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Australia National Under-19 roster announced for Gosford Tournament
January 17, 2001 Australia
beats France 1-0 in match three to clinch the 2001 Australia Cup January
17, 2001 Australia 1 France 0 Scoring
Referee
Tammy Ogston, who developed quite an international reputation in flashing
the red and yellows during the previous two years, maintained her card
dealing performance with seven yellows during this match.
Scoring Australia Nichols France
Australia needs a draw to claim the series and France must win by two clear goals. t
Australia
2 France 1 Scoring Australia
Kim Revell 47, Cheryl Salisbury 49) It
was a tough game for the Matildas but two early goals gave them a good
start and although France pressured the rest of the match following
their goal the Australians held on. For the win. "I'm happy with the result. It was a very good first hitout. The girls really dug deep and did extremely well."
Matildas
take first steps of their new four-year journey when they face France
in Coffs Harbour Thursday night, the opening match of the 3rd Australia
Cup France, in the midst of their preparations for the UEFA European Championship Finals Tournament in Juneand the team considered to be the latest big mover up the world scene will need to contend jet lag and the Australian heat, having only arrived on Monday. Matildas captain Alison Forman knows what the travel-weary French must be going through at present, having herself flown in from Denmark where she and teammate Sharon Black play professionally for Fortuna Hjorring. "It was snowing and minus five degrees when we left Denmark and it took us three to four days to recover. I spoke to the French captain yesterday who said they were very tired after an enormously long trip. I don't think three days is enough - they'll still be a bit wobbly." Forman added, "Our team is really excited about these matches. I'm expecting a good game. They play the same style as us, but I think we'll combat them well." Santrac will announce his starting lineup tomorrow afternoon, and may be considering playing one of his three debutantes from the opening whistle. "I've said all along that this is a very mobile group, disciplined, but capable of playing some exciting soccer," Santrac said. "Everything's really coming together quite nicely." Thursday night's match will be the first women's soccer international ever played in Coffs Harbour. Australia and France have never previously played each other.
Ernie Merrick appointed as Australia's Head Coach Women's Soccer Australia has appointed Ernie Merrick to coach the Matildas for the next four years. The position includes responsibilities as Head Coach of the Australian Institute of Sport Women's Soccer program. Merrick's period of appointment includes the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup and 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Mr Merrick will start on 1 February 2001 following the 3rd Australia Cup this month. The Victorian Institute of Sport Head Coach takes over from Adrian Santrac who was appointed Interim National Coach for the 3-test series against France. WSA President Shirley Brown said, "The giant strides taken by women's soccer in the last four years helped us attract a number of high quality applicants both domestic and international. We have built an impressive base of international experience in the last four years, and we are confident Ernie can bring the right sort of maturity to take the program to the next level. Ernie Merrick possesses institute management pedigree and is a highly respected technician." Brown also added, "The Matildas will benefit greatly from the tournament experience under Interim Coach Santrac. The transition is probably ideal as Ernie can take a back seat role and assess the athletes during the three internationals from 11 to 17 January." In accepting the position, Mr Merrick said, "I am looking forward to the opportunity of coaching women's soccer at elite level. The Matildas have improved immensely over the last few years, and have a good mix of youth and experience. The three matches against France will allow us to benchmark against European teams." The Matildas' recent success has flowed from the AIS national team program, initiated in July 1998. AIS Director John Boultbee said the appointment shows the AIS' continued commitment to women's soccer and its determination to build the Matildas into an internationally successful unit. "Ernie Merrick is a highly thought of, innovative coach," he said. The Matildas played 54 A-internationals between February 1997 and the 2000 Olympic Games. The senior team has had three full-time coaches since 1994 in Tom Sermanni, Greg Brown, and Chris Tanzey.
Three players
celebrate Christmas early with their debut Matildas selection as Interim
National Coach Adrian Santrac names his finalised Australian Team to contest
the upcoming Australia Cup test series against France.
