The Westfield Matildas squad for the upcoming international friendlies against China PR will be dominated by Queenslanders with nine Brisbane Roar players selected in the 22-player squad for the matches on 24 and 27 November.
The Westfield Matildas squad for the upcoming international friendlies against China PR will be dominated by Queenslanders with nine Brisbane Roar players selected in the 22-player squad for the matches on 24 and 27 November.
Laura Alleway, Tameka Butt, Katrina Gorry, Elise Kellond-Knight, Clare Polkinghorne and Hayley Raso will be in camp for the first of the two friendlies at Wollongong Stadium while Amy Chapman and Vedrana Popovic will join the squad for the second match at Pirtek Stadium four days later.
While immensely pleased of the achievement, Brisbane Roar Football Director Ken Stead said it was bittersweet given Head Coach Belinda Wilson will be forced to prepare for the round three Westfield W-League fixture against Western Sydney Wanderers with only half her squad.
The competition has a scheduled break on the weekend of 22/23 November but some Roar players could be needed to play three games in eight days for club and country with Westfield W-League squads limited to 20 players.
“On behalf of Brisbane Roar, I-d like to say how proud we are as a club to have nine players chosen in the Matildas squad,” Stead said.
“It is an aim of this football club to have our players performing consistently in the W-League and at national team level and to have nine players selected is a massive achievement.
“However, we-re disappointed we didn-t get a better decision surrounding the timing of our match against the Wanderers, purely from a duty of care point of view.
“Being in camp with no break and playing two games is no way to prepare for an important club fixture.
“We do appreciate the efforts of the Wanderers to move the day from Saturday to Sunday to ensure our players don-t have to play three games in seven days.”
The players go into Westfield Matildas on Wednesday, 20 November and will return to Brisbane on Thursday, 28 November.
Westfield Matildas squad: Teigan ALLEN (Western Sydney Wanderers), Laura ALLEWAY (Brisbane Roar), Nicola BOLGER (Sydney FC)*, Tameka BUTT (Brisbane Roar), Kim CARROLL (Brisbane Roar), Stephanie CATLEY (Melbourne Victory), Amy CHAPMAN (Brisbane Roar)**, Brianna DAVEY (Melbourne Victory), Kathryn GILL (Perth Glory), Katrina GORRY (Brisbane Roar), Michelle HEYMAN (Canberra United), Elise KELLOND-KNIGHT (Brisbane Roar), Samantha KERR (Sydney FC)*, Clare POLKINGHORNE (Brisbane Roar), Vedrana POPOVIC (Brisbane Roar)**, Hayley RASO (Brisbane Roar), Ashleigh SYKES (Canberra United), Nicole SYKES (Canberra United), Emily VAN EGMOND (Western Sydney Wanderers), Lydia WILLIAMS (Canberra United).
* First match only
** Second match only
Match details:
Westfield Matildas v China PR
WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Sunday, 24 November 2013
Kick-Off 3:00pm AEDT
Westfield Matildas v China PR
Pirtek Stadium, Parramatta
Wednesday 27 November 2013
Kick-Off 7:00pm AEDT
