Sam Kerr says she almost collapsed with exhaustion after the Matildas‘ stirring semi-final victory over China at the Asian Cup, after coach Joe Montemurro ignored her plea to come off on Tuesday night. The inspirational Aussie captain’s sublime second half strike proved the winner in a 2-1 triumph in Perth that booked Australia’s spot in the final.
It sets up a mouthwatering decider in Sydney on Saturday night against either Japan or South Korea, who square off in the other semi-final on Wednesday evening. Caitlin Foord opened the scoring for the Aussies in the 17th minute after lashing home from inside the box after a well-worked team move. But China responded from the penalty spot moments later after goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold was pinged for a questionable foul.
Australia’s match-winner Sam Kerr (R) says Matildas coach Joe Montemurro (L) ignored her request to come off in the second half of the Asian Cup semi-final win over China. Pic: Getty
Kerr had the majority of the 35,170 fans at Optus Stadium on their feet when she found the back of the net in the 58th minute with what turned out to be the decisive goal. The Matildas lynchpin raced onto a clever through-ball from Foord, before rounding the keeper and stroking the ball into the net from a tight angle to send the home crowd into raptures.
It continued a superb tournament for Kerr, who now has four goals and has started in every game. Saturday’s final will mark her sixth match in just 21 days. But after only recently returning from a knee reconstruction for English giants Chelsea after being sidelined for 20 months, Kerr was understandably out on her feet during the second half. She wanted to come off, but dug deep for the team.
Exhausted Sam Kerr fires Matildas into Asian Cup final
“I’ve played a lot of minutes in the last two weeks, and I looked up after the 62nd minute, and I was literally dark,” Kerr admitted after the game. “I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to make it to the 90th’.”
The Aussie skipper thought she was going to be given an early reprieve when the Matildas coach started ringing the changes. An exhausted Kerr even went up to Montemurro at one point and asked to be substituted off, but the Matildas’ mentor was desperate for his talismanic forward to stay on the pitch.
“I went over to Joe and I said, ‘Joe, I’m done’,” Kerr said. “Literally, if there was one more minute, I think I would have fallen over. I couldn’t even celebrate, I was so tired.”
Sam Kerr celebrates after scoring what proved to be the Matildas’ winning goal in a 2-1 Asian Cup semi-final victory over China. Pic: Getty
(Paul Kane via Getty Images)
Rest and recovery will now be a key focus for Kerr ahead of Saturday night’s final. And the Matildas will be hoping for more magic from their goal-scoring weapon, who’s aiming to channel the energy of her youth as they look to emulate the Matildas’ triumph in the 2010 Asian Cup.
“I just watched it back in the ice bath – not really sure how I got it in, honestly,” Kerr said about her winning goal. A 16-year-old Kerr also found the back of the net in 2010 when Australia beat North Korea in the Cup final.
“I had no idea what I was in for,” Kerr said about that famous title triumph. “I think that worked in my favour. I went out there and just played and just had fun and didn’t realise how big a deal it was… hopefully on the weekend I have that mentality in my brain to just go out there, enjoy it, and hopefully score.”
with AAP