The Australia Cup, a three-test series against France, marks the Australian Team's first internationals of the new four-year period, coming off its Sydney 2000 Olympic Games campaign. The Matildas narrowly missed a semifinals berth, and the 7th place finish was their best ever performance at a world event, and achieved at their first Olympics. The Matildas face a very tough opponent in France, considered the latest big mover on the world scene. The French are in serious preparation for the 2001 UEFA European Championship Finals Tournament, having qualified undefeated in winning Group One, three points ahead of Olympic 2000 nation Sweden. France have never previously qualified for a World Cup or Olympics, but are now well on track to achieving that feat. The two nations have never previously met in international play. The Matildas will base their training camp in Coffs Harbour from 3 January for the matches which commence a week later.
The Matildas depart next week for North Korea and China to compete in four matches, their last internationals before the commencement of the 2000 Olympic Games. The trip to North Korea is the Matildas' second visit. Their groundbreaking tour in August 1998 created quite a stir amongst government officials, the team being the first Australian group to travel to the strictly communist nation since the breakdown of ambassadorial ties twenty-five years earlier. As a footballing nation, North Korea is a quality although physical team, who finished tenth at the 1999 World Cup, one place above Australia. The 1998 tour ended in a series win to the Matildas, two scoreless draws followed by a 1-0 win. China has become a regular foe of the Matildas, the World Cup and Olympic silver medalists widely regarded as the most technically superior team in the word. Australia played possibly their best ever match when they last met China, a 1-1 draw before going down in the penalty shootout in front of a crowd of over 10,00 last month at the Sydney Football Stadium for the Pacific Cup. "We'll be looking to put into practice some more things we've been working on, and others which we need to improve on from the Pacific Cup," said National Coach Chris Tanzey. "And we get away from the cold weather of Canberra for two weeks. It just breaks thins up, so it's just as much of a mental benefit as physical. We'll get more experience playing top teams in front of big crowds. You don't get much tougher than playing North Korea in North Korea. We've made things difficult for ourselves, and that's good. But having said that, it will be difficult for them as well." Although these are the first internationals since the announcement of the Olympic team, three of those 18 players will not make the tour. Striker Julie Murray, goalkeeper Leanne Trimboli (both recovering from injury), and defender Bridgette Starr (ill) will stay at home, and have been replaced by 'alternates' for the Olympic team Danielle Small, Joanne Butland, and Amy Taylor. "We've got to keep the bigger picture in mind for the Olympics- it's about winning the war, not just the odd battle, " said Tanzey. "We haven't got the amount of international like other nations, so we have to use our games for a lot of different reasons. There are other things to be considered, and obviously the fitness of the players ins one of those." The Matildas depart from Canberra for Asia next Friday 4 August an play two internationals in both countrise and returns on Saturday 19 August. Match Schedule (kickoff times to be confirmed)
Australian Team - North Korea/China Tour
Australia names its 18 player roster for the inaugaral Pacific Cup The Selection for this team is particularly significant because the Australian olympic Committee will name the Olympic teamone week after the end of the Pacific Cup on June 18, 2000. Individual performances during the Cup could make or break the chance of being named to the Olympic Team. National Team Head Coach Chris Tanzey is presently in England with his family following the death of his mother 1ast weekend after a long illness. Assistant National Coach Ian Murray is running the program in Australia, although have stayed in close contact during the selection decision. Competition for a coveted place has never been fiercer amongst the 24 Squad members . Striker Julie Murray and midfielder Danielle Smal1 were ruled out because of injury. Seventeen-year-old Kate McShea receives her Matildas' selection. Heather Garriock, also 17 years, celebratees the opporamity of playing in front of her home crowd in the Matildas first ever match at Campbelltown Sport's Stadium. Despite thecloseness of the Olympic selections, the coaches stress that today's selections won't close the door to making the eighteen player Olymplc Team. "The decisions over this selection have been very, very difficult," said
