Matildas captain Steph Catley and interim coach Tom Sermanni frustrated after defeat to aggressive Brazil

Matildas captain Steph Catley and interim coach Tom Sermanni have lamented Brazil’s gamesmanship and physicality going unchecked after a bruising encounter in their 3-1 defeat at Suncorp Stadium. The two sides’ meeting at the rugby league cauldron may have had less ‘biff’ than a State of Origin bout, but the physicality and aggression was dialed up and threatened to reach boiling point on numerous occasions. Caitlin Foord and Hayley Raso bore the brunt of some heavy-handed defending, while the Brazilians themselves became a target from the bleachers as several lengthy injury breaks had fans furious. Amidst the heightened tensions on-field, Amanda Gutierres followed through on her pre-match promise to score twice and substitute Gio added a third either side of Foord’s 38th goal for the national team. Sermanni, who was visibly frustrated at times on the sidelines in a game which had an astonishing 18 minutes of added time due to injuries, said he felt the Brazillians had been able to manipulate the game to their will. “I’m very cautious in what I say here, in the sense that I don’t think the referee necessarily determined the outcome of the game, but she certainly determined how the game was played with her lack of control and allowing Brazil to basically bully her,” he said. “It changed the dynamic of the game and made it a little bit more difficult for us, so that certainly had an impact.” Catley also felt Brazil had been overly-physical, with centre-back Vitoria Calhau eventually given a second yellow card for delaying the game late after escaping a booking for some crunching challenges in the first-half. “It was a super physical game — we expect that from Brazil, but it definitely was another level,” she said. “Maybe it wasn’t controlled early enough, and it then got a little bit reckless as the game opened up and people got a bit more tired. However, while the Arsenal left-back said she was frustrated with what her side perceived to be time-wasting tactics, she was also quick to point out the Matildas were their own worst enemy after conceding two goals inside the first 13 minutes. “It is frustrating, but unfortunately, that’s international football sometimes, and that’s part of playing against teams like this,” she said. “They’re very street smart, and we let them get two goals early and that opens the door to those kind of tactics, and that’s on us. “If we’re in the game and we haven’t let them score, then they have to score, and they don’t have time to do stuff like that. “That’s international football and it is frustrating, but you’ve got to try and keep your head as much as you can and hope the referees are controlling it and giving us as much of a chance despite the tactics.” Sermanni flagged some changes for their follow-up match against Brazil on the Gold Coast on Sunday, although he said it was too early to say who. He also praised his own players for not getting overly wound up in Brazil’s antics to the point they lost in-game composure. “They handled it pretty well, because what often happens in that situation is the team that perpetrators get away with stuff, and as soon as you do something yourself you end up getting a yellow card, or you end up getting a red card,” he said. “Our players did as well as they could. I think they showed their frustration to the referee, but they still maintained the discipline within the game, and didn’t do anything reckless. “But it became very frustrating, and it did dictate how the games was played and we just hope that obviously doesn’t happen in the second game.”