The Matildas are cruising to victory over Chinese Taipei and hold a 4-0 lead in the second half in veteran Clare Polkinghorne’s final international appearance.
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Leah Davidson opened the scoring with a sharp header that found the woodwork and then the back of the net in the sixth minute.
Tameka Yallop then doubled the lead with a left-foot strike that found the bottom right corner of the goal in Geelong.
Emily Gielnik then used her body well to get in position and head home in the 40th minute to complete the first-half rout.
Australia’s 36-year-old striker Michelle Heyman picked up where things left off in the second half when she tapped in from close range.
MATCH PREVIEW
After a triumphant result at AAMI Park on Wednesday, the Matildas are looking to make it two from two against Chinese Taipei when the sides meet on Saturday night in Geelong.
Having missed the 3-1 win midweek, interim Matildas manager Tom Sermanni confirmed Queensland native Clare Polkinghorne would start on Saturday night for her final international appearance.
“Does it get any better than that for a Queenslander?” Sermanni joked at his press conference.
With regards to the rest of Saturday’s line-up, Sermanni confirmed changes would be made, saying: “We’ve got certain conditions around these games that limit us a little bit, but we will (make changes).”
The 70-year-old veteran explained the approach the Australians would take to their second matchup with their Asian opponent.
“One of the key things I’ve learned over many years of us being in Asia is that if you play and conform to the same tempo that the Asian teams like to play at, then they do it better than us,” Sermanni said.
“So, it was really important for us to have a tempo of the game that was high, to have a really aggressive approach to the game … and to actually use our physically, which is a big asset for us.
“We try to blend all of those things together. I think, generally, I thought the players did it really well (on Wednesday).”
The Matildas meet Chinese Taipei for the second time on Saturday, December 7 at 7:30pm AEDT at GMHBA Stadium. The match will be broadcast on 10 and 10 Bold.