Matildas celebrity Sam Kerr has made a goal-scoring return after a 20-month harm absence, netting her a centesimal objective for English membership aspect Chelsea.
After being stored on the bench for the opening fixture of the Ladies’s Tremendous League in opposition to Manchester Metropolis, Kerr was lastly unleashed as a late substitute within the Blues’ 3-1 victory at Aston Villa.
And the 32-year-old Australian, who has not performed for the Blues since December 2023 due to an ACL harm, instantly made her presence felt at Villa Park by netting the third objective within the Londoners’ second-straight league win.
“I am a goal-scorer, that is what I like doing, and people 100 objectives symbolize loads of onerous work, dedication and sacrifices to get there,” Kerr mentioned after reaching the landmark in simply 128 video games for Chelsea.
The wait continues for Kerr’s return to the Matildas, the place she might resume the captaincy beneath new coach Joe Montemurro.
They’ve fixtures scheduled in Wales and England subsequent month, with subsequent 12 months’s Asian Cup being hosted in Australia in March.
Chelsea coach Sonia Bompastor had hinted the Matildas captain could be in motion, with a “hopefully we’ll see” at her press convention earlier than the sport.
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And Kerr’s look off the bench within the seventy fifth minute was an enormous enhance to the guests, who had been main 2-1 at that stage because of Aggie Beever-Jones’s second strike of the season, which was cancelled out by Ebony Salmon, earlier than a Missy Bo Kearns own-goal.
Kerr, whose fellow Maltilda Ellie Carpenter additionally featured for Chelsea within the match, then made a direct influence, racking up a membership century by ramming residence a free ball within the Villa field from shut vary, three minutes into harm time.
“I do know individuals might imagine scoring 100 objectives is simply one other factor, however for me, it is a tremendous achievement and one thing I will look again on for the remainder of my life,” Kerr mentioned, 634 days after her final look.
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Later, Matildas defenders Clare Hunt and substitute Charli Grant each helped Tottenham keep their 100 per cent begin to the season with a formidable 2-0 win at Everton, for whom their worldwide teammate Clare Wheeler was a starter.
One other Australia participant getting on the scoresheet was Leicester Metropolis’s Emily van Egmond, who grabbed the winner in a 1-0 win over Liverpool.
The Reds had been thumped 4-1 by Everton of their opening match and van Egmond’s headed objective on the hour despatched them to a second defeat in two matches.
Manchester United returned to the highest of the desk after thrashing a London Metropolis Lionesses aspect that includes Matildas defender Alanna Kennedy 5-1.
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