Matildas forward Caitlin Foord has backed her side's game style that saw them go down to Canada in their first friendly 5-0.
Despite the drubbing, Foord confirmed the side would again try the style, which included sticking with untried and young players in the second friendly on Wednesday.
The forward, who has recently starred for Arsenal in the Women's Super League in the UK, admitted the game wasn't easy for the side, with multiple players having played 15 games or less.
READ MORE: Simmering state feud that could derail Aussie's cricket summer
READ MORE: 'Angry' Ange wins over Premier League greats
READ MORE: $3.2m England star brutally trolled by Iceland after loss
"It was a tough game. The new conditions that we've come (to Canada) to, a lot of us haven't played on turf for a very long time," Foord said on Monday.
"The spin on the ball, the bounce on the ball isn't something we're used to."
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson also played down the loss, declaring that "sometimes growth hurts, growth and development hurts at times", a mindset that he has instilled in his playing group.
"I mean, we're trying to, I guess, trial new things, and that's in a way a new playing style. We haven't had many training (sessions) doing it, let alone competition matches against the top opponents," Foord said.
"Come to the tournament, I think it's important to be flexible with kind of what game plan you have, so to have another one in our toolbox, which we're trialling, will be massive."
On top of doubling down on the game style, Foord calmed the nation's nerves ahead of the Olympic qualifiers, explaining that the team has a big picture mindset.
"(These are) games to build to what the bigger picture is. That's the Olympics and the next games, which is Olympic qualifiers," she said,
"For us it's kind of learning and trialling and error with new things to build towards the bigger picture."
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.