Tokyo 2020 – Play-off first leg: Australia 5-0 Vietnam
Australia took a huge step towards the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after winning 5-0 over Vietnam in the Play-off first leg at the McDonald Jones Stadium on Friday.
Sam Kerr opened the scoring for the Matildas in the 10th minute as the Chelsea FC Women star headed in a cross from right-back Ellie Carpenter before Bristol City forward Chloe Logarzo made it 2-0 in the 27th minute capitalising after Emily van Egmond had won a header inside the Vietnam box.
The third for Australia was netted by Van Egmond herself as the seasoned midfielder turned up at the near post to head in a Stephanie Catley cross from the left in the 38th minute.
After the restart, centre-back Clare Polkinghorne scored the home side’s fourth tapping in a cross from Van Egmond before Kerr made it 5-0 from the penalty spot after substitute Hayley Raso was brought down inside the box by Phuong Thao Tran Thi.
The second leg of the contest is to be held at the Cam Pha Stadium in Vietnam on March 11 with Mai Duc Chung’s side needing nothing short of a miracle to even find a way back into this tie.
