July 20 – Rocked by the forced withdrawal of skipper Sam Kerr, the poster girl of the tournament, co-hosts Australia got off to a winning start in the women’s World Cup with a 1-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland.
Steph Catley swept home a 52nd-minute penalty to end Ireland’s resistance and spark huge celebrations among the 75,784 fans inside Stadium Australia in Sydney, a record for a Australian women’s team game.
Kerr, who will also miss the second game of Group B against Nigeria, suffered a calf injury in training on Wednesday but at the final whistle was on the field, arm-in-arm with her Matildas teammates after they were pushed to the limit by the unheralded Irish playing in their first World Cup
The crowd only learned of Kerr’s injury about an hour before kick-off and it is not even certain she will be back to face Canada in the team’s final group game in Melbourne on July 31.
Mary Fowler, who has Irish heritage, replaced Kerr in Australia’s attack but her absence clearly took its toll, with the co-hosts – one of the tournament’s favoured sides – bereft of a cutting edge.
“It’s incredible to get the win, I think this is the longest buildup to a game in my entire life,” Catley told reporters. “Losing a player like Sam, probably the best player in the world and her as a person, obviously we were heartbroken. We had to use her spirit … to help us push on. She’s so, so important, she’s our spiritual leader.”
The Sydney result meant both co-hosts started the tournament with wins, after New Zealand upset Norway earlier by the same score in Auckland.
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