9 months ago
70 By Chris De Silva and Emily Patterson
Matildas manager Tony Gustavsson has defended his tactics contempt being roundly criticised aft his side's daze nonaccomplishment to Nigeria.
Australia came into the contention successful Brisbane with hopes of making it 2 wins from two, but were stunned by the satellite No.40 successful a 3-2 loss which leaves its FIFA Women's World Cup hopes dangling by a thread.
Gustavsson was heavy criticised aft making conscionable two substitutions precocious successful the match, 1 of which was to bring connected seasoned defender Clare Polkinghorne erstwhile trailing 3-1.
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"When helium looks backmost astatine those substitutions, erstwhile helium made them and the benignant of substitutions helium made, he'll look backmost with a small spot of regret," said Socceroos fable Mark Schwarzer connected Optus Sport.
"I deliberation taking disconnected an attacking subordinate and past putting connected Clare Polkinghorne and (moving) Alanna Kennedy up front, it was mode excessively aboriginal and wasn't effectual until aboriginal connected successful the game.
"I deliberation Alex Chidiac, erstwhile she came connected she was a large difference. She should've astir apt scored, but I thought she needed much clip connected the pitch, and I deliberation if she had been connected earlier it could've been a antithetic result."
However, Gustavsson shrugged disconnected the disapproval erstwhile speaking aft the match, explaining wherefore helium made the determination to enactment Kennedy guardant erstwhile helium did.
"Alannah is simply a treble line, arsenic we telephone her, playing 2 lines with an aerial beingness which is thing we person done successful the past. The past clip I deliberation was against New Zealand erstwhile we scored precocious goals and won the crippled successful overtime," helium said.
"Alannah has a guardant mindset with her aerial beingness and her finishing. So, that is thing we person trained and prepared. We've done it earlier and we've done it a batch successful training."
Gustavsson did admit that questions astir his substitutions were "fair".
"In presumption of the precocious subs, I deliberation that's a just question and that's thing that I request to look astatine arsenic a coach," helium said.
"Did I find the close clip for the subs tonight? We did get a affirmative effect erstwhile I did it (but) did we get that due to the fact that I did it successful the close infinitesimal oregon should I person done it earlier and we could person played longer with that affirmative effect?
"It's thing that I'm going to reappraisal afterwards but I bash deliberation that the players were prepared for what we wanted to bash and I deliberation Chids (Chidiac) came successful and was that crippled changer. She was upset afterwards that she didn't people but I said, 'Hey, you were superb Chids, you were that crippled changer that we practiced'. She did precisely what she was asked to do.
"Maybe we should person scored connected acceptable plays adjacent earlier but it's nary coincidence that we did people connected a acceptable play erstwhile (Kennedy went forward).
"As a coach, the fig 1 situation is to effort and find the close reply earlier you cognize whether it's close oregon wrong. I deliberation the players connected the parkland were performing beauteous good and we had the momentum and sometimes erstwhile you sub, you privation to disrupt the momentum successful the game, and thought we had a bully momentum going. But, successful that sense, I americium going to reappraisal whether I did it excessively precocious oregon not due to the fact that Chids was superb erstwhile she came in.
"When it comes to saying we replaced an attacker for a defender, I deliberation that's a logic question, but arsenic I said, Alannah is simply a superb attacking enactment for america and past Polks (Polkinghorne) really leads connected acceptable plays, and her winning mentality (is an advantage).
"Polks is simply a existent winner, truthful to get her connected the parkland with her physicality and her attacking acceptable play beingness - she has scored tons of game-winners from acceptable plays.
"It gave america different instrumentality and it is thing we person planned and prepared for, truthful I cognize it tin look unusual erstwhile I instrumentality an attacker disconnected and enactment a defender connected but it's much astir what benignant of attacking instrumentality bash you privation astatine that constituent successful the crippled and I deliberation we got a bully effect connected it tonight."
"We could person scored 4 goals successful the past 10 minutes."
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