After sinking Australia’s sixth penalty try throughout Saturday night’s nerve-racking shootout towards France, Matildas midfielder Katrina Gorry kissed her wrist, pointed to the sky and rocked her arms.
The remaining gesture was presumably a tribute to her younger daughter, Harper, however the reasoning for her preliminary celebration wasn’t instantly obvious.
Gorry, who turned 31 on Sunday, later revealed she had been coping with a household tragedy over the earlier 48 hours, together with her fiancee’s father passing away earlier within the week.
The Matildas donned black armbands throughout the FIFA Women’s World Cup quarter-final towards France, honouring the daddy of Swedish footballer Clara Markstedt. Gorry had additionally penned a tribute to her fiancee’s father on her wrist.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Gorry confirmed that Markstedt had returned to Sweden following Australia’s 4-0 victory over Canada in Melbourne.
“My fiancee’s dad passed away a couple of nights ago. So (the celebration) was for both of them,” Gorry defined.
“It‘s been a tough 48 hours for me … my head’s been a bit everywhere, but I know that I have full support, not just here, but I know her family in Sweden too.
“I just wanted to play for him and make him proud.
“I‘m glad she’s there with her family, but I definitely wish I could be there for her.”
The Matildas booked their place within the semi-finals after a gruelling 17-minute penalty shootout, with Cortnee Vine changing the group’s tenth try and cement her title in Australian sporting folklore.
“Football is my happy place, you know, everything just leaves when you get on the field,” Markstedt mentioned.
“When you have the girls backing you up every step of the way, you have so much belief so you just keep on going.”
“It was robust, however each second we locked eyes with one another we simply knew that we needed to imagine that if it got here to it, we‘re going to go right to the end,” she continued.
“We had the belief in ourselves that we could get through the (penalties) and we could win, and I think you could see it. We were standing together as a group, we never let go of each other. The bench was together. We knew (Matildas goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold) was going to pull off some saves. So, we just had to believe in ourselves.”
Australia will face England in the World Cup semi-final at Sydney Olympic Park on Wednesday evening, with kick-off scheduled for 8pm AEST.
Originally published as ‘It‘s been a tough 48 hours’: Katrina Gorry’s tribute to fiancee’s father after household tragedy
Source: www.news.com.au
