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 8th 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 76th 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 71st 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.