Angry Matildas fans blast ‘cowardly’ Lionesses’ aggressive approach in World Cup semi-final as they accuse England of ‘being out for Sam Kerr’

Australian fans rioted at England’s aggressive approach in the Women’s World Cup semi-final.

The Lionesses set up their booth in Sydney early on Wednesday night, with some solid challenges in the first half.

From the early exchanges, England looked determined to hold off Australia as high as possible with Ella Toone and Lucy Bronze both penalized by referee Tori Penso.

Matildas fullback Steph Catley was pushed to the pitch twice, as the Lionesses successfully disrupted Australia’s rhythm, never letting the hosts settle.

England gave away nine fouls to Australia’s in the first 45 minutes, with Lionesses defender Alex Greenwood the only player to receive a yellow card in the first half.

Matildas skipper Sam Kerr (right) was at the end of contusion treatment from England

Unsurprisingly, the physical approach did not please Matilda’s fans, who took to social media to express their frustration.

“Real lionesses are brave. I don’t know what this England squad thinks they are, but they look more like cowardly dogs to me,” tweeted an Australian fan.

Another added, “Didn’t know you could kick someone right in the face or throw a knee in.”

A fan, meanwhile, suggested the Lionesses’ approach would be more suited to the upcoming Rugby World Cup.

“Looks like the England women’s team have brought their rugby skills to the football pitch!” the tweet read.

Some supporters, meanwhile, suggested England had deliberately targeted Matildas skipper Sam Kerr, who started the tournament for the first time on Wednesday night.

“Although I’m ambivalent about who I want to win, I’d rather #England not kick Sam Kerr to pieces so hard,” one of them tweeted.

Another added: “England are out tonight for Sam Kerr.”

Matildas fans accused the lionesses of being cowardly in their approach on Wednesday

Another fan complained that Australia was not being protected by referee Tori Penso

While another supporter joked that England had taken a rugby-like approach

Kerr came into the Matildas starting eleven ahead of Emily Van Egmond despite only playing 75 minutes in the World Cup so far.

The 29-year-old injured her left calf on July 19, a day before the opener of the Australian tournament against Ireland.

The Chelsea forward missed all three group stage games as a result, but came off the bench for the last 10 minutes in their 2-0 win over Denmark in the Round of 16.

Kerr was introduced with 55 minutes played in the quarter-final against France on Saturday and converted her penalty in the shoot-out.

On Monday, Matildas’ skipper revealed she shrugged off the calf injury she suffered in training for the tournament, but revealed the plan was always to get her fit for the semi-finals.

“When I hurt my calf, the plan was always to (try to) be ready for a semi-final, the final.

“So I could have started against France, but who knows what could have happened?

England defender Alex Greenwood (right) was the only player to receive a yellow card in the first half

Some Matildas fans claimed that England were desperate to stop Kerr by any means necessary

The sentiment was shared even by some neutrals, who noted the punitive treatment meted out to the Matildas skipper.

“The girls crushed it and absolutely dominated.

“I was ready to go, but we had a plan this whole tournament and we had to stick to it.

“That was part of the plan, to get 20 minutes against Denmark to feel better for this game and now with another, what, 65 minutes, it makes me feel better and have more training under my belt.

So I feel ready to go. I think with everything that’s going on, the best thing for (the game against France) was the plan we did and the plan we followed.”