DPR Korea has won the Australia Cup, tonight rounding out the week-long tournament with a double-figures victory over New Zealand, whilst the Matildas' scoreless draw against China gave the home side second place.
Australia were unable to record a win for themselves tonight, after failing to score from two successive chances from the penalty spot in the second half.
The Matildas' hopes of winning a fourth Australia Cup title had been all but dashed when the impressive North Korean outfit, level on points with Australia going into the day, defeated New Zealand 11-0 in the early match at Brisbane's QEII Stadium.
Nevertheless, the new-look Australian side took the field full of confidence against the youthful China, but for all their dominance of possession throughout the match, found it difficult to penetrate an opponent which got behind the ball well. At the other end, China enjoyed few chances to attack the Australian goal.
Australia's best chances of the first half came in the opening period of play, Sarah Walsh hitting wide from a good opportunity in the 11th minute. Kate Gill then produced the best chance of the match from open play in the 17th minute, unlucky not to see her 20 metre dipping strike from a Tal Karp cutback crash against the crossbar with the goalkeeper beaten.
Six minutes later, Gill beat her marker to a ball in from the right, but her first-time attempt from 16 metres flew skywards. Australia continued to hold the upper hand, but the finishing touch eluded them.
Striker Lisa De Vanna had three attempts early in the second half to break the deadlock for Australia, but still no reward as the Chinese goalkeeper met the challenge.
The match then took a dramatic turn when Australia was awarded a penalty in the 73rd minute after substitute Selin Kuralay was taken down in the right hand side of the box. Joanne Peters stepped up for the spot kick, but the captain's attempt was well saved by keeper Weng Xiaojie low down to her right. The Matildas received a reprieve with the referee directing that the penalty be retaken as the Chinese had encroached upon the first penalty.
Amidst the protesting Chinese, youngster Kuralay took it upon herself to take the second spot kick. Her kick cracked against the left post, eluded the goalkeeper and flew across the face of goal and struck the right post, and Kuralay drilled the rebound into the back of the net. However, the goal was disallowed as no other player had made contact with the ball, meaning only a player other than the original penalty taker could finish off the chance.
Five minutes later, more drama unfolded. Another yellow card to China prompted further protests from the visitors, and play was delayed for a couple of minutes as the Chinese walked off, refusing to continue play.
Australia had a couple more chances to claim the lead towards the end of play, but in the end came close to conceding a late winner to China, but the Chinese shot was cleared off the line by substitute Leah Blayney.
Australian National Coach Adrian Santrac could find some positives from the game with the longer term success in mind. "It was a tough match. We're obviously disappointed not to have won the game, but a lot of experience was gained by our many new players. China is a very streetwise team, they defended in numbers and really tightened up in the defensive areas. You need to be very experienced to break down that sort of play."
"We should have scored from the penalty, and there were other opportunities to score. We were in the last 30 metres countless times, but where we needed composure and patience, at the moment these are areas which need refining. This is the reason why we have chosen these teams - they are the games we'll learn from. This is the type of opposition we need to play regularly."
In the early match tonight, DPR Korea showed exactly why they are the current Asian champions and the seventh-ranked team in the world. Their polished skill on the ball and crisp speed of movement was a class above the inexperienced New Zealand who had no answers to the Korean onslaught.
Ri Kum Suk opened the Korean account on the quarter-hour mark, picked out with a fantastic cross from the left and finishing with a drive from 15 metres. Seven minutes later, a missed attempt by the New Zealand last defender to head clear a long ball forward allowed Yun Yong Hui in with only the keeper to beat, slotting home from 12 metres. North Korea's next came in the 34th minute from a pinpoint corner kick which was met by a powerful header from Ri Hyang Ok.
The three-goal first half was followed up by a flurry of eight goals after the break by the North Korean maestros. Star striker Jin Pyol Hui produced a second half hattrick, whilst teammate Jong Pok Sim scored a pair in a game where the goals were shared between eight different players.