Australia cruise to Cup of Nations title

6th March 2019

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Melbourne: Australia claimed their first piece of silverware for 2019 after defeating Argentina 3-0 to lift the inaugural Cup of Nations title, while Korea Republic beat New Zealand 2-0 to finish second on Wednesday.



AUSTRALIA 3-0 ARGENTINA

Australia made it three wins in three matches in 2019, scoring twice in the opening 33 minutes on the way to a straight-forward victory at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.

Having come into the match with one hand on the trophy, Australia completed the job with a minimum of fuss, with Sam Kerr and Alanna Kennedy both punishing slack set-piece defending to score first half goals, before Caitlin Foord added a third from the penalty spot late on.



The result continues Ante Milicic's dream start to life as the Matildas head coach, with the former Socceroos striker maintaining a perfect record in his first competition in charge.

Argentina had conceded seven goals in their first two Cup of Nations matches, and it took them less than four minutes to fall behind here, with Kerr heading home from close range after being left totally unmarked from Emily Gielnik's corner kick.

A Vanina Correa save prevented Alex Chidiac from doubling the lead moments later, but the second goal wasn't long in coming, with Kennedy finding the net with another close-range header after a corner; this time delivered by Elise Kellond-Knight on the opposite flank in 33rd minute.

Sole Jaimes found the back of the net for Argentina shortly before half time, only for the effort to ruled out for offside, and the South Americans dug in during the second half.

Correa was replaced by substitute shot-stopper Gaby Garton, who denied both Gielnik and Chidiac to help to prevent the sort of heavy defeat Argentina suffered earlier in the competition against Korea Republic.

Despite being kept at bay for much of the second half, Australia added a final flourish in the 94th minute, when Foord buried a penalty after Steph Catley had been hauled down in the box in the dying stages, sealing a near-faultless week for the hosts.

KOREA REPUBLIC 2-0 NEW ZEALAND

In Wednesday's earlier match, Korea Republic rounded out a largely encouraging competition with a 2-0 win over New Zealand.

Substitutes Ji So-yun and Moon Mi-ra continued their excellent individual form, both getting on the scoresheet in the game's latter stages as Yoon Duk-yeo's side finished the competition in second-place.

Ji was voted Player of the Match despite playing just over 30 minutes, and her goal - the Chelsea star's fourth in three matches - meant she finished as the tournament's top scorer.

The East Asians began the sharper of the two sides, and New Zealand relied on the influence of Erin Nayler to remain in the contest, with the goalkeeper denying both Yeo Min-ji and Lee So-dam in a first-half stalemate

Ji entered the fray as a substitute in the 58th minute, and it came as little surprise that it was she who broke the game open a quarter of an hour later, with the Korean star tricking her way around Rebekah Stott before slamming her fourth goal of the tournament beyond Nayler from 20 yards.

Moon made sure of the result with three minutes remaining, finishing off Son Haw-yeon's work after her initial shot was saved by Nayler to round out an impressive win against one the 24 sides to have qualified for FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019.

Photos: matildas.com.au


Source: the-afc.com

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