Team USA kicked off their quest to win a third FIFA Women's World Cup at Canada 2015 by downing Australia 3-1 at Winnipeg Stadium on June 8, to the undisguised delight of the 31,148-strong crowd, the vast majority of whom hailed from south of the border. But the outcome could have been quite different had two of the giants of this American squad not stood up to be counted when it mattered. Australia were the first team to threaten, in the fourth minute. Caitlin Foord stormed down the left onto Sam Kerr's pass, and got to the by-line before steering a low cross into the danger zone. The ball was cleared to the edge of the area, where Emily Van Egmond was striding onto it and leathered a shot goalwards. Hope Solo dived to her left and turned the ball onto the bar, to the undisguised delight of the partisan crowd, whose vocal support for Team USA throughout proceedings was raucous. They really cranked up the volume in the twelfth minute when Megan Rapinoe opened the scoring. Julie Johnston's lofted ball forward was flicked on by Abby Wambach towards the midfielder, who evaded a challenge before letting fly, her shot deflecting off Steph Catley and sailing past the wrong-footed Melissa Barbieri into the far corner of the net. The Matildas didn't take that setback lying down, and only the sheer brilliance of Solo prevented them from equalising straight from the kick-off. Katrina Gorry picked out Elise Kellond-Knight with a pass which prompted an angled ball in behind the defence. Racing in to meet it on the volley was Kerr, whose first-time effort was goalbound until Solo plunged to her left and produced a splendid one-handed save to keep her team in front on the scoreboard. They weren't playing to their potential, however, and after Lisa De Vanna had sent a rising drive over the bar following link-up play involving Kerr and Van Egmond, the Matildas deservedly levelled the scores in the 27th minute. Servet Uzunlar's free-kick wasn't cleared well, with Kerr picking up the pieces and linking with Laura Alleway, who picked out Michelle Heyman with a pass into the goalmouth. The striker held the ball up before steering it into the stride of De Vanna, who thundered home an unstoppable drive into the bottom corner of the net from the edge of the penalty area. 1-1 - a challenge for the two-time winners and one of the perennial tournament favourites, make no mistake. Their cause, nor that of the game as a whole, certainly wasn't aided by whistle-happy referee Claudia Umpierrez, who, to be blunt, had a shocker - as the crowd frequently reminded the Uruguayan official and her colleagues, the game's about players, not those charged with overseeing them! Team USA finally started playing to something like their potential in the last six minutes of the half. Wambach should have at least hit the target with a header from a Rapinoe free-kick, and did so soon afterwards when directing a header at Barbieri upon receipt of Meghan Klingenberg's angled cross. In between times, Rapinoe sent Sydney Leroux scurrying down the left, from where she pulled the ball back into Christen Press' stride. Barbieri was

right behind her shot, while at the opposite end, in the shadows of the half-time whistle, Solo had to be smart to prevent Uzunlar's free-kick from finding the net, Alleway having failed to make contact with the ball as it arced in from the left. The final act of the half saw Leroux volleying wildly over after Klingenberg had linked with Lauren Holiday on the left, the midfielder's teasing cross forcing Catley to head the ball out but only as far as the speedy striker, whose execution and technique were far from ideal. Four minutes into the second spell, Johnston just failed to get on the end of a Holiday free-kick, Barbieri's catch sparking a counter-attack which saw Kerr racing through, only to be thwarted in the act of shooting by Becky Sauerbrunn's covering challenge. With referee Umpierrez continuing to dominate proceedings, much to the crowd's chagrin, the game needed something to liven it up a bit. That something was a 61st minute goal which restored the USA's lead. Solo's goal-kick found Rapinoe on half-way. She released Leroux down the left once more, her driving run taking her past Uzunlar to the by-line, from where she picked out the unmarked figure of Press with a low cross. The striker's first time shot saw her steer the ball across Barbieri into the far corner of the net - 2-1 Team USA, their lead this time deserved. Within moments, Rapinoe and Leroux linked up again, the latter's cross this time arcing just too far in front of both Wambach and the imperious Carli Lloyd, who got through a tower of work in this match, with many a potentially threatening Australian attack foundering on her interceptions and timely tackles. After Wambach had gone close with a diving header from a Holiday free-kick, and Solo had kept out a thumping twenty-five yard volley from Van Egmond at the other end of the park, Team USA made the game safe in the 78th minute. Alleway looked to play the ball forward to De Vanna, but as she had been doing all game long, Lloyd stepped in to intercept, instantly releasing Rapinoe down the left in doing so. The scorer of the USA's opening goal raced onwards, and capped the scoring with an unerring strike into the far corner of the net to the delight of the crowd - 3-1. They were still celebrating the goal when an even bigger roar emitted from the stands, the sight of crowd favourite Alex Morgan entering the fray off the bench the source of their unconfined joy. Within seconds, the substitute came close to adding a fourth goal to the scoreline, but 3-1 was more than suffice for Team USA to prevail at Australia's expense in this "Group of Death" encounter, one which could well have gone in favour of the Matildas but for Solo's super saves early on, and Lloyd's immense efforts in breaking up threatening Australian raids throughout proceedings. Team USA:     Solo; Krieger, Johnston, Sauerbrunn, Klingenberg; Press (Heath, 68), Holiday (booked, 56), Lloyd, Rapinoe (booked, 64) (Brian, 86); Wambach, Leroux (Morgan, 79) Australia:     Barbieri; Uzunlar, Alleway (Sykes, 83), Catley, Kellond-Knight; Van Egmond, Gorry (Kennedy, 80), Foord; De Vanna, Heyman (Simon, 69), Kerr Referee:     Claudia Umpierrez (Uruguay)