Australia have defeated Uzbekistan 2-0 in their second AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2024™ group match at JAR Stadium, Tashkent.
First half goals from midfielder Daniela Galic and forward Peta Trimis set up the CommBank Young Matildas for a comfortable victory over the stoic hosts.
Head Coach Leah Blayney made three changes to the side that started against Korea Republic. Newcastle Jets’ Lara Gooch came into the starting XI after a standout second half on Sunday, alongside fellow first game substitutes Melbourne Victory’s Alana Murphy and Sydney FC’s Shay Hollman in midfield. Millie Boughton, Indiana Dos Santos, and Zara Kruger made way for the trio.
Australia’s opening goal came early as Maddie Caspers played the ball to Trimis in the box, who found Galic in front of goal. Galic was able to turn away to find space to shoot. The Melbourne City midfielder made no mistake once she found the angle, placing it calmly into the bottom corner.
Trimis was rewarded for her industrious performance later in the half. A clever touch after a long ball from Hollman in midfield set it up perfectly for the Central Coast Mariners striker to have a 1v1 opportunity with the goalkeeper. She slotted it into the back of the net tidily to net her second goal of the tournament.
With six points on the board, the CommBank Young Matildas moved to the top of Group A, and to within one point of qualifying for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Colombia 2024™.
Chinese Taipei will be their final opponents in group play with the match kicking off at 7.00pm AEDT on Saturday, 9 March at Do’stlik Stadium, Tashkent.
All Australia’s match action during the tournament is available live on 10 Play.