Coach Murray. "All the players involved have been very professional and
worked immensely well, and I congratulate them all on that. Unfortunately
some miss out on this tour and I expect them to bounce back. I aIso expect
the Pacific Cup players to justify their selection." Matildas Roster for Pacific Cup Matildas face early showdown with the world's best The 1st Pacific Cup will bring the Australian National Team closer to answering the question is the team a threat to the world dominance of USA and China? The six-nation event brings together three sets of traditional rivals in Canada and USA, China and Japan, and Australia and New Zealand, but the rivalry between the three 2000 Olympic qualified nations Australia, China and the USA is likely to be even more intense. The Matildas posted their best ever result in November I997 beating China 2-1 in Canberra. The Australians were heralded the most improved team in the world before returning winless from the USA '99 World Cup, compiling a 1-1 draw with Ghana and 3-1 losses to Sweden and China. National Coach Chris Tanzey has been in charge since the World Cup and will name his 18-member Pacific Cup squad on May 26th. The tournament takes on added significance with the Australian Olympic Committee announcing their 2000 Women's Football Team on 18 June, seven days after the Matildas play the final game of the series against World and Olympic Champions USA. USA capped a remarkable decade of dominance by adding the USA 1999 World Cup to their Atlanta Olympics Gold Medals l991 FIFA World Cup triumph. China will be desperate to shake their mantle of"world's second best" after finishing as runners up to USA at both the most recent World Cup and the 1996 01ympic Games. The tournament wil1 be staged in Canberra, Sydney and
Newcastle from May 31 to June 11, 2000. The first SWANZ squad to take the field in eighteen months was named
today by national coach Doug Moore, the inaugural Pacific Alliance Cup
tournament in Australia being the first stage of New Zealand's preparations
to qualify for the 2003 Women's World Cup Finals.
The round-robin tournament will see the SWANZ take on the host nation,
along with Canada and Japan, and the two nations which contested the 1996
Olympic Games Women's Final and the 1999 Women's World Cup Final, the
USA and China, winners and runners-up respectively in both those contests.
It promises to be a demanding tournament for the New Zealand squad, who,
unlike USA and China rarely get the opportunity to perform on the international
stage - only 86 internationals have been played by New Zealand since their
first such match, in 1975.
Mr Moore, who was appointed national women's coach early in 1999 following
New Zealand's failure to qualify for last year's Women's World Cup Finals,
has selected the squad after having overseen several regional clinics
during the past four months.
Wendi Henderson, New Zealand's Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year in 1999, succeeds Terry McCahill as captain of the SWANZ. There are a number of other noteworthy selections. Two players, Simone Ferrara and Rebecca Smith, are New Zealand citizens from the USA. The former plays for the country's leading club side, Three Kings United, while the latter plays for Duke University. Vicki Ormond's selection sees her following in the footsteps of her father, Duncan, who played eight times for New Zealand. Meanwhile, Tarah Cox's selection completes a tremendous family achievement, with her mother, Barbara Cox, being a former SWANZ captain, and sister Michele not selected for this tournament, as she is recovering from knee surgery. And Yvonne Vale's return to the international stage follows a thirty-month
absence at this level, due to the demands of motherhood. Matildas Struggle To Down Ten-Woman Czechs by Jeremy Ruane in Melbourne Australia struggled to overcome the ten women of the Czech Republic at Bob Jane Stadium, Melbourne, on January 10, eventually running out 3-0 winners in the fourth match of the six-game Australia Cup series. The Matildas, noteworthy nowadays more for their questionable off-field promotional activities than for their on-field exploits, spurned a golden opportunity to redress the balance in front of a disappointing 2500-strong crowd when Czech defender Marie Tlachova was sent-off for her second bookable offence in just the 23rd minute of a decidedly physical encounter. The home team failed to make best use of their numerical superiority for much of the remainder of the game - it wasn't until the 56th minute introduction of their experienced striker, Julie