Chelsea’s Sam Kerr relishes ‘amazing honour’ after overtaking Tim Cahill to become all-time record goalscorer for Australia as they THRASH Indonesia 18-0 in Women’s Asia Cup,kmcz
- Australia began their quest for Asia Cup glory with an 18-0 win over Indonesia
- Chelsea striker Sam Kerr scored five times and missed a second-half penalty
- Kerr, 28, now has 54 goals for her country meaning she has overtaken Tim Cahill
- Former West Ham midfielder Emily van Egmond scored four in the thumping win
Australia thrashed Indonesia 18-0 in their opening game of the Women’s Asia Cup as Chelsea’s Sam Kerr became the country’s all-time leading scorer.
Kerr netted five of Australia’s 18 goals, taking her international tally to 54 and surpassing Tim Cahill’s record of 50.
The forward scored three goals in the first 27 minutes but missed the chance to claim a double hat-trick as her second-half penalty hit the crossbar.
Sam Kerr netted five goals for Australia in an 18-0 win over Indonesia in the Women’s Asia Cup
Indonesia are ranked 94th in the world, 83 places below the Matildas, and are making their first appearance at the Asia Cup for 33 years.
Speaking after breaking her country’s goalscoring record, Kerr said: ‘Timmy’s a legend in Australia, so to be even in the same conversation as him, it’s an amazing honour.
‘I said after the game there’s no team I’d rather do it with. It’s an honour to wear the jersey for the Matildas.’
Emily van Egmond scored four while Hayley Raso, Ellie Carpenter, Kyah Simon all netted braces. Arsenal forward Caitlin Foord was also on the scoresheet along with Mary Fowler and Aivi Luik.
Kerr missed the chance to score a double hat-trick as her second-half penalty hit the crossbar
Former Everton and Millwall ace Tim Cahill was Australia’s previous record goalscorer with 50
Australia boss Tony Gustavsson insisted he did not regret naming his strongest team or bringing on experienced substitutes.
‘I’ve been in a similar situation before as a coach going into a tournament when you have a low-ranked team in the opening game and how important it is to treat that team with respect but also show respect to our values and our standards,’ Gustavsson said.
‘There’s different reasons but the number one reason is that we need that cohesion between the players and get off on a good start to send some messages to ourselves and to the other ones how we are treating this tournament.’
Australia will face the Philippines and Thailand in their next two group games.