New Matildas coach Joe Montemurro is urging his players to be braver with the ball when they attempt to make it two wins on the trot against Slovenia in Perth on Sunday.
The Matildas beat Slovenia 3-0 at HBF Park on Thursday night, but it took goals in the dying minutes to Holly McNamara and Hayley Raso to secure the unconvincing win.
Montemurro has come into the role wanting to implement a possession-based, fluid game plan.
The possession aspect was definitely there on Thursday night, but the fluidity was lacking at times as Matildas players attempted to retain the ball at all costs.
That led to timid back passes when line breaks were there to be taken, and also some horror defensive errors as players second-guessed themselves at times.
Slovenia racked up a whopping 20 shots for the match, and it was only the heroic goalkeeping of Teagan Micah that ensured the visitors didn’t score a goal.
Montemurro was happy with many aspects his team displayed in game one of his tenure, but he doesn’t want them to retain possession just for the sake of it.
“It was a perfect game to learn and a perfect game to grow off,” Montemurro said on Saturday.
“The key message was protecting the ball and just making sure we prepare with the ball a lot better.
“We can do it, we showed it. We just need to be more consistent and I suppose more brave with it.
“The more we do it, the more we understand the important pass or the important situation with breaking a line. I”m sure they’ll be more proactive.
“When you say you want to play possession – and it’s a word that’s bantered a lot – it’s normal they do the safe things to keep possession.
“Now we have to be smarter to say, ‘OK, we can prepare to go forward and be more proactive and break lines’.”
After taking on Slovenia on Sunday, the Matildas will face Panama across two matches – one in Perth, and one in the WA regional coastal town of Bunbury.
The block of games is an important stepping stone towards next year’s home Asian Cup, which kicks off on March 1.
Montemurro is without Sam Kerr (ACL), Mary Fowler (ACL) and Tameka Yallop (leg) due to injury for the current block of games, while Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, Katrina Gorry and Cortnee Vine are all on personal leave.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/soccer/be-bold-and-brave-montemurro-gives-matildas-wings-c-19184990
