No Kerr, no worries. That was the message from the Matildas on Thursday evening, with a historic win in the co-hosts’ opening match.
It was more laboured than expected, Australia struggling to break down a robust Ireland defence after the 11th-hour omission of their captain, Sam Kerr due to a calf injury. But a clinical penalty from the stand‑in skipper, Steph Catley, early in the second half was enough for victory.
“We had to really gather ourselves pretty quickly. But we used her spirit and used the fact that she wasn’t able to be out there with us to help us push on,” Catley said.
For all that the match should have been a celebration, the beginning of a momentous month-long festival of football on these shores, Kerr’s absence and a less-than-vintage performance left fans in two minds as they left. The Matildas have three points and a clean sheet, but this was not World Cup-winning form.
They started nervously, shaken by the significance of the occasion, the expectant crowd and the late injury news. Mary Fowler replaced Kerr, who will also miss their second game, against Nigeria, next week, in the starting XI. She was tucked in behind Caitlin Foord who led the line in Kerr’s absence. Neither fired immediately.
The record-breaking 75,784 fans in attendance had come to be entertained, but instead endured a tense opening passage.
As the teams settled, Australia showed glimpses of the scything attacking movement that had looked so dangerous against France in last Friday’s pre-tournament warmup. In one attack midway through the half, the Matildas regained possession in their right corner. Katrina Gorry sprayed it horizontally across the park to Catley, who dispatched to Foord on the left wing. In the blink of an eye, the team had traversed the entire pitch – it was the Matildas at their counterattacking best.
But, unlike France, Ireland were content to sit back and absorb the pressure – three central defenders, two wing-backs and two defensive midfielders soaked up the Matildas’ forward movement. Imposing themselves physically, the visitors brought the game to their hosts – the midfield maestro Denise O’Sullivan received a yellow card for her over-exuberant efforts late in the half.
Without the space created by an attacking opposition, the Matildas struggled to create any real opportunities. In occasional moments of fluid passing football the final touch was missing – neither Fowler nor Foord imposed themselves in the final third. In particularly desperate moments the team resorted to the long ball, but the route-one approach was toothless without the aerial threat of Kerr.
Early in the second half, a moment of good fortune struck. After a period of attacking buildup on the left flank, the Matildas moved the ball into the middle. Kyra Cooney-Cross lobbed the ball into the box for the onrushing Hayley Raso, who was bundled down by the Irish-American midfielder Marissa Sheva. The Brazilian referee, Edina Alves Batista, immediately pointed to the spot.
With the weight of a nation on her shoulders, Catley placed the ball on the white dot. Then she waited, and waited. For what seemed like an age, Stadium Australia held its breath. Fans need not have worried: Catley clinically sent the penalty past Courtney Brosnan into the net.
That energised the Matildas, with Fowler almost doubling the advantage. In response, the Ireland coach, Vera Pauw, rolled the dice with Abbie Larkin and Lucy Quinn replacing Sheva and Sinead Farrelly. At first it worked, the momentum shifting towards Ireland – who had been valiant in their Women’s World Cup debut. But as the match wore on the Matildas regained composure; the addition of Emily van Egmond off the bench helping them.
As the match entered injury time, the Matildas found themselves defending desperately – a far-cry from the dominance expected before the match. But Ireland were unable to capitalise and the game concluded with Catley’s penalty the only difference between the teams.
In the stands, several fans in the capacity crowd – the highest for a Matildas match on home soil – held a banner aloft. It displayed the words of Johnny Warren, the grandfather of Australian football. Weeks before his passing in 2004, the ex-player, coach, administrator and commentator had been asked about his legacy. Warren said he wanted to be able to say “I told you so” to Australian football’s many detractors.
A World Cup on home soil, a record crowd, a national team that could win the tournament. Warren told us so, as did the many pioneers of women’s football in Australia – the players and staff who paid their way to early international tournaments, washed their own kits and, more recently, went on strike for equal pay.
It was tense, it was nervy, it was Kerr-less. But the Matildas made history – as all those who came before told us they would.
