In the 86th minute in Sydney, with the game finely balanced, Lauren Hemp galloped up the pitch. Shrugging off a defender, a trademark burst of pace enabled her to maraud from one half to the other before producing the deftest of no-look passes to send Alessia Russo through to score. In 10 seconds flat, the player of the match had changed the course of the game, with her strike partner putting it beyond the reach of a heartbroken Australia.
It was a goal that lifted the lid on the pressure cooker inside Stadium Australia. Hemp herself had restored England’s lead with dogged determination after Sam Kerr’s equaliser. The Matildas, however, had been on top in the minutes before – Kerr inexplicably missed the target twice and the Lionesses were saved by a terrific recovery challenge from Jess Carter. The semi-final was on a knife-edge, and it required someone with Hemp’s skillset to disrupt the flow.
