think they made it very difficult for us." Gustavsson said.
"They've done really good preparation work going into this game. I think we were able to stay focused and not get frustrated."
After a goalless first half against the 64th ranked team, Gustavsson commended his team for not becoming frustrated and complacent after struggling to find the back of the net in the opening 45 minutes.
"The stats say that we should've been up three-to-four nil [in the first half] and when you don't get those goals, you can tend to sometimes lose your head and get frustrated. We talked about that in halftime and said just keep focused on what we're doing, just doing it faster than in the first half"
MATCH REPORT: Matildas two from two after convincing victory against brave Filipina side
WATCH: CommBank Matildas head to the top of Group B with two wins
Gustavsson notes a focus for the team during their pre-camp in Dubai was improving on set pieces, focusing on corners and free-kicks in the attacking third.
"I'm really happy about how some of the things we did on the training ground in the pre-camp in Dubai have paid off in both these games. We scored off two corners. So we're deadly on corners. We're really, really good on corners and all the work that the players and the staff have done, I'm really happy with." he explained.
He also spoke about the importance of game minutes and load management for players, making three changes to the starting eleven that took on Indonesia.
"Clare Wheeler was fantastic in the opening game as a holding midfielder, the way she dictated and controlled the game. We have a long tournament and it's not just about one game. We have different tools to use in different games"
Finally, Gustavsson discussed the final group stage match where Australia take on second place, Thailand.
"We're going to treat that game the same way we've done with these two, meaning we had two main targets and two main goals in the group stage. One was to win the group, the other was to get out of the group with as many points as possible, and peaking physically and mentally going into the playoffs."
The Commonwealth Bank Matildas will move onto their final group stage opponent when they face Thailand on Friday morning.
Commonwealth Bank Matildas v Thailand
Date: Thursday, 27 January 2022 / Friday, 28 January 2022
Venue: Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai
Kick-off: 7.30pm (local), 01:00am (AEDT)
Broadcast: Live and Exclusive on Network 10 and 10 Play
For more information on the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, please visit here.