Matildas determined not to let Olympics chance slip

Stand-in captain Steph Catley has no concerns about the Marvel Stadium pitch as the Matildas prepare to play at the venue just four days after a P!nk concert.

After playing on a soft, snow-sodden pitch in Uzbekistan for the first leg, Australia will face a harder, speedier surface in Melbourne.

The playing surface at Marvel Stadium is well known for being hard during AFL season, due to having a carpark underneath it.

It also played host to two concerts from pop the superstar last Friday and Saturday, with the venue being quickly packed down and turned around for Wednesday’s match which will be played in hot conditions with an expected high of 36C for the 8pm kickoff.

Desperate to salvage a tangible prize for a golden generation running out of time, the Matildas are determined to ensure they don’t let a medal slip at the Paris Olympics.

Tony Gustavsson’s charges felt the bitter aftertaste of finishing fourth in Tokyo, then again at their home Women’s World Cup.

Holding a 3-0 lead over Uzbekistan after the away leg of their qualifier, Australia are poised to seal qualification for Paris in the home leg.

And despite the result likely being a forgone conclusion there is immense interest from Tilles fans with the purple jersey for World Cup star goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold selling out in five minutes after going on sale on Tuesday.

Nike came under fire during the Women’s World Cup for not selling goalkeeper jerseys, especially after Arnold’s heroics against France in the quarterfinal penalty shootout win.

“The support we as goalkeepers have felt from our fans over the last year has been absolutely incredible,” Arnold said.

“When I was a young athlete, the idea that I could make a living as a goalkeeper never really crossed my mind. It’s a testament to how far our game has come that the next generation of keepers will now see fans wearing our jerseys in the stands.”

Melburnian Catley, deputising while Sam Kerr is sidelined with an ACL, had no complaints about the ground - especially after an arduous trip to get to Melbourne.

The Matildas travelled to Dubai for training camp, then were in and out of Tashkent within 48 hours, before a long flight back from the UAE.

Catley and Gustavsson had a look at the pitch on Tuesday morning, ahead of training there in the afternoon.

“To be fair, I think it looks good,” Catley said.

“If you hadn’t have told me there was a concert on it, Tony told me as well, I might not have known.

“I’m used to it being that hard, I think that’s initially the first thing I think about is what footwear and it’s pretty obvious because it is so hard.

“But yeah, it looks like it’s in good nick - it’ll probably be the opposite of what we’ve just played on (in Tashkent).

“So that might be a little bit of adjusting but I think in terms of playing good football, it’s perfect and we’ve played on it before and it’s something that we’re absolutely used to.

“In terms of everything that we’re overcoming for this trip that’s probably quite low on the list. But yeah, I think everyone’s just excited for a big crowd and it’s a flat surface, it’s a good surface, so we’re ready to go.”

Gustavsson expected the hard pitch to play to Australia’s strengths as they attempt to build on a 3-0 lead from the away leg.

“It’s definitely a pitch we can play our football on,” Gustavsson said.

“But I think it’s extremely important that we water it a lot.

“Because right now the ball sticks in the grass as of right now when it’s this dry.

“So we definitely need to water it a lot to get a fast surface that we can play fast football on.”

Catley said she is determined to make this opportunity for an Olympic medal count.

“With this group we have come very, very close to achieving something physical; at the last Olympics and the World Cup, we finished fourth - and that’s something that sits pretty heavy within this group,” Catley said.

“We obviously, are all getting a little bit older now and the opportunities for major tournaments is getting thinner.

“We have to qualify for the Olympics first, but we definitely see this as a massive opportunity to get something physical out of what we’ve done over the last few years - and the passion and desire to do that is definitely there.”

That starts with delivering a ruthless performance on Wednesday.

“We are never going to change our attacking mindset, I tell you that,” Gustavsson said.

“When we go out tomorrow, we’re going to fly forward from second one.

“Even if it’s heat, we’re not going to hold anything back. We’re going to run in behind, we’re going to break lines, we’re going to regain the ball, we’re going to go attack, attack, attack.”