A controlled mess

Australia 1 Philippines 0

The Matildas opened the Women’s Asian Cup 2026 edition with the most comprehensive 1-0 win in Perth, captain Sam Kerr notching the only goal of the game, and they will now know that conquering Asia is not going to be straightforward. A defensive display from the Philippines showed nothing of their undoubted ability to score goals, but it asked more questions of the Matildas than it gave answers. With coach Joe Montemurro and player of the game Caitlin Foord agreeing to describe tonight’s football as a ‘controlled mess’, there were no excuses, there was no lamenting, just an acceptance that Australia struggled to break down their deep-lying opponents and could have been more ‘cold’ in front of goal.

With two conflicting events, the inaugural FA+ pregame meet and greet with former Matildas at the Royal Hotel and the traditional Shoe Bar get together with the Matildas Active crew literally across the road, we managed to do both, but it was curtailed in order to get to Perth Stadium at a reasonable time, knowing that the opening ceremony might be someting worth seeing. The short train journey to the modern Perth Stadium train stop wasn’t without incident, the train pulling into the stadium and then jolting forward another ten metres as fans tried to open the doors. Teething trouble, but no dramas, and the fans spilled out of the station to join the throng outside this impressive stadium. Merch was in high demand, the colourful scarves perhaps the best seller, and being over an hour from kick-off, entry was smooth in the surprisingly long queues. We didn’t have to wait long for the real action to start.

A punchy opening ceremony featuring flying crows, aboriginal dancers and the flags of the competing teams was pure Eurovision kitsch. Smoke filled the stadium with the smell of pyro, fireworks crashed and banged in the sunshine as the all-white dance troupe gyrated through a number of booming K-Pop tunes and all the while the grey seats filled and the murmur of the crowd grew. The subs were out, taking their position in the snazzy benches, even before the pack-up was done, the photographers in position ready to welcome the starting line-ups to the field. A three-quarters-full Perth Stadium welcomed their heroes to the field through the smoke. It was colourful, it was exciting, the anthems were perfect, the teams lined up for their pre-match teamshot and the Matildas went through a final sharp warm-up before huddling.

The big news that shrouded the lead-up to the opening ceremony was the will-she-won’t-she over Mackenzie Arnold, fellow goalkeeper Jada Whyman being the one who eventually missed out altogether through injury leaving Chloe Lincoln as the surprise guardian of the Matildas goal. Newbie Lincoln forgot she was meant to be in the huddle too and eventually joined the tight circle.

Ellie Carpenter coughed up possession, playing a nothing ball inside and the Philippines had a shot from their own half that wasn’t troubling Lincoln at all. Australia pressed, Sam Kerr having the crowd in a tizz as the Matildas Active Support thrashed their drums behind the goal, Hayley Raso ran into Carpenter and looked dazed, and the blue shirts of the Philippines team looked relaxed as the yellow shirts of Australia fizzed about hunting for possession. It was from an awkward wide position that the Matildas took the lead, Sam Kerr pouncing when Caitlin Foord headed the deep cross back into the six-yard box. It was all Australia now, Emily Van Egmond heading over when well-placed, before following it up with a horrible backheel, Katrina Gorry sliding in to intercept the loose ball to cheers from the crowd to save face. Olivia McDaniel in the Philippines goal was taking as long as she could with every goalkick, if only to break up the waves of Australia attack. The lack of ball crew behind the goal helped her cause. A tired clearance to no one signalled the visitors’ intent, or the lack of.

It was 2-0 all of a sudden when a long ball from the back found Hayley Raso clear of her marker, but it was back to one when VAR intervened and ruled it out for offside after all the celebrations. Hands up who expected VAR to be in operation? Australia were struggling with the low sun, streaming into their eyes, but they had the breeze at their backs and continued to push. Raso was sliced down in a useful position, the active fans getting the crowd going, but the subsequent curling shot from the free kick was easily saved. This was not convincing from Australia, the murmuring from the sidelines as Carpenter shoved over her opponent suggested impatience, but a one-goal lead at the break was welcomed by the crowd who applauded the Matildas warmly from the field.

