Skipper Kerr’s excited to play it again, Sam
Sam Kerr’s comeback had it all. A hero’s welcome, schoolgirl errors, and a moment from Steph Catley that revealed everything about what the Matildas captain really means to her team.
Sam Kerr was standing alone at Sydney Airport. Near the shop selling sunglasses at scandalous rates. She flicked through her phone and laughed herself silly. Perhaps watching the bloopers reel from her comeback game against Denmark.
Twenty-somethings and their phones, eh?
Kerr’s performance at Stadium Australia was soul-stirring for the hero’s welcome. Beautiful for the smile on her dial while she waited to run on. Promising for the snippets of brilliance. Emotional for the glorious moment when stand-in skipper Steph Catley ran over to hand the captain’s armband to its rightful owner.
What does Kerr mean to this team? That wonderful gesture from Catley said it all. My favourite moment of the cup to date. The mateship among these Matildas is rather touching and very real.
Kerr’s appearance was also somewhat comical. No one laughing louder at the schoolgirl errors than her. The world’s best player might have become entangled in a net if she continued any longer. She sent a wild pass straight over the sideline. A shot at goal went so high and wide it nearly flew out of Stadium Australia and hit the sign for Dawn Fraser Avenue. She slipped and fell on her bum like a beginner ice-skater. Her 17-minute cameo deserved some Benny Hill music.
After full-time, she was in hysterics while reliving her misadventures to her teammates – a scene I thought revealed a lot about her character. The superstar is no prima donna. There was no embarrassment or frustration at being as rusty as an old gate. No preciousness about her imperfect efforts. This ain’t no preening princess of sport. Kerr came across as sincere, down-to-earth and self-deprecating.
“Amazing,” she said. “It was a bit nerve-racking. I’m not the best bench player in the world. Nervous. The girls smashed it. They’ve done unbelievably. I was going to play last game (against Canada) … they didn’t need me. I’m so proud of them. Me coming on, personally, it was just a big relief after a big three weeks. I feel good. I mean, I think I was a little bit rusty but nah, I felt great. I’ll sleep better tonight than I have the last three weeks.”
Ex-England player Izzy Christiansen was spot-on in commentary: “You can see when she got subbed on, she ran on to the pitch smiling. That’s how much it means to her, that’s how much she loves her football. And she’s so authentic. Her leadership style is absolutely faultless.”
What did we learn in Kerr’s comeback? She’s match-starved and still finding her feet. What now? She will play it again, Sam, in Saturday night’s quarter-final in Brisbane. Off the bench again.
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson said of Kerr’s heavy tumble: “I know I can tend to swear too much at times when I get passionate. I’ll try to stay away from that here. But I was a bit nervous when she slipped. I didn’t see the slip until she was on the floor but when I saw that obviously you go, oh! And then straight away, communicating with her. Do you need to come off? Are you good? She wanted to stay on.”
Gustavsson’s dilemma is how often to use Kerr now. Caitlin Foord was dynamite in Sydney before saying: “If we play like this, we can beat anyone.” Mary Fowler lit the wick with superb linking passes from midfield. They must stay in the starting XI. Emily van Egmond has been a rock as a starting forward. The obvious temptation is to bench van Egmond and start Kerr, but Gustavsson will resist it for another week. When Kerr turned a Danish defender inside out to get the space for a shot at goal, it was a reminder of how dangerous she is against tiring defenders.
Kerr has learned she doesn’t have to win the World Cup on her own. “What has been good and important for this team is playing some games without Sam,” Gustavsson said. “I don’t say this out of disrespect … because you guys know how much I love working with Sam … but I think Sam coming back now could be a good thing in the sense we don’t need her taking over and having everything on her shoulders.”
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