Australia beat the Philippines 1-0 in the opening match of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in front of a crowd of 44,379 at Perth Stadium.
Sam Kerr scored the first goal of the finals, heading home after Clare Wheeler’s cross was nodded back across the six-yard box by Caitlin Foord.
Hayley Raso brought down a cross well and finished, but it was ruled out by VAR for offside and Steph Catley’s free kick was tipped around the post by Olivia McDaniel.
Going into the last 10 minutes, the Matildas still held just the one-goal advantage, but it proved enough for the three points.
South Korea play Iran in the other opening Group A game on Monday 2 March, at 9am (GMT), and like all matches it will be streamed live at www.youtube.com/@AFCAsianCup
Remaining Group Fixtures:
Tues 3 March: Group B – North Korea v Uzbekistan (2am), China v Bangladesh (8am)
Weds 4 March: Group C – Japan v Taiwan (5am), Vietnam v India (11am)
Thurs 5 March: Group A – Philippines v South Korea (3am), Australia v Iran (9am)
Fri 6 March: Group B – Bangladesh v North Korea (2am), Uzbekistan v China (8am)
Sat 7 March: Group C – Taiwan – Vietnam , India v Japan (11am)
Sun 8 March: Group A – Australia v South Korea (9am), Iran v Philippines (9am)
Mon 9 March: Group B – Bangladesh v Uzbekistan (9am), North Korea v China (9am)
Tues 10 March: Group C – India v Taiwan, Japan v Vietnam (9am)
