South Korea - Australia report by FFA

South Korea 2 - Australia 1


The Westfield Matildas have been defeated 1-2 by the Korea Republic in the Final of the 2010 Peace Queen Cup played at the Suwon World Cup Stadium.

A first half goal from Kim Narae and a second half goal from Jeon Gaeul was enough to give the host nation their first ever Peace Queen Cup title whilst Kate Gill scored the Westfield Matildas only goal of the match which helped her to win the Golden Shoe Award as the top goal-scorer of the tournament with 3 goals.

It was a strange twist of fate that meant that the Korea Republic would meet the Westfield Matilda's in the final due to the face that in the group stage Korea Republic, New Zealand and the USA all recorded scoreless draws which meant the group winner was determined by the drawing of lots by the head coaches.

Going into the match, the Westfield Matildas were the obvious favourites as the reigning AFC Women's Asian Cup winners and the 11th ranked nation in the world compared to the Korea Republic who are currently ranked 21st.

The Koreans opened the scoring in the 16th minute when Kim Narae had free-kick from an acute angle outside the box on the right near the side. Her shot slipped through a gap in the defensive wall and snuck inside the near post giving the Westfield Matildas goal keeper, Melissa Barbieri, little chance of saving.

The remainder of the half saw the Westfield Matildas play their best football of the final.

On the half hour mark, Kyah Simon laid off a ball to Kate Gill just outside the box. Gill's first time shot from 20 metres out narrowly going over the cross-bar.

Three minutes later a Collette McCallum free-kick found Katie Gill in the box. Gill's resulting header going just wide of the left hand post.

Jeon Gaeul scored Korea's second goal in the 56th minute, following a counter-attack which saw her make the most of a one-on-one opportunity against Barbieri

Kate Gill immediately pegged a goal back for the Westfield Matildas soon after the restart with a well-timed header to top left corner of the goal from a Kyah Simon cross.

On the hour, a long range shot from Kyah Simon caused some problems for the Korean goal keeper Jun Minkyung who tipped the ball over the crossbar.

From the resulting corner, Collette McCallum found Kate Gill's head but the ball fell to the ground inside the six-yard box which then resulted in brief a goal mouth melee that was eventually cleared by the Koreans.

The Westfield Matildas had their last chance to equalise just before full-time, when Kyah Simon laid a ball back from the by-line to Tameka Butt who was unmarked in the box. Butt was unable to get a good purchase on her shot and the ball sailed over the crossbar which eventually meant that the Korea Republic could claim their first title in the third edition of the Peace Queen Cup tournament.

Westfield Matildas Head Coach Tom Sermanni was disappointed that his team lost the final but very pleased with the overall effort of his players.

"Considering where we are at the moment, with most of the players in pre-season and a few players missing, I was very happy with the effort today," said Sermanni.

"We lacked a little bit of cohesion and didn't play the normal flowing football that we like.

"All these matches are good preparation for us in the lead up to next year's World Cup.

"It was also good to get three solid games in here (Peace Queen Cup) before we test ourselves against Germany next week ," concluded Sermanni.

The Westfield Matildas will now travel to Europe to face the reigning FIFA Women's World Cup champions and 2nd ranked Women's nation, Germany, for an international friendly match at the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg on Thursday 28 October.


written by Football Federation Australia