Sam Kerr bombshell sucks life out of Australia before inspiration is rediscovered | Jack Snape | OneFootball

“She’s really good, I like her. She’s really kind.”

Two hours before kick-off on Thursday night, 10-year-old Ayla spoke for many Australians, about Matildas captain Sam Kerr.

“Inspirational?”, her mother Brooke asked.

Ayla nodded.

In Sydney, for the first Women’s World Cup match in Australia, Kerr had been the big drawcard. If the pre-match media coverage hadn’t made that obvious, the thousands of shirts that filled Stadium Australia with KERR 20 emblazoned on the back certainly did.

But minutes later, the world – Ayla’s world - was transformed.

News of Kerr’s calf injury landed just over an hour before kick-off. “Two matches on the sidelines!”, social media barked. From the feeds to the streets, it rippled through the throng circling Stadium Australia. A squeal here, a cry of disbelief there. Worried looks everywhere.

Tessa, there with her father and a friend, was “shocked and disappointed”. “I think they still have a chance but it’s a big let down.” Amelia, aged nine, said it was “devastating”. Her mother Allie, added: “She must be gutted, all the hard work she put into it, and for the team as well”. Amelia’s six-year-old brother Hugo didn’t know what to say.

Then there was 21-year-old Sib who, with her four friends, was shattered. The group had travelled six hours south from Coffs Harbour and had received the news from Sib’s father. “I told my dad to get fucked when he told me. I’m devastated for her.” But at least she saw a silver lining. “They don’t know who to mark now.”

Ireland may not have known who to mark, but as the match began keen-eyed spectators started wondering where the Matildas should pass. An uninspiring first half manufactured barely a chance and had fans on edge. The bubble of anticipation that drew a capacity crowd of 75,784 had been popped. Expectation was out. Consternation was in.

When Kerr appeared on the 120-metre video screen, there was barely a murmur. What do you say to someone who has let you down through no fault of their own?

Stadium Australia is a venue where expectations have been set high. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, it was filled by witnesses to the finest moment in Australian sport. The victory by Indigenous 400 metres runner Cathy Freeman came days after she surprised the nation by lighting the Olympic flame. Just as Freeman rose to the occasion, so too did the men’s national football team the Socceroos in 2005. A penalty shootout victory over Uruguay at the same ground secured their first appearance at a World Cup finals in 32 years.

And it was a penalty again that on Thursday night gave this cavernous arena life. Hayley Raso’s fall brought the crowd to their feet. Steph Catley’s penalty filled it with noise. Within minutes the first “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi” chant followed. Football purists cringed, but the place began to hum.

Off the field, organisers could breathe a sigh of relief. A far cry from the horrific lead-up in Auckland, the tournament’s second match seemed to go off without a hitch. This was the world game brought to Sydney, with a strong Australian flavour.

One father arrived four hours early with his two daughters, the three of them donned in green and gold. “Free parking”, he grinned. The girls didn’t look up from their McDonald’s. “And to have a play on the playground,” he nodded.

There was Tim, dressed in a St George rugby league jersey adorned with a Matildas scarf, who had brought his wife and daughter three and a half hours’ drive down the coast, wanting “victory for the Aussies”.

The ticketing process - although mostly a success - did stump one family of six. Three generations had navigated the road from the tiny town of Gularganbone - six hours to the north-west - but the Fifa ticketing app was too much for 73-year-old matriarch Jan. At a pub in Parramatta they tried to resolve the crisis, without luck. “There was a fucking lot of swearing over a few beers,” she said. But 20 minutes at the ticket counter ensured the trip was worth it.

And Bankstown mother-of-two Sabah was there with her two daughters. One of the girls was volunteering at the match and had lent her mother her Matildas jersey. Apologising for her perfectly understandable English, Sabah said they were all excited to be there.

With the scoreboard gleaming with a 1-0 lead for the Matildas, the excitement – sucked dry by Kerr’s calf – flowed again. As the clock ticked down and the Australians drove down the right through the effervescent Ellie Carpenter, the place started to resemble what the fans had come for. Cheers. Smiles. And even, after a late scare, relief.

Australian supporters may not have had Sam Kerr, but in their first foray in a home World Cup, they got their win. For now, that’s inspiration enough.

Header image: [Photograph: Jaimi Joy/Reuters]