Matildas in Perth: Ellie Carpenter and Australian teammates expect improvement against The Philippines

After overcoming a “frustrating” Iran, the Matildas are relishing the chance to make a statement in front of a sold-out Optus Stadium against the Philippines on Sunday. Australia dominated possession, territory and shots against Iran, but only came away with a 2-0 win at HBF Park on Thursday night thanks to goals from Ellie Carpenter and Sam Kerr. Iran adopted a deep defensive block, sitting well back in their defensive half and denying the Matildas time and space around the penalty box. With Matildas coach Tony Gutavsson challenging his players to try play through Iran’s defensive structure rather than resort to long balls, it made for a patient Australian build-up, but a frustrating night in terms of goalscoring opportunities. Carpenter, whose 19th-minute opener broke the deadlock, admitted it was not the smoothest of performances. “It was very frustrating. A lot of stop-start and breaking the momentum of play, but I think for us, we stayed focused,” she said. “We knew what we had to do, we knew it was going to be a game a little bit like this, but I think we stayed very professional and got the job done.” Her thoughts were echoed by left-back Charlotte Grant, who said the message had been to not force things. “We knew it would be a frustrating game, but it’s all about staying patient, finding a game-plan again and getting those combinations and I thought we had some really good moments,” she said. “We’ve got a lot to work on ahead of the next game, but it’s promising.” Gustavsson asked his full-backs - Carpenter and Grant - to play more central when Australia had the ball, pushing up as extra bodies into midfield and putting the emphasis on the wingers to stay wide. “The deep block, you have to push and pull, you have to make a lot of movement to try and break that, get behind the lines,” Carpenter said. “One of those things that could break the lines and get in between the lines was me coming inside. I enjoyed the role tonight.” Carpenter said she was confident the Matildas would be better for the experience and a few extra days break to overcome jetlag and the opening game fatigue would do wonders ahead of Sunday’s clash with The Philippines. “You have five or six days under your belt come Sunday night, so everyone will be more recovered, pretty much 100 per cent recovered by then,” she said. Cheer on the Matildas as they begin their journey to Olympic Gold with a FREE life-sized Sam Kerr poster. Collect a new poster part every day in The West Australian from Friday, October 27 till Wednesday, November 1. Only in The West. “We’re all used to it, playing in Europe and coming here all the time, it’s just about recovery, getting ourselves right and coming ready to go on Sunday.” Forward Amy Sayer said she felt the fans helped make a difference against Iran and could not wait to see what they had in store at Optus Stadium. “We’ll definitely build on the performance from tonight. We’ve only had a short time to prepare and I think that having an extra however many fans, the 40,000, will just boost our performance,” Sayer said. “It’s clearly a 12th player on the field, but we’ll have a bit more time to prepare and to really show out with such a huge crowd. Sayer and midfielder Clare Wheeler were singled out for praise by Gustavsson post-game and the latter - who did not play a single minute at the World Cup - said she enjoyed getting the chance to start. “You saw different combinations and a bit more rotation and I think that’s important and going forward, and I think with more game-time and ability to play with each other, we’re only gonna get stronger,” she said.