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Matildas skipper Steph Catley admits her side was “sloppy” after Australia survived a thrilling finish to secure a 1-0 win against Ireland in the hosts’ opening match of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Australia was rocked by the late out of superstar captain Sam Kerr with a calf injury, but Catley stepped up when her team needed her the most.
Catley converted from the spot in the 52nd minute to put the Matildas in front, a position they remained for the rest of the night despite a furious finish from Ireland.
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The 29-year-old was relieved to have secured an important three points despite the scratchy performance.
“It’s hard to put into words, to be honest,” the Aussie skipper told Optus Sport.
“It’s been such a big lead-up and I think we had a lot of adrenaline, so at times there were moments where we were working through that.
“It was a little bit sloppy and a little bit over-zealous, but in the end we got the result and that’s what you need to do in tournaments like this.”
Catley revealed Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson had talked to her about taking penalty duties, even before the injury to Kerr.
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“Obviously we didn’t have Sammy in tonight, and I’ve been practising a lot,” she said.
“I was confident in taking it and Tony spoke to me a couple of weeks ago about potentially taking one now and then if it comes up.”
Gustavsson was full of praise for his team, saying he was most impressed by the “mental toughness” to rebound from a busy lead-up and the loss of Kerr.
“Of course it’s intense but that’s tournament football,” he said.
“This game was going to be tough, we’ve seen Ireland against top teams before, and all the teams that are here are going to put up a fight. Look at New Zealand beating Norway in Auckland, everyone can beat everyone.
“Tournament football is about always finding a way to win. There’s been a lot of challenges thrown at this team in the last 24 hours.”
The Matlidas’ win came in front of a record crowd of 75,784 inside Sydney’s Accor Stadium.
Australia will next be in action against Nigeria at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on July 27.
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