Laugh? We almost cried. These ‘never say die’ Matildas are killing us | Joey Lynch

In the dark comedy of the Matildas’ last-gasp victory against New Zealand, uncomfortable truths emerged

Unless one is fortunate enough to be among that pure group of supporters whose mood is governed entirely by their team winning or losing, in the same binary way that the tides are dictated by the moon, then at some point watching the Matildas clash with New Zealand, all you could do was laugh.

It wasn’t humorous in the traditional sense. There were no slapstick collisions or misunderstandings. Lydia Williams didn’t decide to take advantage of the almost complete absence of threat to her goal by giving the crowd at the north Queensland stadium 15 minutes of stand up. Instead, it was amusing in the most perfect, absurdist manner. Your best-laid plans are folly and there are no rules or logic to the football universe.