![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Matildas.avif\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPerhaps looking to protect their goal difference, the Philippines retreated and often played with all 11 players behind the ball, clogging the space and denying space for Australia\u2019s attacking weapons, and rarely threatening at the other end without the injured Sarina Bolden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Described after the game by Steph Catley as a \u201ctypical first game of the tournament performance\u201d, it was three points nonetheless that gets Australia on the board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tournaments aren\u2019t won in the first game, and coach Joe Montemurro will be reminding the team of that as they head to the Gold Coast ahead of Thursday evening\u2019s clash with Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WHAT WE LEARNED<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Work To Do: <\/strong>Despite taking the three points, Joe Montemurro still has plenty of work to do on the training pitch if this team is to go all the way to claim silverware later this month. From choosing the right option in attack and the attacking combinations themselves, the Matildas weren\u2019t bad but were just a little off in Perth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fowler on Fire: <\/strong>Despite only just returning from a lengthy layoff after her ACL injury, Mary Fowler had lost none of her touch as she impressed with a cameo off the bench and threatened to break the game open for the Matildas. Eased into the tournament by Montemurro, who chose not to risk his star playmaker, she more than staked her claim for greater involvement and looms as perhaps Australia\u2019s most important player over the next three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joe Montemurro – Australia Coach: <\/strong>\u201cIt\u2019s the big conundrum in football, isn\u2019t it? We all talk about final third and finishing, a lot of it\u2019s instinctive, a lot of it\u2019s being a lot smarter in the moment, a lot of it\u2019s just having that coldness in front of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Can we do better? Yeah, absolutely, but we\u2019re getting there. We\u2019re getting in and around the areas. The more we grow into the tournament, the more we control these moments, the more we\u2019ll benefit. But we controlled the situation and that was the most important thing.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sam Kerr – Australia Captain: <\/strong>\u201cI just wanted to get that first goal out of the way, it kind of felt like getting the monkey off my back \u2013 my first goal for the national team again \u2013 because I hadn\u2019t scored in a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTo do it here in Perth was extra special and to do it in the (Women\u2019s) Asian Cup was nice. It was nice to get the win, nice to be at home and the weather was good too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cToday was a good start, there\u2019s lots of belief within the team, but as you saw today there\u2019s a lot of of quality teams at the (Women\u2019s) Asian Cup, so you have to take one game at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Caitlin Foord – Australia: <\/strong>“I think we have a lot to work on, we would\u2019ve loved to get a few more goals. But credit to the Philippines, they worked really hard to keep us out, but our goal today was just to get the win and get the job done and we did that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I think for us we\u2019ve got to build into this tournament, it\u2019s been a while since we played together, so I think we\u2019re just getting back into the flow of things and building relationships again and that\u2019s going to keep growing and growing with every game we play.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both teams now travel the massive 4200km journey across Australia to the glorious Gold Coast, where Australia will be hoping to make it two from two and the Philippines will be hoping to spring a surprise against the finalists from 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Philippines vs Korea Republic<\/em><\/strong> Iran vs Australia<\/em><\/strong> Sam Kerr scored, and Australia won. That\u2019s normally a pretty good recipe for the Matildas, but on this occasion the final product felt slightly underbaked as Australia ran out 1-0 winners over the Philippines to open their AFC Women\u2019s Asian Cup account. When Kerr, the hometown hero in her native Perth, opened the scoring after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5661,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_gspb_post_css":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[329,131,249,212],"class_list":["post-5660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","tag-afc-womens-asian-cup","tag-australia","tag-philippines","tag-womens-football"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Mary_Fowler.jpeg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWHAT THEY SAID<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theasiangame.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Joe_Montemurro.png?resize=1024%2C528&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWHAT COMES NEXT<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Thursday 5 March at 1:00pm
Gold Coast Stadium<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thursday 5 March at 7:00pm
Gold Coast Stadium<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"