Matildas defeat South Korea in international friendly as Mary Fowler magic leads Australia to 2-0 victory

Well, that concludes another international window.

The Matildas gathered momentum over the week and eventually swelled into what was something of a second half crescendo this evening.

Next up, Australia faces Argentina for two friendlies at the end of May and start of June.

Will Tom Sermanni still be in the hotseat?

Will a certain SK be back in the picture?

Only time will tell, folks.

Thanks a lot for joining us tonight – I had an absolute ball.

And absolutely – what a revelation she was.

Two wins from two and it’s a successful international window for the Matildas.

Interim manager Tom Sermanni is speaking to Paramount Plus and is immensely proud his side was able to back up Friday’s triumph with another victory tonight.

“What we didn’t want to do was have the last game as a one off and come out tonight with a lack of effort and a lack of intensity,” Sermanni says. 

“And in fairness to the players, they did what we asked of them tonight and I think the longer the game went on the more we dominated the game. 

“And to be honest, the only thing, it’s not disappointing, but I thought we could have probably scored another couple goals.”

A pretty good way to go out, if it does prove to be Sermanni’s last game in charge of the Matildas.

She didn’t get on the scoresheet tonight, but Caitlin Foord’s halftime introduction undoubtedly changed the game, adding fire, tenacity and a fair bit of finesse as the Matildas turned up the heat in the second 45.

She’s talking to Paramount Plus post-game.

“I really wanted to try and secure the ball and keep it when I got it,” Foord says. 

“I just focussed on staying in between the two centre backs and trying to narrow them up to create the spaces for the other girls and if it opened up it was there for me.”

And, unsurprsingly, after a performance like that, she says her nose is fine after the knock she sustained on Friday night – even though she doesn’t quite believe it.

“I thought it was [broken], but it seems I was being a bit dramatic,” Foord says.

“I heard the crack and I felt it but I don’t know – it’s miraculously not.”

Mary Fowler, the scorer of the Matildas first goal tonight, was one of Australia’s best players in Newcastle and she’s talking to Paramount Plus post game.

She says her opening goal settled some nerves.

“I think we had a few chances before that and we didn’t put them away,” Fowler said.

“We spoke about that after the last game just trying to get an early goal ahead so we could be a bit more settled for the rest of the game, so it was good to get that.”

And she says she enjoyed being out wide for tonight’s game, after playing through the middle on Friday.

“I’ve played there quite a bit for club,” Fowler says.

“I’m quite comfortable there, I know the role quite well. 

“So it was nice getting to play out there tonight and be a bit more consistent in that role.”

They might’ve only scored one more goal, but it was a much improved second half performance from the Matildas.

And a lot of that improvement can be boiled down to the introduction of a certain Caitlin Foord.

She was tenacious, enterprising and decisive.

Kaitlyn Torpey also made quite an impact from the bench – her goal doubled the Matildas lead after Foord found the crossbar then two Korean players in a three-bites-of-the-cherry situation.

Korea is well camped in its defensive third as the four minutes of stoppage time begins.

Australia, on the other hand, can smell another goal.

The Matildas are pressing forward, buoyed by a much improved second half performance.

It’s not the best photo – but all I can find at the minute!

Thankfully, she’s okay.

But its ruled out for offside.

A freekick is whipped temptingly in from the Korean right hand side and it’s put in by the head of the debuting Jin.

Korea barely has time to begin its celebration before the flag is up and the whistle is blown.

Looked incredibly tight, though.

The Melbourne Victory player is on for her second cap – Emily van Egmond departs.

And she’s into the action straight away – a nice touch sets up Foord, who finds Torpey.

The ball squirms out to the onrushing Catley but she can’t get a shot away.

The ball is out for a corner which is whipped in and confidently gathered by the goalkeeper.

She gets on the end of a KCC lofted through ball but mistimes her volley.

However, it has enough on it to force a save.

Catley is following in but her shot is well, well over the bar.

The attendance for tonight’s game has just come through and it’s a Newcastle record for the Matildas of 28 019.

Caitlin Foord wins a free-kick on half-way but is not best pleased with her Korean opponent.

She’s up, pushing her opposite number away and spraying a couple choice words.

The crowd “oohs” and “aahs.”

A couple Korean corners in quick succession see the Matildas under pressure for the first time in a fair while.

But Teagan Micah eventually gathers, and Australia is off.

Clare Wheeler finds a bit of space wide on the right, fires a ball across that is defended initially but it only gets as far as Kyra Cooney-Cross, who absolutely leathers one, but it ricochets away off a Korean leg and the visitors survive.

Novocastrian Tash Prior is on to replace Courtney Nevin.

It’s her seventh international appearance

Woah, Caitlin Foord is absolutely everywhere.

She is harrying after the Korean defence, winning the ball back and it ricochets to Kyra Cooney Cross.

Foord gets it back from KCC and Foord dances and wrestles her way through three Korean defenders.

She manufactures some space for a right footed shot, but it flashes just wide of the GKs near post.

Caitlin Foord, you are electric.

And it’s Kaitlyn Torpey with it! Her first touch of the game is a golden one.

It’s a beautiful, floating cross from Mary Fowler who won the ball back on the left hand side.

The initial ball is cleared but the tenacious Foord swivels and smacks the rebound off the crossbar. She then has another crack at it but it’s blocked by the Korean defence.

A third bite of the cherry from Foord only finds another Korean defender before it eventually fires back out to Torpey who thunders it home with the help of a Korean boot on the line.

Clare Hunt, struggling for gametime in England, is on for the battered and bruised Alanna Kennedy.

And it’s the involved Tameka Yallop who makes way for Kaitlyn Torpey.

Caitlin Foord is running amuck again.

She receives the ball on the halfway line, turns, and jinks her way through a couple Korean midfielders.

She’s running with a head of steam and spreads it out wide to Tameka Yallop, who, without much support, sprints towards the byline and fires a shot at the Korean goalkeeper from a tight angle.

Foord is decisive and incisive – linking the midfield to attack in a way the Matildas couldn’t in that first half.