Matilda’s post-Olympic hangover draws with Switzerland – Associated Press Australia

The Matildas’ hopes of starting their brave new world with a morale-boosting triumph were dashed in Zurich as they were left grateful to escape with a rather unremarkable 1-1 draw against Switzerland.

Hoping to bounce back from their Olympic failure under new interim coach Tom Sermanni, the Australian women failed again in their first post-Games match at Zurich’s Letzigrund Stadium.

Despite the Swiss being dominant in the first half, things still looked promising for Sermanni’s side when Caitlin Foord won a penalty and converted it a couple of minutes before the break.

But that was canceled out by Geraldine Reuteler’s 58th-minute strike amid a panicked defense, allowing the team ranked 25th in the world to earn a deserved draw with a side 10 places higher in the FIFA hierarchy.

It could have been worse for the Matildas, who were led by Ellie Carpenter for the first time and Steph Catley only came off the bench late after recent injuries.

In the 90th minute, Swiss substitute Larina Baumann almost took advantage of more sloppy defending and hit the crossbar with a curling shot that was well beaten by Mackenzie Arnold.

The Swiss may also look back with disappointment to Smilla Vallotto’s blatant miss in the 40th minute when her weak shot in a one-on-one match failed to beat the clever Arnold.

Scot Sermanni identified the ‘defeated’ Matildas team as ‘lack of confidence’ and more in need of a win than a good performance as the World Cup semi-finalists embarked on their first match since their Olympic campaign crashed and burned in the south . France.

As it turned out, they didn’t get the result, they didn’t make the play, there weren’t even many substitutions, including the Matildas’ baptism of 18-year-old Daniela Galic to turn the tide, even as they began to apply some late action. pressure on the hosts towards the end.