CommBank Matildas Head Coach Joe Montemurro said that he was pleased with the progress of his team as they continue to adapt and change to his style of football.
He was speaking alongside defender Winonah Heatley after the team’s 1-1 draw with Slovenia on Sunday evening, to conclude the two-game series between the two nations.
“The more we endorse the message, the more we endorse the belief, you’re going to get better continuity.” he stated.
“[The team] understand the importance of preparing to go forward, and they were picking the moments to go forward, which was great. That means that when you're inviting pressure, we're comfortable under the pressure.
“That was probably the biggest thing the other night [previous match against Slovenia], we struggled when there was a little bit of pressure applied, but today, we were a lot better, and the belief is coming. So, I'm very happy with the performance.”
Heatley echoed her coach’s sentiments, expressing that the team was much better on the ball.
“It definitely felt like we were taking more care with possession, moving the ball with a bit more purpose, and keeping the ball,” she said.
“The best way to defend is with the ball. So we were trying to keep the ball and give away fewer chances, so that we didn’t have to pull out those last-ditch blocks.”
Despite the result, Montemurro said that the team was ahead of schedule in terms of the building blocks of their game going forward.
“Some of the attacking movement was stuff that I wasn't expecting tonight, to be honest,” he said.
“So we're ahead of schedule in terms of where we need to be with breaking lines and going forward, but there's still a lot of work to do.”
“Wanting to beat lines and be creative is always really nice, but we’re focusing a lot more on the timing of that, and really waiting and being patient for when the moment to go forward is on,” Heatley added.
Montemurro explained the fluidity that was seen from a number of players was just a part of the modern game, with everyone on the pitch responsible for all parts of it.
“Modern football is the ability to be comfortable in all areas,” he said.
“Modern football is the ability to interchange when needed. Modern football is about creating options to go forward. If it's Amy Sayer going into a full back position to receive the ball, then you work off that. That's modern football.”
Alanna Kennedy played in a defensive midfield role in the game. She has been more commonly seen at centre-back for the Matildas, but plays in that position in clubland for Angel City FC.
Montemurro said to expect more of Kennedy in that position during his tenure.
“The reason for it is when a team plays the way the opposition do, player on player, the most important thing is to protect the back two,” he explained.
“It works the other way, where we can release fullbacks. You saw the fullbacks were coming inside a lot, and when the wingers were coming inside, the fullbacks were pulling out.
“It just allows us that extra security when we're playing through [the lines] to have Alanna sitting there, because she's naturally a more defensive-minded midfielder, but also she can engage the press and allow us to play into the second phase. You will see a lot of her playing in that position.”
With players coming and going ahead of the two games against Panama next week, Montemurro said that he was looking for continual improvement going forward.
“Obviously, we probably didn't read the last seven, eight minutes,” he said.
“ I tried to work it tactically, but the distance got long [between the lines]. So these games are important to play our brand of football, but they're also important to read the moments in the game.
“There are going to be situations like that, where teams are going to throw everything at us. The more we understand the way we want to play, the better we can be at reading and managing.”
Series Two
CommBank Matildas v Panama
Date: Saturday, 5 July 2025
Kick-off: 2.30pm WST / 4.30pm AEST
Venue: Hands Oval, Bunbury
TV Broadcast: Paramount+ exclusive
Radio Broadcast: ABC Listen App
Tickets: Buy Tickets
CommBank Matildas v Panama
Date: Tuesday, 8 July 2025
Kick-off: 6.00pm WST / 8.00pm AEST
Venue: HBF Park, Perth
TV Broadcast: Paramount+ exclusive
Radio Broadcast: ABC Listen App
Tickets: Buy Tickets
