New Zealand win at last but Australia suffer Kerr World Cup blow

AFP | Auckland                    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

New Zealand celebrated a historic first Women’s World Cup win in front of a crowd of more than 42,000 yesterday as the co-hosts got the tournament off to a flying start, but Australia suffered a major injury blow.

Hannah Wilkinson scored three minutes after half-time to give the Football Ferns a precious 1-0 victory over Norway, who are former winners of this competition. It was New Zealand’s first win at the World Cup at the 16th attempt and took place in front of a record crowd for a football match in the country, men’s or women’s.

Their margin of victory on a cold, wet and windy evening at Eden Park in Auckland would even have been greater had Ria Percival not missed a late penalty. The home players and fans celebrated wildly after nearly 10 minutes of second-half injury time finally elapsed.

It was a joyous end to a day which started when New Zealand’s largest city was shaken in the morning by a shooting which left two people and the gunman dead. The incident happened in a central area of Auckland close to where several World Cup teams, including Norway, are staying. Both teams wore black armbands and a moment of silence was held before kick-off to remember the dead.

Qualifying for the knockout stages for the first time is now a realistic aim for New Zealand, with Switzerland and minnows the Philippines their other opponents in Group A. New Zealand’s heroics came just as co-hosts Australia suffered a huge setback with the news that skipper and star striker Sam Kerr will miss at least the first two matches with a calf injury.