Matildas coach Joe Montemurro has revealed his decision not to play Hayley Raso in the 2-1 semi-final win over China was purely tactical, declaring the star winger fit to go for Saturday’s decider.
Goals to Caitlin Foord and Sam Kerr on Tuesday night lifted the Matildas into the Women’s Asian Cup final, giving Australia the chance to win their first silverware since their 2010 triumph in the tournament.
Raso missed the 3-3 group stage draw with South Korea and the 2-1 quarter-final win over North Korea with concussion, and she was surprisingly an unused substitute against China in front of 35,170 fans at Optus Stadium.
The 31-year-old is normally a walk-up start in the Matildas’ set-up, but Montemurro said his decision not to play her against China didn’t have anything to do with the recent concussion.
“I just felt that Hayley probably wouldn’t have found the space that she needed,” Montemurro said.
“I was hoping it was going to open up a little bit more towards the end, but it didn’t, and we needed more to hold the middle areas.
“But Hayley’s ready to go.”
The Matildas only had 38 per cent possession in their quarter-final win against North Korea.
Although that possession stat rose to 55.7 per cent against China, the Matildas could only unleash eight shots on goal compared to 14 from their opponents.
Montemurro wants his team to be braver with the ball.
“I think we tend to sort of go back into old habits,” Montemurro said.
“I don’t know if they’re good habits or bad habits – they’re habits that I don’t like.
“Because to play modern football, we have to be proactive, we have to be higher, we have to be braver with the ball.”
The Matildas reached the semi-finals at the 2023 World Cup in Australia, and were the losing finalists at both the 2014 and 2018 Asian Cup.
Foord feels football in Australia will go to another level if they can win the trophy on Saturday night.
“We’ve been fighting so long to get here, and I just feel like finally it’s paid off,” Foord said.
“We deserve to be there, and we deserve to be playing for a trophy, because this team, we’ve been so close so many times and just fallen short – normally at this (semi-final) hurdle.
“We will give our everything to finally win a trophy together.”
https://thewest.com.au/sport/soccer/hayley-raso-no-show-just-tactical-montemurro-c-21977788
