Jess Waterhouse stars in Australia U17 victory
Lady Reds midfielder Jess Waterhouse captained the Australia U17 Women squad to a win against Thailand at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Manila in the AFC U16 Qualifiers.
Top-ranked Australia stunned Thailand with a 5-1 win to set the bar high for this four-team tournament.
Aussie forward Catlin Cantrill initiated the goal outbreak at the 3rd minute through a set-play from the right flank. It was not long before Thailand found the equalizer on the 19th minute via a long shot by captain Chuchuen Sudarat.
Waterhouse was impressive in the midfield while the Australia forwards proved their efficiency by adding two more goals before half time.
Waterhouse danced through the Thai defense and threaded through a delightful pass to Sunny Franco who found the net in the 37th minute by dribbling past Thai goal keeper Permmenual Lada and easily pushing the ball past the goal line.
Tia Gavin then widened their lead at the 44th minute by outsmarting the Thai defense at the goalmouth. The score was 3-1 at half time.
Waterhouse continued her dominance in the second half while Australia fuelled their offense by fielding five forwards and two midfielders after the break.
In the 65th minute, defensive errors cost Thailand an own goal while Gavin completed a brace in the 82nd minute to seal their team’s first international match with an impressive 5-1 victory.
“I am very pleased with my team’s performance. This is their first international tournament . We had to be at our best to ensure that we stayed in the game,” said Aussie head coach Vicki Linton.
Match details
Australia 5 (Cantrill 3’,Franco 37’,65’,Gavin 44’82’)
Thailand 1 (Chuchuen Sudarat 19’)
Local kick-off: 3pm local time (Kick off 12pm AEST, Wednesday 7 November)
Venue: Rizal Memorial Stadium, Makati City (Philippines)
Referee Qin Liang (China P.R)
Australia U-17s: 18. Teagan Micah (gk), 9.Isobel Dalton, 10. Sunny Franco ( 11. Alycia Macqueen 64’), 12. Cloe O’brien, 14. Emily Henderson, 16 Jessica Waterhouse (c), 17. Sienna Senatore, 24. Caitlin Cantrill , 26. Tia Gavin, 28.Matilda Lee Potter
Substitutes not used: 3.Victoria Guzman, 6. Talitha Doro, 17. Aiona Schram, 19. Madeline Stockdale, 20. Beatrice Goad, 21. Goergina Worth (gk) , 22. Tulia Palozzi, 23. Julia De Angelis, 25. Nicole Simonsen (gk)
Yellow Cards Jessica Waterhouse
Red Cards None
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