China's solitary goal came through a penalty
Sublime strikes from Caitlin Foord and Sam Kerr steered Australia to a hard-fought 2-1 win over defending champions China in their AFC Women’s Asian Cup semi-final at the Perth Stadium.
The Matildas, seeking to lift the trophy for a second time, will meet either Korea or Japan in the final at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Saturday.
Shao Ziqin and Wurigumula led China’s attack in the absence of the suspended Wang Shuang, while Steph Catley returned to the Australian lineup alongside Kyra Cooney-Cross.
Despite China starting with a high press, Australia were the first to threaten in the fifth minute when Foord delivered a precise cross into the box to Mary Fowler, who angled her shot over the bar.
The East Asian side nearly broke through five minutes later when Wurigumula wriggled through the left channel before teeing-up Zhang Linyan but the Wuhan Jianghan University midfielder shot straight at Australia keeper Mackenzie Arnold.
That came back to haunt China in the 17th minute when Fowler orchestrated a fine move to release Ellie Carpenter on the right before setting up Caitlin Foord, who finished with a powerful drive into the bottom left corner.
Australia’s lead, however, lasted a mere nine minutes when Clare Hunt misjudged Yao Wei’s deflected cross, allowing Linyan to break into the box only to be brought down by Arnold.
Linyan made no mistake from the spot, sending Arnold the wrong way as the tie remained finely poised heading into the break.
China started the second half on the front foot but Australia, pushed by their fans, regained the lead in the 58th minute after Foord played a perfectly timed through ball to Kerr, who surged past her marker before beating China PR keeper Peng Shimeng with an outrageous effort from an acute angle.
With the clock ticking down, China sent on Jin Kun, Li Qintong and Liu Jing but could not find a breakthrough as Australia held firm to seal the victory and book their place in the final for the fourth time in six editions.
