Matildas thump Vietnam in Olympic qualifier
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A hat-trick to captain Kyah Simon helped propel the Matildas to a 9-0 thrashing of Vietnam in their second match of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics qualifying tournament in Osaka.
Simon managed her treble in the first half to guide the Matildas to a 5-0 lead at the break before being benched in the second stanza, but her absence did little to curb the dominance over Vietnam.
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Emily Gielnik had opened the scoring in the 10th minute of the match, while Alanna Kennedy, Emily van Egmond, Ashleigh Sykes, Michelle Heyman and Clare Polkinghorne also found the back of the net.
The Matildas, who beat hosts Japan 3-1 in their tournament opener on Monday night, next face South Korea in Osaka on Friday night.
A second win has the Matildas with a perfect record and in top spot on the standings, with only the top two to qualify for the Rio Games.
Vietnam had set out with a deep, compact defence after an ill-prepared side lost with an embarrassing 11-0 scoreline last year in Sydney against the Matildas.
But there was only ever going to be one winner once Gielnik broke the deadlock for her first international goal and the Matildas were 3-0 up by the 20-minute mark.
Defender Kennedy also scored her first goal in national team colours, while there were second-half strikes from van Egmond, as well as all three substitutes – Sykes, Heyman and Polkinghorne.
The Matildas made six changes to their starting XI from the opening match including – most notably – a debut for 15-year-old Ellie Carpenter at full-back.