{"id":341857,"date":"2023-10-26T14:17:40","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T14:17:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=341857"},"modified":"2023-10-26T15:00:37","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T15:00:37","slug":"kerr-strikes-as-matildas-prevail-in-frustrating-clash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=341857","title":{"rendered":"Kerr strikes as Matildas prevail in 'frustrating' clash"},"content":{"rendered":"

S\ufeffam Kerr<\/a> hit the scoreboard in her first match in Perth in five years as the Matildas<\/a> prevailed in a "frustrating" Olympic qualifier against Iran.<\/p>\n

A capacity crowd turned out at Perth's HBF Park to watch Australia in action for the first time on home soil since their World Cup<\/a> heroics in August, and were treated to a 2-0 win with goals to Kerr and Ellie Carpenter.<\/p>\n

\ufeffThe Matildas completely dominated the play, finishing the match with 79 per cent possession and 25 shots on goal, but were unable to make the most of their pressure.<\/p>\n

AS IT HAPPENED:<\/strong> Matildas ease past Iran in Olympic qualifier<\/strong><\/a>\ufeff<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Maxi 'freakshow' sets up biggest Cup win ever<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> 'Bad headaches' lead to NRL star's shock diagnosis<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Australia's momentum was stymied by a number of stoppages throughout the night as Iran's players spent extended periods on the turf following minor knocks.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffYeah, it was very frustrating, but I think we knew we had a job to do and we kept focusing on the game," Carpenter told Channel 10 after the match.<\/p>\n

\"PERTH,<\/p>\n

"There were a lot of breaks in the game but we got the job done and got the three (Olympic qualifying) points."<\/p>\n

Australia dominated the game from the outset, and after early close calls for Charlotte Grant and Alex Chidiac, Carpenter struck in the 19th minute following some lovely lead-up play from Cortnee Vine.<\/p>\n

Despite playing the match almost entirely in the Iranian half, the Matildas struggled to put the game beyond doubt, leading coach Tony Gustavsson to ring the changes.<\/p>\n

After starting the game with Kerr, Steph Catley and Mary Fowler all on the bench, Gustavsson brought the trio on with 20 minutes remaining and the impact was instant.<\/p>\n

Fowler and Catley combined brilliantly on the left wing, before Catley flicked in a low cross that was tapped home by Kerr.<\/p>\n

\"PERTH,<\/p>\n

Gustavsson started just two players from the side that faced England in the World Cup semi-final in August and said the scratchy performance was due to a lack of familiarity.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffFootball is about relationships and getting time together … and you can see (the result of) little training time and a lot of new combinations out there," he told Channel 10 after the win.<\/p>\n

"I loved the bravery we played with tonight. Compare the Ireland game, with the low block, the 5-4-1, we didn't really have the guts to play through.<\/p>\n

"A lot more combination play today and it's time for us to take the next step with the ball.<\/p>\n

"I saw a team trying to play through with a lot of combination play which I was happy with."<\/p>\n

Australia will continue its Olympic qualifying campaign on Sunday night when it hosts the Philippines.\ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

S\ufeffam Kerr hit the scoreboard in her first match in Perth in five years as the Matildas prevailed in a "frustrating" Olympic qualifier against Iran. […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":341859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341857"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=341857"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":341862,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341857\/revisions\/341862"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/341859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=341857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=341857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=341857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}