Kerr winner sends Australia into Asian Cup final

Captain Sam Kerr scored the winner as Australia beat China 2-1 to reach the final of the Asian Cup. The Chelsea striker - the only member of the Australia side who won the title in 2010 - fired home from a tight angle in front of 35,170 fans. Caitlin Foord put Australia ahead with a powerful first-time strike before Zhang Linyan converted a penalty to equalise.

Australia will face favourites Japan or South Korea in Saturday's final in Sydney as they bid for a second Asian Cup title. Kerr was 16 years old when Australia last won the tournament, scoring her second international goal in the final against North Korea. "I can't really gather my emotions right now," the 32-year-old said.

"We've taken the long road to be here and it just feels so good to be in the final. These girls are like family to me so it would be a dream come true to win it. " Australia started strongly against China, with Chelsea's Ellie Carpenter, Manchester City's Mary Fowler and Arsenal's Foord combining beautifully to give Australia the lead.

Carpenter dazzled with her pace, bursting down the left to latch onto a Fowler pass before passing back to the Manchester City forward, who cut the ball back to Foord to score with a powerful first-time strike. "The second half was better, but the first half was disappointing," Matildas head coach Joe Montemurro told Channel 10. "We scored a very good goal and I thought we were starting to find our rhythm, and then we just backed off.