Almost as inevitable as Sam Kerr’s name appearing on the scoresheet in the Women’s FA Cup final was the celebration that followed. The irrepressible Chelsea striker’s goal decided Sunday’s game in front of a record crowd at Wembley, and as she wheeled away there was little doubt over what was to come next.
Kerr bowed to popular demand and pulled out a trademark backflip somersault after turning the ball in from Pernille Harder’s cross in the 68th minute to settle a tight contest with Manchester United. It was the Matildas captain’s fifth goal in the three FA Cup finals she has appeared in, her 10th in six domestic finals, and proved enough to claim a third successive winner’s medal.
“A lot of people have been asking for it,” Kerr said at full-time. “I texted my friend and said ‘backflip incoming’ today.
“[Chelsea teammate] Millie Bright’s been bugging me the last few weeks and then the occasion … yeah, it was just exciting.”
Sammy K loves a BIG goal! 💥
— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) May 14, 2023
AND she pulls out the BACKFLIP! 😱@ChelseaFCW @samkerr1pic.twitter.com/Pt15Rsf1IR
Kerr, who will spearhead Australia’s Women’s World Cup campaign this year, was named player of the match but was quick to deflect credit to her teammates at full-time of a match watched in the stadium by 77,390 fans – a world record attendance for a domestic club match.
“I don’t deserve this,” Kerr said. “There are people way more deserving than me today, but I will take it on behalf of the team.
“We didn’t have our best game today but that’s a sign of a great team when you just push through. Everyone did their part and we stuck with it and ended up winning. The team did amazing. I’m just blessed to be the nine in this team.”
It caps another busy week for the 29-year-old striker, whose relentless appetite for scoring goals saw her voted one of the Football Writers’ Association’s Footballers of the Year on Friday, several days after she carried the Australian flag at King Charles’s coronation in London.
Kerr has now scored 27 times in 35 appearances this season for Chelsea, who are in a strong position to claim a domestic double; Emma Hayes’s side sit second in the Women’s Super League with three games remaining, one point behind United and with a game in hand.
“It’s been a great week for us as a team,” Kerr said. “We’ve beat Leicester, beat Everton, then I got voted the player [of the year], then we come here. This is what we do, this is Chelsea. We keep going and going, no matter what happens. I’m the same. We keep going and going and showing up on the big stage.”
Kerr will lead out the Matildas against Ireland on 20 July as their Women’s World Cup campaign kicks off at an expected sold-out Accor Stadium in Sydney.
“It’s going to be massive,” Kerr said. “Hopefully we’ll all be fit and firing in front of great crowds like this. I think the Australian nation will be shocked by the amount of interest there is in the women’s game, and football in general. It’s going to be an amazing tournament.”
