Sienna Dale was the four-goal hero as the CommBank Junior Matildas have capped off their AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup qualifying campaign with a 4-0 victory over Bangladesh.
The win means that Australia has qualified in style for the AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup Indonesia 2024™, finishing top of Group B with nine out of nine points.
Australia came out of the blocks firing and opened the scoring within the first two minutes. A cross from Madeline Caspers found Dale at the back post, who scored the only goal of the half with a deflected finish.
Chloe Parker entered the game midway through the first half after injury forced centre-back and new Brisbane Roar signing Ruby Cuthbert off the pitch.
Bangladesh were threatening on the counter, particularly towards the later stages of the half, but goalkeeper Jessica Skinner – starting for the first time in the tournament – was equal to the challenge.
The second half saw Lillian Skelly entering the field of play and she immediately made
her presence felt from set pieces. After a period of sustained pressure, a corner was met by Dale who strongly headed it home to make it two.
Less than five minutes later, the Manly United player was at it again. Dale was teed up by Shelby McMahon just outside the area and took her opportunity, her long-range effort just sneaking in under the crossbar to complete her hat-trick.
Tiana Fuller and Emma Dundas entered play in the 70th minute and both would have an impact on the game. Not content with just three goals, Dale was yet again in the right place to receive a cross from the substitute Dundas and tuck it into the bottom corner to make it four goals for Australia.
Fuller, meanwhile, came close to putting the icing on the cake late in the game, a solo run and shot nestling into the side netting.
It was the perfect finish to the tournament for Australia. Rae Dower’s side will now begin preparations for the AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup Indonesia 2024™.
