The Matildas fall agonisingly short of Bronze at the Algarve Cup, while a certain Welsh midfielder nears an incredible international milestone. Find out how our Championship winning W-League stars fared overnight in the latest International City.
Melbourne City duo Steph Catley and Lydia Williams were unable to prevent the Westfield Matildas from falling to a dramatic penalty shoot-out defeat to Denmark in the Bronze Medal play-off at the Algarve Cup overnight.
The two sides were deadlocked with the scores at 1-1 at the end of regulation time, after Matildas forward Kyah Simon saw her first-half effort cancelled out by Danish striker Pernille Harder 10 minutes from time.
With no extra time, the match headed straight to penalties in Portugal, where Clare Polkinghorne and Samantha Kerr saw their efforts saved by goalkeeper Stina Petersen.
The Danes made no mistake from the spot as Sanne Troelsgaard fired her penalty into the top corner to hand the Europeans a 4-1 shoot-out win and a third place finish.
Defender Teigen Allen was an unused substitute for the third-place play-off.
It was an unfortunate end to an excellent Algarve Cup campaign for the Matildas, who finished atop Group C after defeating the Netherlands and China in the group stages.
City’s Championship winning player-coach Jess Fishlock also suffered shootout heartache overnight, as Scotland clinched fifth place in the Cyprus Cup after defeating Wales 6-5 on penalties.
Making her 99th appearance for Wales, Fishlock was among the more experienced players in a youthful Welsh line-up, before making way for young midfielder Angharad James in the second half.
Fishlock is now a step closer to etching herself into the history books, with the 30-year-old set to become the first Welsh footballer, female or male, to reach a century of international appearances.
