5TH AUSTRALIA CUP
AUSTRALIA ~ MEXICO ~ SOUTH KOREA ~ SWEDEN
26 January - 1 February 2003
Canberra

The Matildas won their opening match of the Australia Cup 2-0 tonight over South Korea in Canberra, but a magnificent pair of Kelly Golebiowski goals was overshadowed by the dramatic circumstances which brought about the early ending of the clash.

The referee abandoned the game after an incident involving a Korean official and the assistant referee. The result stands, a 2-0 victory to Australia. The committee is now awaiting the referee's report before deciding the next course of action.

The Matildas started in attacking fashion with chances to Joanne Peters and Danielle Small in the opening few minutes. But it was South Korea who almost grabbed the opener when a long range strike from Hwang In Sun rocked the crossbar in the 8^th minute.

Two minutes later, the home side claimed the early lead with a sumptuously worked team goal finished by Kelly Golebiowski, her fifth goal from her last ten matches after never scoring previously. Peters flicked the ball onto Small who hit a clever diagonal first-time ball to the onrushing Golebiowski. The striker rounded the goalkeeper with some deft footwork before driving the ball home.

The game was played at a frantic pace for much of the first half despite the hot conditions. Korea soon came more into the play, testing the new Matildas backline brought into replace regulars Cheryl Salisbury and Dianne Alagich (injured) and Anissa Tann (unavailable). They were helped by a couple of fantastic defensive efforts by Heather Garriock which denied South Korea a clear chance on goal.

The second half produced few highlights, play battled out in the middle of the park and neither side able to assert its authority on the game.

The game was then suddenly awakened with Golebiowski's second classy goal in the 76^th minute. Korea had just had a freekick attempt on goal but the ball hit the wall and went skyward. From there the ball quickly found its way to Golebiowski who, knowing the keeper was off her line, hit a neat chip over the goalkeeper's head and into goal from the right corner of the 18-yard box.

The celebrations were cut abruptly short almost immediately after, the incident causing referee Tammy Ogston to stop the match with about 13 minutes of normal time remaining. The spectators were in a state of confusion until it was confirmed the match was over.

Newcastle striker Hayley Crawford made her international debut, coming into the game in the 71^st minute, whilst it was the first occasion on which Wainwright captained Australia as Salisbury started the game on the bench.

National/AIS Coach Adrian Santrac was pleased to open with a win. "Overall our first game of the tournament was a very positive start and puts us in a good position to walk into the second game (against Mexico) with a lot of confidence. Our first twelve minutes, we were dynamic, and the movement that made the first goal was absolutely outstanding."

Santrac went on to add that the team lost touch with each other for the remainder of the first half, and play then also petered out in the second half. He praised the performance of scorer Golebiowski, describing her as an outstanding talent with enormous potential.

Australia : Nichols, Wainwright [c], Davies, Slatyer, Garriock, Karp (Duus 65), Hohnke (Salisbury 46), Peters, Small (Foster 46), Golebiowski, Mann (Crawford 71).

South Korea : Jung Ho Jung, Park Kyung Sook, Jin Suk Hee, Cha Sung Mi, Hwang In Sun, Song Ju Hee, Lee Ji Eun, Jung Jung Suk, Han Jin Sook, Kim Yoo Mi, Yoo Young Sil. (Substitutions unavailable)

Referee - Tammy Ogston

The result sends the Matildas to the top of the ladder in their defence of the Australia Cup crown, after Mexico took a point off favourites Sweden with a 1-1 draw in the early game.

In oppressive heat of high-thirty degrees, but thankfully a reduced smoke haze, Mexico almost pulled off the upset win but Sweden snatched an equaliser in the second minute of stoppage time.

Sweden started in promising fashion without reward before Mexico came into their own. The Mexicans coped with the conditions much better than the Swedes who came to Australia from the freezing temperatures of a Scandinavian winter. Mexico combined well in attack and their speedy forwards were able to penetrate the Swedish defence.

Ten minutes in, Mexico took the lead against their big name rivals in the first ever meeting between the two countries when midfielder Patricia Perez converted a cross from the right from Maribel Dominguez. Mexico continued to be the more dangerous in attack for the remainder of the half.

Sweden picked up their game in the second half but had trouble in front of goal from their numerous chances. Linda Fagerstrom had one cleared off the line by defender Monica Gonzalez midway through the half, and Victoria Svensson watched her header hit the crossbar with the clock ticking down.

Svensson finally brought relief with a last-ditch goal to bring Sweden out of the jaws of defeat in the 92^nd minute, the unchallenged striker driving into the top of the net from 15 metres.

Mexico : Molina, Gomez, Mora, Gonzalez, Vergara, Valderrama (Siordia 66), Leyva, Dominguez, Worbis (Antunez 46), Perez, Ruiz (Castillo 38).

Sweden : Lindahl, Tornqvist (Westberg 84), Marklund (Bengtsson 89), Mostrom, Nordin (Engwall 89), Andersson (Sjogran 60), Svensson, Eriksson, Fagerstrom (Lundin 89), Bjorn (Olsson 60), Call.

Cautions - Dominguez (MEX) 36, Mora (MEX) 90
Referee - Krystyna Szokolai

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