Australia v Ireland as it happened: Matildas off to flying start
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90 + 7 - Full-time! Australia get their World Cup campaign up-and-running with a narrow and nervous 1-0 win over Ireland.
90 + 6 - Ireland push bodies forward as Larkin finds McCabe in the box but her shot is saved by Arnold. McCabe curls in a cross as Quinn heads wide. Is that the last - and best - chance for Ireland?
90 + 1 - McCabe shoots at goal but it's slightly deflected and hits the roof of the net. Ireland appeal for a penalty but the referee waves them away and it's only a corner. Connolly steps up and takes another dangerous in-swinger that Arnold nervously pushes wide. The second corner comes to nothing. Australia survive.
90 - Six minutes of time has been added on.
89 - Hunt leans on Quinn to give away a free-kick in a dangerous posision.
88 - The Girls in Green push forward but Arnold comes out to comfortably collect the ball.
87 - Ireland make their last change. West Ham's Isibeal Atkinson comes on for Kyra Carusa.
86 - Australia win a free-kick but Foord can only watch as the ball is eventually shot wide.
84 - Substitution for Australia. Mary Fowler comes off for Clare Polkinghorne.
83 - Now it's Ireland's turn. A corner is whipped in by McCabe but it's cleared once more as Australia hang on. The ball falls to Littlejohn who shoots over.
81 - Australia have a flurry of shots blocked as Ireland survive under immense pressure. The stadium is bouncing as they push for a second goal.
78 - Another in-swinging corner for Ireland but Arnold comfortably collects. She's bundled to the ground and signals for treatment.
They won't mind wasting a few more minutes as the clock ticks down...
77 - The attendance is 75,784 - a record crowd for a woman's match in Australia!
75 - Substituion for Australia. Cortnee Vine comes off for Emily van Egmond.
74 - It's all Ireland at the moment but can they break the Matildas down? O'Sullivan sees her volley float wide.
70 - Ireland catch Australia on the break as the game flows end-to-end. Quinn ends up winning a corner that McCabe takes, but Arnold leaps highest and punches clear. Ireland are on the front foot.
68 - Catley's in-swinging corner is perfect but Foord can't direct her header on target.
67 - Gorry has a shot at goal but the ball deflects off Quinn for a corner.
62 - Ireland make a couple of changes. Sinead Farrelly is replaced by Lucy Quinn and Marissa Sheva, who gave away the penalty, comes off for 18-year-old Abby Larkin.
What a moment for Larkin, the youngest member of Ireland's squad.
60 - Gorry has a shot from distance and you can see the confidence has returned to the hosts.
57 - Ireland need to dig deep here but it will take something special for them to break Australia down. Arnold has barely had anything to do in this match so far.
53 - Fowler almost doubles Australia's lead! The Man City star has a shot from the edge of the box but her effort goes over the bar. The Matildas are flying.
52 - Goal! 1-0! Catley thumps the ball high into the top left corner to give Australia the lead. She's swamped by her teammates and the home fans go wild.
50 - Penalty for Australia! Raso is tripped in the box by Sheva and the referee points directly at the spot. Who will take it in Kerr's absence? Catley steps up...
48 - Vine breaks through into the Ireland box but there are so many defenders around as she falls to the ground under the challenge of Fahey. Free-kick to Ireland.
46 - Ireland get the second half underway.
Incidentally, Australia have lost their opening match at their last three Women's World Cup's. Is this a good omen for Ireland who have been excellent so far? Let's see...
45 + 6 - The half-time whistle blows and it's all square in Sydney. Ireland are proving to be very difficult visitors for the hosts who have been disappointing without Kerr.
45 + 5 - Close! Vine finds Foord in the box who struggles to weave past a swamped Ireland defence. The ball eventually falls to Gorry who has a shot from distance, but it's straight at Brosnan. Ireland breathe a sigh of relief.
45 - There will be six additional minutes of the first half.
44 - The referee pauses the game for a moment to check with VAR on a possible penalty, but this comes to nothing and play continues. Ireland have been spot on against the hosts. Australia are finding it hard work to break them down.
41 - O'Sullivan controls possession suberbly as Ireland move their way out of their box, but she's then booked for a late challenge. Ireland defend the free-kick.
40 - Ireland have defended well against the hosts and clear yet another Australia attack outside the area.
38 - McCabe clatters into Raso who goes down. That looked a certain yellow card, but play resumes.
