CANBERRA, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese national women's football team head coach Ante Milicic spoke highly of the team's mentality and discipline after China drew Australia 1-1 in his first game in charge on Friday night.
In Adelaide, Zhang Linyan lifted The Steel Roses a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute. The Matildas fought hard to equalize in the 95th minute when veteran striker Michelle Heyman pounced on a loose ball from a free kick.
This was the first international match for Milicic, an Australian native and former Matildas coach, after his appointment by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) on May 11.
Speaking to media after the match, Milicic said he was impressed by his team's performance.
"The girls have an excellent mentality and their discipline to follow instructions is great," he said.
"We were close to maybe getting the win but all in all I'm very pleased with their effort and their performance against an excellent Australian side."
Milicic said that for him the two matches against Australia were more about his team's performances than the results and singled out the defense for praise.
"We had to be very, very strong defensively because the Australians have so many different avenues to goal, and I thought we did that well," he said.
The Steel Roses prevented the Australians from registering a single shot on goal in the first half and repelled several chances in the second half as the Matildas pushed for an equalizer in front of an Adelaide Oval crowd of 52,912.
Asked about the second match in Sydney on Monday night, which is expected to be attended by more than 80,000 fans, Milicic said he was looking forward to another tough game. ■
