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Australia's Matildas have topped off their time in Perth with a hard-fought 3-0 win over Chinese Taipei. Second half goals to Mary Fowler, Sam Kerr and Tameka Yallop saw Australia's dominance finally rewarded after a scoreless first half. The 19,000 capacity crowd was again treated to seeing their' World Cup stars with Ellie Carpenter, Courtney Vine and Emily Van Egmond the exceptions from the side that thrashed Phillippines 8-0 on Sunday. Claire Wheeler was rewarded with another start, after an impressive performance over the last two fixtures. Australia started brightly with Chinese Taipei keeper, Cheng Ssu-yu called into action early.
Australia's Mary Fowler went close on 14 minutes when her snap half-volley ricocheted off the frame following a Steph Catley corner. Despite Australia's dominant possession and the rising shot-count the teams entered half-time locked at 0-0. West Australian born goalkeeper, Lydia Williams and South Australian, Charlotte Grant saw game time in the second half as they replaced Mackenzie Arnold and Clare Wheeler. The aussie domination continued in the second half as Chinese Taipei continued to defend bravely. The deadlock would finally be broken when golden girl, Mary Fowler's long range strike found the top corner of the net on 62 minutes. Sam Kerr doubled the advantage for Australia just minutes later when the Chinese Taipei defense failed to clear their lines, allowing Kerr to finish into the open net. Cheng managed to make amends for the earlier defensive blunder when she produced a spectacular save to deny Katrina Gorry's venomous long-range strike. The second half floodgates were well and truly open when Tameka Yallop made it three when she finished from close range to seal the win for Tony Gustavsson's side. The win sees Australia march on to the final round of qualifying where they'll play a home-and-away series against Uzbekistan for one of two AFC spots for the Paris 2024 Olympics. IMAGE: Football Australia