ANALYSIS: Ghosts of the past hung over the Matildas' Asian Cup win against Thailand
"A little reminder to everyone here what happened against Thailand at the last tournament …"
In early 2018, Australia flew to Portugal to participate in the Algarve Cup. An opening 4-3 win over Norway — which would avenge the loss by knocking the Matildas out of the Women's World Cup the following year — preceded a string of underwhelming performances, including a 0-0 draw and 2-1 loss to a Portugal side ranked 30 spots below them.
There was a growing feeling that Australia was just a few games away from some sort of catastrophe that would force the team, finally, to reckon with its weaknesses.The 2018 Asian Cup group stage began with a 0-0 draw against a defensively resolute South Korean side. What was nominally the Matildas' strongest starting 11, spearheaded by the rip-roaring Kerr and Lisa De Vanna, was largely reduced to speculative crosses and shots from a distance.
Twenty-six ranking spots separated Australia from the team that would come within minutes of eliminating the Matildas from the competition they were expected to dominate. Stajcic replaced Brock with the speedier Steph Catley on the right side of a back three, but just after the hour mark, the Matildas once again showed they could be their own worst enemy.
As the clock ticked perilously into stoppage time, the Matildas won a panicked corner. Poetically, it was Kennedy who atoned for her error and saved Australian blushes, storming into the six-yard box to head the ball home in the 91st minute for 2-2. On Friday morning, we saw the start of that process. Having excavated the problems that 2018 semifinal against Thailand exposed, combing through them like an archaeologist with a toothbrush, Matildas boss Tony Gustavsson has now begun to, hopefully, fix them.