Australia captain Sam Kerr sealed a 2-1 win over China with a stunning second-half goal last night to put the hosts into their fourth Women’s Asian Cup final.
The Matildas will hunt a second trophy in the continental tournament against Japan or South Korea, who play in the second semi-final in Sydney today.
Scoring in front of hometown fans for the third time in the event, Kerr struck the winner on 58 minutes, threading the needle from an acute angle to send the Perth Stadium crowd into delirium. Defending champions China had leveled the match with a Zhang Linyan penalty in the 26th minute following an early strike by Caitlin Foord, who also had a hand in Kerr’s winner.
“I can’t really gather my emotions right now,” said Kerr. “I know we came in as one of the favorites but we’ve taken the long road to be here and it just feels so good to be here now in the final.
“These girls are like family to me so it would be a dream come true [to win the final].”
Mary Fowler blazed a volley over the bar in the fifth minute but then redeemed herself whne she and Ellie Carpenter set up Foord’s 17th-minute goal. But Zhang drew China level eight minutes later after she was brought down by goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold.
“I think we really showed some character. It wasn’t the prettiest game but we got the job done,” said Clare Polkinghorne, who became Australia’s most-capped player with 170.
REUTERS
