Ellie Carpenter Shines in 101st Cap for Australia

Ellie Carpenter hit a milestone and then went to work.

On the night she brought up her 101st cap for Australia, the right-back spent the evening tearing down her flank, driving the Matildas to a 3-1 win and a measure of revenge against the side that had broken their hearts with a last-minute winner just days earlier.

The response was sharp and decisive. The scars from that late defeat were still fresh, but this time Australia struck first.

First Half

Alanna Kennedy opened the scoring midway through the first half, settling any lingering nerves and giving the Matildas a platform to play. With the lead established, Carpenter began to stretch the game on the right, repeatedly punching holes in the press that had caused so many problems in the previous meeting.

The pressure told. One of Carpenter’s surges down the flank led to the Australians’ second, her driving run and delivery forcing an own goal as the visitors struggled to cope with the tempo and angles of the attack.

Australia suddenly looked like themselves again. The ball moved quicker, the combinations were cleaner, and the team that had been suffocated by the press last week now found space where there had been none.

Second Half

Arsenal forward Caitlin Foord then added the gloss, finishing off a superb team move with 20 minutes left. It was the kind of goal that starts at the back, zips through midfield and ends with a composed strike — a collective answer to the tactical questions that had hung over the squad since the previous defeat.

Carpenter made no attempt to hide how much that earlier loss had stung, or how much work had gone into flipping the script.

“We had a lot to work on from the last game,” she said afterwards. “Obviously had to work out how to beat their press. I think we dealt with that tonight most of the time; [there were] still some shaky moments, but that’s what friendlies are for.

“[Joe Montemurro] said these are the situations we are going to be put in, so we need to deal with it. Teams are going to pressure us if we want to play the way we want to play, which is with the ball. Just quicker touches, quicker ball movement. I think there’s a lot to improve on, but that’s a good base.”

A centurion at 23 and still playing like a footballer in a hurry, Carpenter walked off with the win, the performance and a reminder of why this Australia side, even in friendly mode, demands to have the ball and dares opponents to come after it.