ACT Women in China with Young Matildas
Grace Gill-McGrath and Lydia Williams are two Canberrans in China with the Young Matildas for the AFC Under 19 Championships.
In a tough group, the top three finishers go forward to the World Cup in Chile next season.
Gill-McGrath and Williams also represented Australia at the Under 20 World Cup in Russia last year.
Full squad;
The Young Matildas will take enormous heart from the performance of their senior counterparts at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, when they kick off preparations for the AFC U/19 Women’s Championship later today in China.
Lydia Williams and Clare Polkinghorne will back up from their efforts with the Matildas to lead the Young Matildas in two warm-up matches against China in Chengdu, where the Matildas played its final group match against Canada recently.
The AFC championship starts on October 6 in Chongqing, with Australia’s first match against Japan. It will be followed by another tough match against DPR Korea (reigning U/20 Women’s World Champions), with the final group match against Myanmar.
The top two teams from each group will then meet in the semi finals, with the top three teams qualifying for the next FIFA U/20 Women’s World Championship, which is set down to be played in Chile over the new year period of 2008-2009.
While Williams and Polkinghorne will be the key players, there is other players in the squad with previous experience at this level, with Olivia Kennedy, Caitlin Cooper (in her third campaign at this level), Servet Uzunlar, Grace Gill and Victoria Balomenos, all part of the squad that went to the FIFA U/20 Women’s World Championship in Russia last year.
The full squad is:
Goalkeepers: Lydia Wiliams, Casey Dumont, Rachel Cooper
Defenders: Caitlin Cooper, Clare Polkinghorne, Grace Gill-McGrath, Stacey Day, Rachel Doyle
Midfielders: Lyndsay Glohe, Olivia Kennedy, Ellyse Perry, Elise Kellond-Knight, Teresa Polias, Renee Rollason, Tameka Butt, Ella Mastrantonio
Forwards: Jenna Kinglsey, Servet Uzunlar, Kyah Simon, Ashleigh Connor, Victoria Balomenos
Coach: Alen Stajcic (NSW)
In August the baulk of this squad was chosen to represent the Matildas against Hong Kong in an Olympic Games qualifier, with the girls winning emphatically by the tune of 8-1 in Hong Kong. Tameka Butt recorded a hat-trick, with Renee Rollason grabbing a double.
Young Matildas midfielder Ellyse Perry is also a highly promising cricketer and has played for the senior Australian Women’s Cricket team.
The first match against China tonight kicks off at 8pm (AEST) and is followed by a second game on Sunday at 6pm.