The Matildas’ Olympic medal dreams are still alive after one of the most thrilling internationals in football history.
Australia looked dead and buried just after half-time when they trailed by three goals, but were brought back from the grave by skipper Steph Catley and inspired super sub Michelle Heyman, who each netted second half doubles.
A second loss after their 4-2 disaster against Germany on the opening day of the Games would have all but assured an early exit from the tournament in Paris.
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But their hopes of progressing through Group B remain alive with one game left to play, against the USA.
Zambia took just 40 seconds to score their first in what was an ominous sign of what was yet to come.
A gluttony of goals followed and, despite Alana Kennedy and Hayley Raso goals, the Aussies trailed 4-2 at half time thanks to a first half hattrick from Barbra Banda.
Zambia made it 5-2 and looked all but assured of victory shortly after half time when Racheal Kundananji scored in the 56th minute, but there was more drama yet to come.
The Matildas’ gave an immediate response just two minutes later when Mary Fowler set up Michelle Heyman, who had only just ran onto the field, for a shot from inside the goal area that forced a Zambia own goal to make it 5-3.
Suddenly the contest was alive once again, and Australia were coming with a bullet, scoring what they thought was a fourth just three minutes later, until the VAR overruled to call a clear penalty on Heyman, who had set up Caitlin Foord for the would-be goal.
“Staggering miss in real time, really. It’s fairly obvious the goal will not stand,” Brenton Speed said on commentary.
“Far from controversial, that.”
But the world no.12-ranked Aussies weren’t done yet, as Catley fired a bullet from a set piece just outside the box that went straight through the hands of Zambian keeper Ng’ambo Musole’s hands.
If you turned away for even a minute, you would have missed the next chapter in what a classic thriller.
Pressing for a fifth and equalising goal, Foord found herself at the edge of the area with a defender in her grill as she tried to cross a ball in.
The ball was kicked in and world’s 64th-ranked team defended with their lives to hang on to the dwindling one-goal lead, but Foord had hit the deck after having her foot clearly stepped on in a sloppy defensive effort.
The VAR was called once again, and this time it worked in Australia’s favour, as the Matildas were handed an obvious penalty.
Catley made it two in a row and the score was level, but the rollercoaster was far from over.
Australia generated yet another shot on goal less than 30 seconds later as the Zambians struggled to stop the Matildas tidal wave.
It looked for a brief moment that a sixth goal might be a bridge too far for Australia, especially after Caitlin Foord’s 89th-minute shot was denied.
But the Aussies took a barely believable lead in stoppage time when the veteran super sub Heyman did it again.
The 36-year-old broke into the box and curled the winner around Musole as Australian households, at just before 5am AEST, erupted around the country.
“Michelle Heyman, take a bow. She has dethroned the Copper Queens,” Speed said.
“Goal number 27 for her country, out of international retirement, and delivering a moment like that.”
Australia had one nervous moment left to navigate when the Zambians nearly equalised once more, but Matildas goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold blocked the shot with a reflexive right foot six minutes into stoppage time.
Speaking to Nine after the blinding clash, the hero of the moment, Heyman, said she knew she could make an impact when she came on.
“Such a good feeling, it’s that never say die attitude,” she said.
“I just wanted to get on that field and give it my all. I really want that medal and I’ll do anything I can to bring it home.”
She tried to describe the feeling, but admitted she “really can’t”.
“I wake up and think ‘holy s*** I’m here, I’m at the Olympics’,” she said.
“I do it for my family, it’s the love for the game that keeps me going.”
With the win, the Matildas remain a live chance to win a medal, and they believe they can get there.
“One hundred per cent, we want that medal,” Heyman said.
“We’re really trying our hardest to bring something home. We knew we could do it and we knew it (the winning goal) was going to come.”