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

A draw on Saturday against top-ranked Sweden will be sufficient for the Matildas to claim their fourth Australia Cup crown, following tonight's 2-0 victory over Mexico.

The Matildas claimed the win over Mexico in tonight's first ever meeting between the two nations, and it was a solid performance against the Central Americans who are also a great chance to qualify for this year's World Cup. Mexico was a shadow of the team which showed such attacking verve to share the points 1-1 against Sweden three days previous.

Within nine minutes of the opening whistle, Australia had taken the lead. An inch perfect through-ball from Kelly Golebiowski cut open the defence providing Mann a one-on-one opportunity, and she slotted the ball home past the keeper.

Australia went on to dominate possession and moved the ball around well but were unable to convert that territorial advantage into clear chances on goal. Mexico were denied the ball for long periods but managed to hold themselves impervious at the back.

Finally the Matildas managed to break through in timely fashion, in the fourth minute of stoppage time before half-time. An inviting freekick into the danger area from the left boot of Heather Garriock was deflected into goal by Mann under close challenge from Mexican Elizabeth Gomez, taking the 2-0 scoreline into the break.

Australia started in attacking mode in the opening minutes of the restart, but Joanne Peters sent skyward a drive from 16 metres in front, and Cheryl Salisbury was off target with a header from a corner kick.

The Matildas remained in control of proceedings but did then start to visibly tire in the hot conditions and the errors began to creep into their game. Mexico made a late burst in search of a goal with fifteen minutes remaining, and the closest of three good opportunities saw midfielder Fatima Leyva's cracker from 35 metres fly just over the crossbar, and a dangerous cross just out of reach of a lone striker at the far post.

Queensland defender Pam Grant, only called into the team last week to replace the injured Dianne Alagich, made her international debut, coming into the game at half-time.

With the two wins under their belt, Australia shoot to six points at the top of the ladder, ahead of Sweden with four. Favourites Sweden therefore need nothing less than a win on Saturday to take the trophy offshore, whilst a draw is enough for the home to retain the title.

National/AIS Coach Adrian Santrac was pleased to back up with a second win but was not entirely happy with the overall display. "Results are one thing but performance is the most important aspect. We held on to the result which was pleasing, but we still have some way to go yet to reach the level we're looking for. One of our goals after the first game was to improve the quality and amount of possession, which we did in parts tonight, but we also need to progress further in our attacking moves."

Australia : Nichols, Salisbury [c], Wainwright (Grant 46), Slatyer, Davies, Garriock, Peters, Hohnke (Karp 65), Duus (Small 66), Golebiowski (Swaffer 88), Mann (Crawford 77).

Mexico - Molina, Gomez, Mora, Gonzalez, Vergara, Valderrama, Leyva, Dominguez, Perez, Maravillas (Sioria 47), Antunez (Worbis 54).

Cautions - Golebiowski (AUS) 54, Valderrama (MEX) 63.
Referee - Tammy Ogston

In hot and windy conditions in the earlier game, Sweden bounced back from their opening draw against Sweden to today demoralise South Korea with an 8-0 victory.

The match was played at a breakneck speed early in the first half, with Korea showing some good touch and speed and shutting down their opponents well. But as the game progressed, the class and experience of the Swedes wore down the Koreans to the point where Korea had no answer to their steamrolling attack.

Veteran striker Hanna Ljungberg, who was rested in the opening match, certainly showed her class throughout, and it was her who opened the Swedish account after just four minutes, clinically finishing a clever ball in from Malin Mostrom. Malin Andersson doubled the lead in the 29^th minute directly from the corner kick, and Kristin Bengtsson scored from a freekick shortly before the break for a 3-0 lead.

Sweden were ruthless in the second half, pumping five more goals past the hapless Korea. Therese Lundin finished a Ljungberg through-ball, before Ljungberg then claimed her second after a goalkeeper error. The final three goals, scored in the space of six minutes, belonged to Salina Olsson, another to Lundin, and one to Linda Fagerstrom. Korea was dealt another blow in the 78th minute with the sending off of midfielder Park Hae Jung, forcing them to finish the game a player short.

Sweden : Jonsson, Westberg, Marklund (Eriksson 60), Bengtsson, Mostrom (Nordin 63), Larsson, Andersson (Fagerstrom 53), Ljungberg (Olsson 70), Sjogran, Lundin (Svensson 76), Engwall (Tornqvist 70).

South Korea : Jung Ho Jung, Park Hae Jung, Jin Suk Hee, Cha Sung Mi, Song Ju Hee, Han Song I (Hwang In Sun 13) (Kim Sang Hee 46), Jung Jung Suk (Lee Chan Ho 46), Han Sun Ae (Park Kyung Sook 46), Kim Yoo Mi (Lee Ji Eun 46), Lee Myung Hwa (Han Jin Sook 46), Yoo Young Sil.

Cautions - Kim Yoo Mi (KOR) 45+', Jin Suk Hee (KOR) 58'.
Expulsions - Park Hae Jung (KOR) 78'
Referee - Krystyna Szokolai