Soccer: Sam Kerr shows her class on debut for Chelsea

Sam Kerr’s initiation into English soccer didn’t quite go to plan, but the Australian showed why she is being paid almost $2 million

Australia’s Sam Kerr is cut down by the Reading keeper in her debut for Chelsea

Sam Kerr’s initiation into English soccer didn’t quite go to plan, but the Australian showed just why she is being paid almost $2 million during her first outing with Chelsea Football Club early on Monday.

Less than two weeks after arriving in the British capital to begin a two and a half year deal, Kerr was thrust into the starting line-up against Reading — a decision forced upon coach Emma Hayes because of a flu outbreak.

But as Hayes acknowledged after the 3-1 triumph for Chelsea, having one of the world’s best players start in her team was a decision she made “two years ago’’.

Kerr admitted she was a bit rusty and “a bit nervous’’ after having a long break, and with her left thigh strapped, she faced a one-on-one confrontation with the Reading goalkeeper with her first touch of the ball in the opening two minutes of the game. The result didn’t go to script as the ball sailed over, rather than into, the goal, but Kerr’s positional instincts were key.

Soon after, in the 17th minute, Kerr was on the attack again, but the goalkeeper Grace Moloney slid into her, causing the 26-year-old to fly through the air and land heavily on her shoulder.

“It’s a bit sore, but I don’t need a shoulder to run,’’ Kerr said. Moloney was given a red card and with a player down, Reading was going to find it hard to close all the gaps.

The crowd of nearly 3000, including many young girls, a travelling group of young Australian female players and some expat fans, didn’t wait long to witness Kerr’s brilliance when she executed a superb heel assist for fellow striker Beth England to score late in the first half.

Hayes was duly impressed: “What a back heel, a beautiful back heel for Beth. It is exciting to see the pair of them together and I am sure they were happy to get the first one out of the way.’’

Kerr said she enjoyed the game and said it was awesome to combine with England, a member of the national team.

‘’She is a quality player … its awesome, I love being around football heads. It is great to be around football all the time,’’ said Kerr.

Kerr decided to make the switch to the English women’s league after eight years in the US, most recently with the Chicago Red Stars, to challenge herself.

She has been struck by how the pitches in England are smaller and the stadiums more intimate. Chelsea’s home ground at Kingsmeadow holds 5000, well shy of the GeekSeat Stadium in Illinois with a 20,000 capacity.

‘’I knew no one’’ said Kerr about her new teammates. But she added she had fitted in well, despite finding the conditions “freezing’’.

“The quality at training is amazing, they have been learning from me and I have been learning from them and we are going to complement well.

’’It was pretty high-paced (game) obviously. I am still finding my feet and playing catch-up a bit after my break.’’

It’s been a whirlwind couple of days overcoming jet lag, finding a place to live, and squeezing in training, that Kerr hasn’t yet had a chance to look around London.

She has been keeping in contact with family and friends and is horrified about the bushfire crisis enveloping Australia.

“It has been really tough, I feel quite helpless over here,’’ Kerr said about the hundreds of fires and their devastation.

“It’s really bad and it’s been tough, but I hope everyone has had rain overnight and it gets better.’’

Kerr says she feels comfortable with the Chelsea set up.

“I was always attracted to English football and the vibe here, and speaking to Emma (Hayes) she seemed like the best fit for me and doing some research about the girls in the team, it honestly felt like the right fit for me.’’

Hayes is just as happy. She said her credit card is “maxed out’’ even though the transfer window still has two weeks to run.

“She’s a darl, as she would say,’’ said Hayes about Kerr. “She’s humble, hardworking, honest, thoughtful, an unbelievable team player. She cares what the team thinks about her. But she will work and do her work for the team at any point. You can have top players, but to have a top player who is a top person, it’s happy days.’’