Captain Sam Kerr fires Australia past China into Asian Cup final

[p]The Matildas will hunt a second ‌trophy in the continental ⁠tournament ‌and first since 2010 ​against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/japan/ltLyWcnC/"]Japan[/a] or [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/south-korea/6LgUhbye/"]South Korea[/a], who ​play in the second semi-final in Sydney on ⁠Wednesday.[/p][p]Scoring ​in front of home-town fans for the third time in the ‌event, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kerr-samantha/8YuNOAak/"]Kerr[/a] struck the winner on 58 minutes, threading the needle from an acute angle to send the Perth Stadium crowd into delirium.[/p][p]Defending champions [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/china/IFHViN7N/"]China[/a] ‌had levelled the ​match with a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/linyan-zhang/xSXqqcyB/"]Zhang ‌Linyan[/a] penalty in the 26th minute following an early strike by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/foord-caitlin/SMMIEghM/"]Caitlin Foord[/a].[/p][p]"I can't really gather my emotions right now," said Kerr.[/p][p]"[b]I know we came in as one of the favourites but we've taken the long road to be here and it just feels so good to be here now in the final[/b].[/p][p]"These girls are like family to me so it would be a dream come true (to win the final)."[/p][embed guid="1a1e088e-a8fe-40d8-a1bb-da726e7791cd" url="https://x.com/TheMatildas/status/2033876283524870632" social-type="twitter" /][p]Though Kerr was typically clinical, Australia coach Joe Montemurro would have been frustrated early when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fowler-mary/ryXzcOHS/"]Mary Fowler[/a] blazed a volley over the bar in the fifth minute, having been well served by a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/torpey-kaitlyn/G0ivGooG/"]Kaitlyn Torpey[/a] cross.[/p][p]Fowler redeemed herself quickly, though, combining with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/carpenter-ellie/8rIkJ2oD/"]Ellie Carpenter[/a] to set up Foord's goal after 17 minutes with a neat move down the right wing.[/p][p]Taking the ball from Carpenter near the six-yard box, Fowler's cut-back pass found Foord who fired a low shot home, belated reward for the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/8CKOoQdn/"]Arsenal[/a] forward after a quiet tournament.[/p][p]Australia's elation lasted all of eight minutes before defender [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hunt-clare/UsOPB6uH/"]Clare Hunt[/a] failed to deal with a high-bouncing ball behind the lines, allowing Zhang to swoop.[/p][p]Goalkeeper [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/arnold-mackenzie/MLhf3Egm/"]Mackenzie Arnold[/a] charged out and made contact with the China midfielder who went down in the box and calmly slotted the spot-kick herself.[/p][p]Kerr had the final say after the break, though, producing a sublime finish at the end of another Matildas counter-attack.[/p][p]Sliding the ball to Foord on the left, Kerr continued her run forward, took the ball back and rounded China's keeper [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/shimeng-peng/E9leyrA0/"]Peng Shimeng[/a] before tucking in a low left-foot shot from a tight angle near the byline.[/p][p]The goal sent the hosts to Sydney for Saturday's final while giving [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/van-egmond-emily/QBHh8iVk/"]Emily van Egmond[/a] another reason to celebrate after she became Australia's most capped player with her 170th appearance, surpassing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/polkinghorne-clare/2R7THHwi/"]Clare Polkinghorne[/a].[/p][p]"[b]These are the nights you've always dreamed of. This is the reason why we play[/b]," she said.[/p][p]"I think we really showed some character. It wasn't the prettiest game but we got the job done."[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/australia-YXMhvJho/china-IFHViN7N/?mid=Egbz9FMO"]Check out the match stats here[/a][/b][/p]