The Matildas have avoided an early exit from their home Women’s Asian Cup and qualified for their ninth straight Women’s World Cup after a nervous 2-1 win over North Korea at Perth Rectangular Stadium on Friday night.
An early goal to midfielder Alanna Kennedy was doubled by a Sam Kerr screamer early in the second half, though a relentless North Korea side – who clawed a goal back in the 64th minute and registered almost five times as many shots over the course of the game – did not make it easy.
Indeed, North Korea dominated in every area of the match aside from the scoreline. Having not played them since the 2010 Women’s Asian Cup final, little was known about the secretive nation coming into this must-win clash, aside from their group-stage games.
The speed, sharpness and choreographed passing that saw them finish runners-up in Group B were evident in the opening few minutes, with North Korea regularly finding passing lanes and pockets of space in between the Matildas’ midfield and back-line.
Kennedy, who made her second straight start of the tournament in midfield alongside Emily van Egmond and Katrina Gorry, was largely chasing shadows in the opening stages as North Korea dominated possession and scythed through Australia’s lines.
Yet the Matildas took a surprising lead in the 8th minute after their first attack of the game. Kerr, running down what seemed to be a hopeless long pass, managed to shoulder North Korea’s captain An Kuk-Hyang off the ball before tearing into the box and cutting back towards the penalty spot.
A poor clearance spun to Kennedy, stationed just outside the area, who touched cleanly and fired the ball into the net for 1-0, taking the midfielder to the top of the golden boot ladder with five goals in four games.
Outside of that flash of bravery, though, Australia spent the first half camped in their own defensive third, trying to plug the gaps that North Korea continued to exploit, with Kennedy regularly dropping in to create a back five. Kaitlyn Torpey, who started her first Asian Cup match in place of the concussion-rested Steph Catley, was regularly overloaded on the left side, with Korea delivering almost all of their dangerous crosses from that area.
Mackenzie Arnold was thus regularly called into action, making her first crucial save in the 25th minute to palm away a powerful downwards header from Kim Kyong-Yong, and again in the 33rd to slap away a cross from Hong Song-Ok.
North Korea increased the pressure towards the end of the first half, with their best chance coming in stoppage time as Chae Un-Yong sprinted off the shoulder of centre-back Clare Hunt before spinning and firing low and hard across Arnold, only for the ball to skim off the base of the far post and roll away.
Less than a minute into the second half, Kerr doubled Australia’s lead after a smart high press from Katrina Gorry forced North Korea’s defenders into an error, with the wayward pass falling straight to the Matildas captain, who sprinted into the box and rocketed a shot past goalkeeper Yu Son-Gum to make it 2-0.
That goal seemed to put fire into the three-time Asian Cup champions, with North Korea becoming more relentless throughout the second half.
Two early substitutions saw Choe Il-Son and striker Ri Hak inject more energy and sharpness into the side, with their suffocating passing game paying off fifteen minutes later as Chae Un-Yong barrelled past Torpey to slide home a fizzing low cross from Kim Kyong-Yong.
North Korea could have equalised four minutes later after a deadly Un-Yong cross from the right found midfielder Myong Yu-Jong in the six-yard area, only for her touch to spin wide of the far post as the 16,000-plus crowd held its breath.
On the rare occasions Australia did find the ball at their feet, they largely went long, looking for Kerr or the mostly absent Caitlin Foord who tried to hold up play or counterattack at speed through North Korea’s high line.
One of their only serious chances of the second half came in the 78th minute after Kerr latched on to a long ball from Foord before finding substitute Clare Wheeler, who crossed for the stretching Foord, but the Arsenal winger could only toe it out for a goal kick.
Some scrambling, exhausted defending in the final 10 minutes as Korea tried to find an equaliser was enough to send the Matildas through to the semi-final on Tuesday in Perth again, where they will face the winner of China v Taiwan.
