SNAPSHOT OF AUSTRALIA'S WORLD CUP GAME AGAINST IRELAND

* Result: Australia 1 defeat Ireland 0 in front of 75,783 at Stadium Australia

* Key moment: Stand-in captain Steph Catley kept a level head amid a cacophony of sound when she dispatched the winning goal in the 52nd minute from the penalty spot. Catley sent Irish goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan the wrong way and buried her effort into the top left corner.

* Player of the match: Katrina Gorry. When all around her were losing their heads the midfield dynamo kept her cool and never overplayed her hand. She was willing to receive the ball from deep and push forward when her side needed her to. And when the Irish got physical the experienced midfielder was only too happy to fight fire with fire.

* Stat that matters: Tony Gustavsson had never won a game as Matildas coach without Sam Kerr playing a role until Thursday. The Australian captain's absence meant that the victory was the first time they had won without the Chelsea forward since they beat minnows Zimbabwe 6-1 in 2016.

* Quote: I think it's been a long build-up to this game and there has obviously been a lot of anticipation, a lot of anxiety. That's natural. I think you could see that in moments. We were nervy and probably didn't play as calmly as we normally do and Ireland were fantastic." - Steph Catley.

* What's next: Australia will face Nigeria in Brisbane next week while Ireland will look to build on an encouraging World Cup bow when they head to Perth to face Olympic champions Canada.