Australian forward Samantha Kerr grabbed a brace against South Korea at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia, and gave the visitors their first loss at the Cup of Nations, a four-nation invitational tournament that also features Argentina and New Zealand.
South Korea, led by head coach Yoon Duk-yeo, now have one win and one loss at the Cup of Nations. Yoon's side previously trounced Argentina 5-0 in their opening match in Sydney on Thursday. South Koera will wrap up the tournament against New Zealand in Melbourne on Wednesday.
The tournament, which is being played in a round-robin format, is a tuneup event for the FIFA Women's World Cup in June. South Korea are in Group A with Norway, Nigeria and hosts France.
The teams at the Cup of Nations are all participants in the 2019 Women's World Cup. Australia are in Group C, while Argentina and New Zealand are in Groups D and E, respectively.
The Taeguk Ladies got off to a bad start against the Matildas as they conceded a goal just six minutes after the kickoff.
Center back Jeong Yeong-a brought down Kerr in the box and gave up a penalty kick. Kerr then converted the spot kick for a 1-0 lead to the hosts.
South Korea leveled the score six minutes later with Ji So-yun's brilliant free kick goal. Moon Mi-ra earned the free kick after she was fouled by Ellie Carpenter just outside the box and Ji curled a shot past Mackenzie Arnold to get the equalizer.
However, South Korea were not able to keep the momentum going.
The visitors' defense stated to collapse after they gave up a goal to Australia's veteran forward Lisa De Vanna in the 37th minute. Goalkeeper Kim Jung-mi saved Tameka Butt's shot, but De Vanna was able to tap home a rebound.
In first-half extra time, Jang Sel-gi's stray pass was intercepted by Kerr, and the 2017 Asian Women's Footballer of the Year punished South Koreans with her powerful right-footed strike.
Looking to overcome the two-goal deficit, South Korea inserted Jeon Ga-eul for Moon to start the second half.
Jeon, who became the fifth South Korean woman to play 100 international matches with her latest appearance, had a promising chance to score a goal in the 76th minute, but her right-footed attempt in the box was denied by Arnold.
With South Korea struggling to find the net, Australia sealed their win with Emily Gielnik's goal in the 81st. After penetrating the left wing, the Australian forward unleashed a powerful shot from a tight angle that left Kim helpless.
South Korea's winless streak against Australia was extended to six matches with the latest result. Since 2010, South Korea has only managed to collect one draw and five losses against Australia in women's football matches.
[Interviews with Korean players and Korean fans are available on podcast.]
