Nanjing: Alex Chidiac scored a hat-trick, as Australia confirmed their place the AFC U-19 Women’s Championship semi-finals for the first time since 2006 with a 5-2 win over Vietnam at Jiangsu Training Base Stadium on Sunday.
First half goals from Remy Siemsen, Rachel Lowe and Chidiac (pictured above) had Australia coasting at half-time, but already-eliminated Vietnam won back some pride with a bright second-half showing, with saw them find the net for the first time in the tournament.
The Young Matildas knew it was possible that even a win wouldn’t guarantee their progression to the semi-finals, with a Korea Republic victory over Japan potentially fatal for their campaign.
But Australia started well, and, for the third successive match, they took the lead through Siemsen, this time courtesy of an assist from Emily Condon, who waited patiently before teeing up the young poacher from close range in the seventh minute.
Vietnam had a great chance to equalise moments later, but Tuyet Ngan was denied by Georgia Boric - playing her first match of the tournament – who prevented the Southeast Asians from finding the net for the first time in China 2017.
Australia doubled their lead in the 13th minute, as Lowe became the first Australian player other than Siemsen to score in the tournament, latching onto Princess Ibini’s sublime cross to poke the ball home at the second attempt after her initial effort had been saved.
Chidiac made it 3-0 at the half-hour mark, stroking the ball home from just inside the penalty area to give Australia a comfortable lead, which they took to half-time.
After the break, Vietnam finally broke through for their first goal at the AFC U-19 Championship since 2011 after a goalkeeping error from Boric allowed Tran Thi Hai Linh to score.
The Australians restored their lead through Chidiac after she combined with Siemsen in the 68th minute, before the Adelaide United star completed her hat-trick just three minutes later, with Siemsen again playing the role of provider.
Vietnam had conceded 18 goals in three matches in Nanjing, but they ended their tournament on a high note, when Ha Thi Nhai pulled another goal back to make it 5-2 with eight minutes remaining.
With the decisive match between Japan and Korea Republic ongoing, Australia had held up their end of the bargain, and when news filtered through of Japan’s 2-0 win their progression to a semi-final against the unbeaten DPR Korea was confirmed.
That match will be Australia’s first in the knockout stage since a meeting with Japan 11 years ago, as Gary van Egmond’s side attempt to return to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after a lengthy absence.
Alex Chidiac: Australia's hat-trick hero
"It wasn't our best performance but we're happy to get the win and go through to the semi-finals. We know it will be a tough game (against World U-17 and U-20 champions DPR Korea) but we want to win the tournament and you need to beat the best and they're the best. The three goals are for my mum, my family and my grandma."
Gary van Egmond: Head coach, Australia
“The result was terrific, obviously we needed to win. The performance – I think we can improve on that. I think the girls were a little bit nervous knowing how much there was at stake, and ensuring that we had to win the game. The bulk of the team have played all three games now, so they’ll welcome the rest ahead of the semi-finals. (Japan and Korea Republic) are powerhouses in women’s football – particularly youth football, so for us to get ourselves in a positon where we have a shot at the World Cup is terrific. We know (DPR Korea) are a very very strong outfit and they’ve done very well historically. They’re very strong, physically fit and well organised and we know its going to be a difficult game, but (Australia are) a real resilient group, and I wouldn’t put anything past them. We will draw some inspiration from the Matildas. We meant to have players coming through and experiencing international football – all of these factors are very important. We’ll be doing everything to qualify for this World Cup.
Photos: AFC
Source: the-afc.com