The CommBank Matildas have defeated Argentina 2-0 in front of over 43,000 fans in the first match of a two-game series at Marvel Stadium on Friday evening.
Kahli Johnson scored on her debut to open up proceedings, before Kaitlyn Torpey sealed the result with her second goal in national team colours.
CommBank Matildas Interim Head Coach Tom Sermanni named a team with a blend of experience and youth. There were four changes in total from their previous game against Korea Republic, with Mary Fowler and Tameka Yallop unavailable for this window and Steph Catley and Kyra Cooney-Cross rested.
That meant that Jamilla Rankin, Clare Hunt, Kaitlyn Torpey and Kahli Johnson came into the side to replace them. Johnson became CommBank Matilda #237 after being given the nod to start.
Australia started the game on the front foot. The new national team combinations were working immediately, with Johnson making a fantastic run down the left in the 6th minute. Her cross found Holly McNamara in front of goals who was not able to hit the target.
Kaitlyn Torpey and Charli Grant were heavily involved down the right. The ball found McNamara again five minutes later, but her first-time shot went wide.
The CommBank Matildas were the dominant team in the first half, restricting Argentina to one shot. It seemed only a matter of time before the home side would break through.
That goal came in the 38th minute. Grant made a powerful run from just inside Argentina’s half to the edge of the area. Her cross was perfectly weighted to the back post for the run of Johnson, whose header went past the Argentina goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
Johnson’s debut goal meant that Australia went into the half-time break one goal to the good and feeling confident about the second 45 minutes.
There were no substitutes at half-time. Those came in the 68th minute, when Michelle Heyman and Amy Sayer were introduced to replace Holly McNamara and Emily van Egmond.
It was Sayer’s first appearance for the national team in 457 days after suffering a ruptured ACL in April last year.
The substitutions brought a spark to an attack that had not been able to create the same number of opportunities in the first half, and minutes later, the CommBank Matildas had their second.
Kaitlyn Torpey found herself with the ball on the edge of the area, on the right-hand side of the field. Her attempted cross instead bamboozled everyone – including the goalkeeper – and landed in the back of the net.
It was the second international goal of her career, the first coming at this very stadium against Uzbekistan over twelve months ago.
Sermanni utilised two more substitution windows. Bryleeh Henry and Leah Davidson replaced Kaitlyn Torpey and Clare Wheeler in the 78th minute, before Courtney Nevin and Natasha Prior replaced Kahli Johnson and Jamilla Rankin ten minutes later.
A number of late chances fell to the feet of Michelle Heyman, but Australia were not able to add to the margin of victory.
The 2-0 victory will be a satisfying one for the team heading into the second game of the series in Canberra.