36 - McCabe looks to be okay and comes back on with strapping on her fingers.
34 - Australia are piling on the pressure. They see a shot blocked as Vine passes to Foord who shoots into the side netting. McCabe is down injured as the players take the moment for a water break.
33 - Carpenter throws long into the Ireland box but the ball is cleared - not for the first time.
29 - It's end-to-end at the moment as Ireland go on the counter attack forcing Arnold to palm the ball away.
27 - Australia win a corner that's whipped in by Catley, but Fahey clears over the bar. The second corner is even more dangerous as it finds Raso six yards out - but she heads wide.
23 - Ireland are enjoying a tidy amount of possession as they probe for an opening, but have yet to have an attempt on goal.
19 - The corner comes to nothing as Ireland clear.
18 - Foord makes a fantastic run into the box with a sublime bit of skill and wins a corner.
15 - Ireland win a free-kick that causes panic in the Australia defence. The ball is eventually cleared.
11 - Carpenter tries to find Foord but her pass is overhit. Australia have lost their last three previous Women's World Cup matches - as well as missing Kerr at the start of this tournament - so this could give Ireland hope.
10 - Australia are struggling to control the ball in midfield with Ireland matching them all the way.
9 - Ireland seem happy to sit back and defend as they look to beat Australia on the counter attack. It's working well, so far.
7 - As expected, it's all Australia in the opening stages with 81% possession.
4 - Terrific play from Gorry, switching play with Raso before finding space. She passes to Vine but her cross is easily cleared.
1 - There is a minute's silence to remember the victims of the shooting in Auckland before the co-hosts get the second match of the Women's World Cup underway.
Starting XI
The team news is in, and some breaking news to start with. Australia captain Sam Kurr has been ruled out of the opening two group matches after picking up a calf injury in training. She has been replaced in the starting line-up by Mary Fowler.
You can read more about Kerr's injury here.
Preview
Less than one week after Australia played in front of their largest-ever crowd (50,629) in a 1-0 home friendly win against France, an anticipated 80,000 spectators will pack into Sydney’s Olympic Stadium hoping that the Matildas can go on to convert their first home Women’s World Cup (WWC) into their first semi-finals appearance and maybe more.
Despite losing their opening group-stage game in their last three WWCs, the expectations placed on the co-hosts have never been greater.
Whether it be exiting the previous WWC at the round of 16, the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup at the quarter-finals, or failing to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Australia, ranked tenth by FIFA, have underachieved at recent major events.
Therefore, some outstanding lead-in form consisting of nine wins from ten fixtures (L1) since October 2022 (with an aggregate score of 26-5) should be read cautiously - though they have every reason to be confident as that run includes four wins from four games against higher-ranked opposition (France, England, Spain and Sweden)!
The Republic of Ireland have been one beneficiary of the WWC’s expansion from 24 to 32 nations, making their inaugural finals appearance courtesy of a qualification play-offs victory in Scotland last October.
They come into this event with their highest-ever FIFA ranking (22), but their hopes of achieving something substantial have been tempered by having two top-ten nations alongside them in Group B (Australia and Canada), as well as seeing a warm-up fixture against Colombia abandoned last week due to “overly physical” play by their opponents that left midfielder Denise O’Sullivan hospitalised.
Qualification was a phenomenal achievement for manager Vera Pauw following a series of seven straight losses across 2020 and 2021, which coincidentally came to an end with a surprise 3-2 win in their last meeting with Australia.
Approaching her first WWC finals almost 25 years after first becoming a national team manager with Scotland, Pauw has stressed the “need to be realistic” whilst also reasserting the importance of solid defending, which produced just 11 total goals (agg. 7-4) across seven qualifiers when excluding 11-0 and 9-0 wins over minnows Georgia.
Players to watch: Arsenal teammates Caitlin Foord and Katie McCabe were both nominated as the club’s 2022/23 Player of the Season, with Republic of Ireland captain McCabe picking up the award.
Australia’s Foord would have also been thoroughly deserving of the accolade though with 21 goal contributions (G12, A9) across all competitions for the mighty Gunners during the most recent campaign, while McCabe made 38 appearances for the north Londoners last term in all competitions, only to be outdone by Stina Blackstenius.
Hot streak: Australia’s last 12 matches have all produced a winner, with seven of the last eight seeing the victors win with a clean sheet.
