Girls are full of confidence says Dumont

Westfield Young Matildas keeper Casey Dumont has no doubts the confidence gained from the recent tour of Europe and camps in Australia will serve the girls well at the AFC U19 Women’s Championship in China.

Westfield Young Matildas keeper Casey Dumont has no doubts the confidence gained from the recent tour of Europe and camps in Australia will serve the girls well at the AFC U19 Women-s Championship in China.

Dumont left with the 22 others girls for Korea, where they have a week-long training camp, ahead of the Championships that start with a tough match against Japan on August 1.

The Brisbane Roar custodian will be an important player for the Westfield Young Matildas, with Coach Alen Stajcic rating her among the best young keepers in the world at this level.

“We are getting more confident with one another all the time,” Dumont said before leaving Sydney on Wednesday. “I think the squad has been gelling really well.

“We are becoming more of a group and on field; we are becoming more compact and as a group we move across the park together really well.

“It-s hard to say (how confident we are against other teams), because with other international teams you never know what they are going to be like when you play them.

“But we are confident because we think we can perform and qualify, although we can-t be too confident otherwise we could get smashed!”

During the tour of Europe, the squad went through undefeated and included two victories over Finland and a surprise 3-0 win over Germany.

The German result certainly gave everyone a lift and the confidence that could be a threat at this level.

“It did give us a boost, but with that we also have to look at our negatives and see what we need to work on to make those into positives.

“Those results did help us a lot though because I think it showed we do have the quality to qualify.”

A top three finish at the Championships will see Australia qualify for the 2010 FIFA U20 Women-s World Cup in Germany next year, but the qualifying path is going to be extremely tough.

Also in Australia-s group is traditional Asian powerhouses Japan and China, who will pose a serious threat to getting out of the group stage, with only the top two progressing.

The first match is against Japan on August 1, followed by China on August 3 and then Chinese Taipei on August 5 and she knows that the keepers in each team will play a key role, given the hot and humid conditions the players will face.

“I think it-s going to be pretty close and it could come down to the for and against and if we (the keepers) are switched on, I think it will help us qualify. I think we (the keepers) will play a major role.

“I think if we are all switched on and we all help one another out and combine as a unit, yes I think we have a massive chance of qualifying.”

Dumont who was a member of the successful Queensland Roar team that won the inaugural Westfield W-League title, believes that experience for someone so young, has helped her development immensely.

“I think it helped me a lot with my confidence, as I went from that young player to a more mature one.

“Having a lot of Matildas in my squad helped me a lot, because it helped me have confidence in my players on the field and as well as myself and to know I can perform well with them.

“Because most of them were Matildas, I could read what was going on and what to look at during a game; kind of read the play before its already happening.

“It really helped my communication and confidence and I was able to pass on messages to the other players and they did it. It-s like making a save without actually making it.”