The half-time show was more pop music, fireworks and bright lights and it was well done. Kaitlyn Torpey and Remy Siemsen were first out to warm up at half time, followed by the rest of the subs from both teams, filling the field with players while the music continued on a quickly-prepared stage by the side of the field. We were poised for an exciting second half, a single change by the Philippines at half-time as they looked to shore things up even further.

Raso was the first to threaten in the second half, cutting in from the right only to be bundled over, the referee choosing a corner rather than a penalty. Foord spun to curl in an effort from Raso’s deep cross from the right, and Raso again almost got on the end of a deft through ball from Kerr’s clever touch. Mark Torcaso went to the bench again as the dreaded Mexican wave took the focus away from the action on the field. This was the signal that Joe Montemurro needed; it coincided with the Philippines’ best spell. He prowled the sideline but there was no change forthcoming. A drive from Clare Wheeler warmed the crowd, who had taken the volume up a notch, before a double-substitution of Alana Kennedy and Mary Fowler really had the stadium buzzing. Alas an injury to Raso took the wind out of the sails almot immediately and brought the crowd back down from their temporary high. Fowler’s radar was off, her passing a little wayward, until she spun beautifully to play a ball inside the fullback to prise open the defence. Gorry hit one from distance, straight at McDaniel. Catley picked up the ball for a throw before it went out and was duly penalised, the Philippines finally venturing into the Matildas’ half.

Would one goal be enough? The crowd was chuntering, the Matildas had their opponents hemmed in, but couldn’t fashion anything like a clear opportunity. Time was running out. Raso was sacrificed for Amy Sayer with ten minutes left on the clock. Catley almost unpicked the defence, firing one just over the bar. There were echoes of the Women’s World Cup opener when Ireland smothered the Matildas in game one, and this became a difficult watch. Amy Sayer poked one at goal when it deserved a better effort, and McDaniel went to ground a la Jordan Pickford at every opportunity to eat up some more of the remaining time. Foord bent one over after cutting in from the left as the game entered added time and the cool wind picked up. Foord was dumped to the ground with no free kick, Fowler fired over from a good position, but there was no way through for the blunt Matildas, the five minutes extra offering no further chances.

The huge roar as the final whistle sounded may have been through relief rather than delight, all the subs entering the field, discarding their tracksuits to shake hands with their gracious opponents. Both teams ended up in squad huddles, before breaking out to thank the remaining crowd. The wide berth given to the distant fans at this oval stadium was a little disappointing, the Matildas remaining inside the field while their adoring fans screamed for interaction from behind the advertising hoardings. Such is protocol in tourament football, the screaming fans missed out.

Down in the bowels of the stadium, coach Montemurro and his Most Valuable Player Foord fronted the media. The Aussie head coach brought up an article he had read describing his football as messy, and the two of them settled on Controlled Mess as the most appropriate desciption of what they had served up tonight. The goalkeeping saga was further explained – tonight would have been Jada Whyman’s first cap, but she injured her knee in training and was subsequently omitted from the squad altogether. Such bad luck. When pressed to offer some words about the context of football in recent world events, Montemurro didn’t want to speak out of his remit as football coach, but reiterated the fact that football is one big family and can help bring people together. It was a considered reply and well received by everyone in the room.

It’s all about building into the tournament, Foord and Montemurro were in agreement. It was a relief for this game to be over, but with some tightening and cleaning up in midfield, the team would be ready to go into the next game.

The party continued back at the Perth Glory pub at the Shoe, as this public holday long weekend took hold, and tired Matildas fans will be making their way back to their respective homes for a short sejour before heading back to their respective airports bound for the Gold Coast on Thursday. Get excited, the Women’s Asian Cup is underway and it’s going to deliver in spades. Let’s go Matildas!