Murray, that the Matildas' attacks began to show glimpses of the coordination and direction necessary to exploit this advantage. Within three minutes of her arrival, Australia hit the front, Anissa Tann-Darby curling home a twenty-yard free-kick from straight out in front, partly aided by a somewhat flimsy Czech defensive wall. Barely sixty seconds had passed when Murray herself struck, the substitute gleefully steering the ball into the back of an empty net after the Czech goalkeeper, Dagmar Cilova, gifted Murray possession with a woeful clearance. Another substitute, Sharon Black, wrapped up the scoring four minutes from time with a well-taken strike across Cilova and into the far corner of the net, following good work by Danielle Small. This brought about the final 3-0 scoreline, but convincing it most definitely was not. Indeed, Australia could well have conceded as many goals themselves inside the first sixteen minutes - to say their rearguard was rather porous in this period is an understatement!! Iveta Dudova was their prime source of consternation, the Czech Republic striker pressurising opponents into making mistakes whenever the opportunity presented itself. Katerina Doskova was the first beneficiary of her team-mate's doggedness, but her fifth minute strike was superbly saved by the Matildas' debutant goalkeeper, Leanne Trimboli. Pavlina Scasna, Eva Knavova and Pavla Mackova all squandered chances to put the Czechs on the board in this spell, as Australia struggled to counter Dudova's lively initial promptings. Australia had their own chances in this time, Sunni Hughes and Katrina Boyd both left to rue their luck after Australia's best performer over the ninety minutes, captain Alison Forman, and fellow midfielder Heather Garriock, had engineered the first opening, Hughes doing the honours in the second instance. After the sending-off - referee Tammy Ogston had her hands full in this match, showing the yellow card six times in all (with a couple of other offences going close to adding to that tally) - the locals sat back in anticipation of an Australian onslaught, which never came about. Boyd, twice, and Small both squandered good openings, while Cilova proved equal to efforts from Boyd (two), Hughes, Tann-Darby and Kelly Golebiowski. On the one occasion, prior to Murray's arrival, when the Matildas did find a way past Cilova, Knavova was on hand to clear off the line in the 25th minute, much to Hughes' consternation. These efforts apart, Australia made little headway against opponents they were, in all honesty, expected to eclipse quite comfortably. Until Murray's arrival, however, they appeared completely bereft of ideas with regards how to make their numerical superiority count on the scoreboard. At the final whistle, the chants of "One Julie Murray" from a small but enthusiastic group of supporters among those present were well justified one wonders what the outcome would have been had the FIFA World All-Stars team member not been introduced to the fray. Australia: Trimboli; Tann-Darby (booked, 80), Alagich, Salisbury (booked, 11), Wainwright (Golebiowski, 28 (booked, 32)); Small, Forman, Wilson (Black, 79), Garriock (Duus, 79); Boyd, Hughes (Murray, 56) Czech Rep.: Cilova; Tlachova (booked 15, 23 - sent-off), Zahorikova, Knavova, Hrenova (Cervenkova, 63); Jedlickova (booked, 63) (Valkova, 70), Scasna, Chlumecka (Kohoutova, 82), Mackova; Dudova (Petranova, 90), Doskova Referee: Tammy Ogston Scoring - Australia: A. Tann-Darby (59), J. Murray (60), S. Black (86)
More about the Australian Team Calendar Twelve of the team posed for the calendar with a group photo and individual photos on the other monthly pages. It was presented at a Press conference on Tuesday and the Australian Women's Soccer Association told WSW that they have been overwhelmed with calls and mail from around the world ever since. Australian Olympic committee requested the word "Olympic" be removed from the calendar, but otherwise had no comments. Sample photos from calendar (warning discreet nudity)
Waltzing Matildas
now the "Flashing Matildas"
Following in the footsteps of some of the Norwegian players who posed
for a TV Tabloid magazine before the1995 World Cup, some of the Australian
players reportedly posed nude for a calendar that will be out December
1.
They claimed that it was done to promote female soccer for the Sydney
Olympics. Amy Taylor was quoted in the Italian press as explaining that
she "posed in her birthday suit to show people that female soccer players
are not uncouth and masculine but can be attractive and feminine."
Second Australia Cup schedule set for USA, Sweden, and Czech Republic
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