The Matildas kept their perfect record in the Asian Cup group stage in tact, defeating a stubborn Philippines side led by former Australia coach Alen Stajcic, 4-0.
The Australians had endless chances against the 64th-ranked Philippines team and after hammering Indonesia 18-0 on the first match day, they were expected to put on a similar performance.
But the Philippines played a physical brand of football and pressured the Matildas defensively in the first half, with the Aussies struggling to find space in the middle and on the flanks.
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After being held goalless in the first 45 minutes, Sam Kerr broke the deadlock in the second half with her sixth goal of the tournament and her 55th goal for the national team.
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An own goal and Emily van Egmond’s fourth goal of the tournament then gave the Aussies a three-goal cushion before Mary Fowler’s slick finish from the edge of the box in the 87th minute wrapped up the win.
“When you create that many chances that we did in the first half and the stats says that we should be up three-to-four nil and you don’t get those goals, you can tend to sometimes lose your head and get frustrated,” Australia coach Tony Gustavsson said.
“We talked about that in half-time … and the players came back with a conviction and confidence in the second half that when the first goal comes [it] is probably going to [be followed by] the second and the third and the fourth, and so it did.
“We knew this was going to be a very different game from the opening game and I have to give a lot of credit to the Philippines. I think they made it very difficult for us,” he added.
“[But] we were able to stay focused and not get frustrated.”
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Stajcic, who was facing the Matildas for the first time since his controversial sacking in 2019, paid tribute to his side’s resilience with several stars missing because of a COVID-19 outbreak in the squad.
“We haven’t done anything wrong yet we’ve had a couple of cases in our team and it really is difficult, it’s the invisible enemy and it could be anyone at any moment,” he said.
“We played against Australia today without one of our key players who was unavailable, and actually played with our No 3 goalkeeper today … that’s her debut at this level. So many positives to take out of the performance today, on top of the actual effort they showed on the field.”
Australia will play Thailand on Friday with a chance of sealing top spot in group B.
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