This put the Canberra Raiders' infamous snow game in 2000 at Bruce to shame.
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The Young Matildas were forced to play in unbelievably "wet and icy" snow overnight in a history-making 2-1 Under-20 Asian Cup win, with a group of Canberra United stars in the thick of it.
United goalkeeper Chloe Lincoln and defender Sasha Grove started the match in Tashkent against Korea Republic with sideways snow pelting down, while Tegan Bertolissio was on the bench.
Line markings were roughly cleared for kick-off, but a large amount of snow remained on the pitch at Do'stlik Stadium, and at different points of the match players even shovelled it away with their hands.
Soccer fans watching on - including Matildas star Alex Chidiac - were shocked at the scenes, and shared their disappointment on social media, questioning if it was safe for players.
"How is this okay to play in?" Chidiac said on X.
"I am still not comprehending this... how is this game happening?" Amy Chapman, former Matilda, also added on X.
"This is insane! Player safety must come first."
![The Young Matildas struggled through thick snow. Picture Football Australia The Young Matildas struggled through thick snow. Picture Football Australia](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/168198572/4ee42d85-6f71-49e5-bbf3-8633726d8e66.jpg/r0_214_3405_2094_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Lincoln explained there were issues with the warm-up as well as in the match, with the Young Matildas uncertain if they'd have to deal with the "slippery" snow throughout the 90 minutes - and they certainly did.
"It was pretty intense with the conditions on the field," Lincoln said after the match.
"It's definitely something the team is not used to. But it was awesome to get the win.
"We had problems in the warm-up where we had to adapt to having minimal space to work with. So it was unorthodox, but a good challenge and I enjoyed having to work around those barriers physically and mentally, and see the fun in it and be resilient.
"It was very slippery out there, and wet and icy.
"It was a weird dynamic with the snow and the grass - it would hold up on the snow and skid through on the grass."
Despite the incredibly tough conditions, the Young Matildas pulled off their first come-from-behind victory in the tournament to begin their campaign in style.
![Canberra star Chloe Lincoln battling the elements. Picture Football Australia Canberra star Chloe Lincoln battling the elements. Picture Football Australia](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/168198572/910efbc7-e0ee-4478-9657-3c51629d0f86.jpg/r0_221_4317_2658_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Down 1-0 at the half-time break, goals from midfielder Peta Trimis, and vice captain Naomi Chinnama in the 90th minute, lifted the Young Matildas to a memorable win.
"I've never played in anything like that. It was honestly such a shock," Trimis said of the encounter.
"We tried finding the spaces where there was less snow out wide."
"At first I was quite perplexed by the field situation but we adapted well and that shows how resilient we are, especially when we went down," Chinnama added.
"This was my first time playing in snow, and especially like that.
"The ball was stalling up in the snow so you had to be lighter on your feet."
![The Young Matildas in Tashkent with snow on the pitch before kick-off. Picture Football Australia The Young Matildas in Tashkent with snow on the pitch before kick-off. Picture Football Australia](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/168198572/45b3556c-dd35-4597-8161-a17de4ca07e6.jpg/r0_301_7121_4305_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Young Matildas' next group match will be against tournament hosts Uzbekistan on Wednesday evening Australian time, followed by Chinese Taipei on Saturday.
"I'm very proud how they performed in the conditions," coach Leah Blayney said.
"I'm a Blue Mountains girl so snow isn't new for me, but for some of the girls that was their first time seeing snow.
"We adjusted by playing a more direct, counter-attacking style which paid dividends for us."
AT A GLANCE
AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup
Australia 2 (Trimis 73', Chinnama 90') bt Korea Republic 1 (Jeon 25')
Australia v Uzbekistan, Wednesday 10pm (AEDT) at JAR Stadium, Tashkent
Australia v Chinese Taipei, Saturday 7pm (AEDT) at Do'stlik Stadium, Tashkent