Sam Kerr delivered for her hometown followers with a second-half purpose because the Matildas made heavy work of their 2-0 win over Iran in Thursday evening’s Olympic Video games qualifier in Perth.
Regardless of dominating their outclassed opponents at a bought out HBF Park, the Matildas wanted till the 78th minute to seal the victory when captain Kerr netted her sixty fifth worldwide purpose.
Having began the match on the bench with nearly all of Australia’s FIFA Ladies’s World Cup heroes, Kerr tapped residence from shut vary after being the beneficiary of a pleasant build-up that concerned fellow substitutes Mary Fowler and Steph Catley.
Chelsea star Kerr ought to have scored once more in stoppage time however wasted one other golden alternative.
It was the story of the evening for the Australians, who regardless of by no means being threatened by the Iranians, lacked a leading edge of their attacking third, which ensured there wouldn’t be the blowout scoreline many had predicted.
And whereas there is likely to be the excuse that the experimental Matildas line-up lacked cohesion, coach Tony Gustavsson will demand extra on Sunday when the Australians meet the Philippines at Optus Stadium.
The Philippines, who’re coached by Western United’s A-League girls’s mentor Mark Torcaso, will go into the match main the qualifying group after thrashing Chinese language Taipei 4-1 in Thursday evening’s early match at HBF.
The Matildas then took centre stage, with Gustavsson residing as much as his pre-game promise to rotate his squad, one thing he was reluctant to do throughout this yr’s FIFA Ladies’s World Cup.
Solely two gamers – veteran centre-back Clare Polkinghorne and right-back Ellie Carpenter – that began in Australia’s 3-1 World Cup semi-final loss to England have been a part of Thursday evening’s beginning group.
Carpenter opened the scoring within the nineteenth minute, however the floodgates that had then been anticipated to subsequently open, didn’t, with the well-organised Iranians doing effectively to frustrate the Australians.
Polkinghorne didn’t return for the beginning of the second-half, with Alanna Kennedy changing her.
Extra of the Matildas’ World Cup stars the place to enter the fray within the second-half, with the most important cheer coming when Kerr got here on with lower than half an hour remaining.
Her purpose was what the followers needed, however extra was anticipated of the Australians in opposition to the world’s 63rd ranked nation.
