the actress & the athlete | sam kerr

eleven

notepads in hand, and blue scarves around their necks, sophia, margaret and sheva sat intently waiting for kickoff at 5pm. a sea of empty cobalt seats that would quickly fill up surrounded them, but they got there early, contently taking it all in.

the triple threat sat in the family and friends section, escaping the loud match-goers and avoiding the potential of paparazzi at all costs. it wasn't long before the stadium filled and fans instantly recognised the girls, like fish out of water. sheva was flicking through the match day programme, sam and guro celebrating on the cover, beaming to herself whenever she caught a glimpse of the girl she admired so much.

it was not lost on the other leading lady's just how smitten sheva was. sophia and margaret often exchanging glances of recognition of how sheva's eyes would light up at the mention or sight of sam, which was now tenfold at kingsmeadow.

sheva put on her sunglasses and wrapped up in her scarf. the late september skies in london were unpredictable, the sun and the clouds reasserting their dominance every quarter of an hour. she ran her hands through her now-dull, usually californian and sun kissed hair, getting comfortable for the 90-or-so minutes ahead.

chelsea were up against west ham, a historic derby with not much rivalry these days. chelsea were used to taking the 3-points and west ham seemed to surrender them without resistance, but still. a derby all the same.

people spilled into the ground pretty quickly after a while, coffees cups and pies in hand in full british tradition. margaret even snagged herself a hot-dog for the full experience before plonking next to sheva.

"are you excited to see your girl?"

"my girl, eh?" sheva spoke back, feasting on the thought of sam being her's.

margaret simply took that as a yes, nodding and digging into her mustard lathered meat-in-a-bun (which she later submitted to footy scran).

before long, it was time for the starting eleven to make their way onto the pitch, people in blue jerseys roaring and chanting for their team, while sheva patiently awaited sam's emergence, clapping her hands together not to leave a hint that she was scanning the fresh turf.

6'
an early chance for chelsea welcomed a confidence to the team and fans. bright securing a long pass to kerr who promised the scorecard it's first shot on target, the ball firmly grasped by kerr's international teammate mackenzie arnold.

sam took a brief moment to reevaluate her chance and come back down to earth, her hands coming to hold onto her head as sheva watched on, now sharing margaret's popcorn.

"just think, like, if you married sam, this could be your life." margaret noted while sheva side eyed.

before she could respond, sophia interrupted, "you should consider it, this is the life." the native english girl was consumed by the culture she'd lost touch with.

13'
after a battle in the box, west ham secure a corner putting the pressure on chelsea to no avail, jess carter putting in a significant tackle to regain possession.

sam and fran stayed upfront, knowing the defence had them covered and preparing to bring the shot up the pitch. in a rare moment of nothingness in a busy game, fran looked around to find sheva and pointed her out to sam. sheva's eyes were permanently on the striker, so it didn't take long for their eyes to meet. sheva did a small wave as fran playfully nudged her infatuated teammate who winked at the blonde in the stands.

21'

with a high pressing team like chelsea, it wasn't long until they bagged their first goal, curled off their star player sam kerr's right foot, within an instant hitting the back of the net. 1-0.