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Australia 3 : 2 Equatorial Guinea
 Eleventh ranked Australia beat 61st ranked Equatorial Guinea to continue Group D play in a game marked by dramatic goals, rough play and resounding controversy.
 Australia opened the board in the 8th minute when Leena Khamis buried a shot at the top of the goal box off of a deflection from a shot from Sally Shipard.
Australia’s delight was overshadowed about 20 minutes by what could be the most controversial case of referee incompetence this tournament will see. Khamis volleyed across her body a few yards off of the end line, only to see it bounce off the post. Guinea’s Bruna caught the still-live ball in her hands and held it for several moments before tossing it to her goalkeeper to punt it forward.
The Matildas, spewing black smoke from their ears, appealed to anyone with an official capacity, but could not even compel the referee to consult with her linesman.
Moments later, off of a deep punt from the goalkeeper, Guinea’s Anonma capitalized on the confusion by beating Aussie goalkeeper Lydia Williams one-on-one to equalize.
Australia dominated the first half, keeping 70% of the possession. Even in America’s rout of Colombia yesterday, the US never held possession for more than 60% of the time. They also outshot Guinea 10-4 with four of those being on goal to just two of Guinea’s.
Besides Bruna’s bear hug of God, the only other representative in this tournament from Africa besides Nigeria had the dubious distinction of out-fouling the Aussies 8-1 and also picked up a yellow card on Anonma for dissension.
The Aussies exploded out of the locker room after half time, breaking the tie in just the 48th minute. Collettte McCallum ran down a long ball on the left side, sliding a pass across the goal mouth from the end line, which was narrowly missed by Lisa De Vanna running on at the penalty, mark but then buried by Emily van Egmond.
De Vanna replaced Shipard at half time and nearly overtook the record for quickest goal from a substitute that America’s Megan Rapinoe set just the day before by scoring in the 50th minute against Colombia.
McCallum, whose left-footed targeted set pieces nearly gave the Aussies another two goals over the run of play, served a long ball to De Vanna who cushioned it off her chest to her feet, took a touch to beat the rushing Miriam, and lightly finished for a goal in the 51st minute.
The run of pay continued to be controlled by the Socceroos, but Guinea did not give up. They added six more shots to their overall tally, two of which were on goal. However, their reckless play did not fade either. They received another two yellow cards and nine fouls in the second half for a staggering game total of 17. With the rough play and dramatic injuries, Guinea began to see the officiating attitude shift to favor Australia in challenges on both sides of the ball.
It looked like Bruna’s indiscretion was not going to affect final outcome, but Anonma had still not lost her focused determination. She stripped the ball from defender Servet Uzunlar in the 83rd minute at the top of the penalty box and slotted past Williams into the far post.
Australia held on in the final minutes to get a much-needed but bittersweet victory to put them in good standing in group play. Equatorial Guinea will need Norway’s help to keep their hopes afloat. A win or tie for Brazil will keep the first-time qualifying Equatorial Guinea from advancement.
 Kara McDermott happily gets up at 5:00 am on the weekends to watch World Cup action and write for her blog, Waving the Rave. (www.wavingrave.wordpress.com)
