BOCHUM, Germany (AFP) - Australia kept their World Cup dream alive with goals from Leena Khamis, Emily Van Egmond and Lisa De Vanna giving them a crucial 3-2 Group D win over Equatorial Guinea on Sunday.
A double from Guinean captain Anonman could not lift the African debutantes, who crash out of the tournament with one match to play after losing 1-0 to Norway in their opener.
The Matildas needed a win to keep in the running for their second consecutive quarter-final showing after losing 1-0 to Brazil.
With three points from two games, their future hinges on the outcome of Sunday's late clash between unbeaten sides Brazil and Norway, and next Wednesday's final group game against the Scandinavians.
"I'm pleased with the win—it means we're still in the competition," said Australian coach Tom Sermanni.
"Hopefully we're in a position to decide our own destiny."
Described as "unpredictable" by Sermanni, the Australians found it difficult to control the pacy Africans early on, despite Sydney FC forward Khamis opening for the Matildas after eight minutes.
But there was some controversy in the 16th minute when Khamis hit the post and African defender Bruna caught the ball, believing a free-kick had been awarded, dropped it and played on.
The incident was not seen by Hungarian referee Gyoengyi Gaal, who later apologised through FIFA for missing the obvious hand-ball.
Anonman got the equaliser after 21 minutes with a spectacular solo run to the delight of the 15,640 crowd.
The 22-year-old dispossessed tumbling striker Servet Uzunlar to race towards goal, beating dithering Australian defender Elise Kellond-Knight and then finishing past advancing goalkeeper Lydia Williams.
Van Egmond and Khamis both missed chances, and Australia almost regained the lead two minutes before the break when Colette McCallum's free-kick from the edge of the box hit the crossbar.
The 11th-ranked Australians came out battling after the break, with 17-year-old Van Egmond getting her first international goal three minutes later before substitute De Vanna slotted home a third after 51 minutes.
The Africans kept pushing and Anonman, who plays for German club Jena, took advantage of another Uzunlar error to fire past Williams after 83 minutes.
"As a team we could have done a bit better," said player of the match De Vanna. "The refereeing wasn't the greatest but that's how the game is. We got the three points and that's all that matters."
Sermanni said he had not seen the handball.
"The referee can't be 100 percent right all the time. I didn't see it, the referee missed it, you just have to move on," he said.
Equatorial Guinea coach Marcello Frigerio said he was proud of the effort shown by his side, who are ranked just 61st in the world.
"Our country has a very low ranking. We lost 1-0 to Norway and then had a very close defeat today. This is something we can be proud of," he said.
"We tried to play a good match and leave a good impression."
Controversy has surrounded the team, with Anonman remaining in the squad despite a pre-tournament gender row, while sisters Salimata and Bilguisa Simpore, both accused of being men, were excluded.
"We regret very much that some of our important players had to be left at home," added Frigerio.
Australia play Norway next Wednesday in Leverkusen, with Equatorial Guinea challenging Brazil on the same day in Frankfurt.
A double from Guinean captain Anonman could not lift the African debutantes, who crash out of the tournament with one match to play after losing 1-0 to Norway in their opener.
The Matildas needed a win to keep in the running for their second consecutive quarter-final showing after losing 1-0 to Brazil.
With three points from two games, their future hinges on the outcome of Sunday's late clash between unbeaten sides Brazil and Norway, and next Wednesday's final group game against the Scandinavians.
"I'm pleased with the win—it means we're still in the competition," said Australian coach Tom Sermanni.
"Hopefully we're in a position to decide our own destiny."
Described as "unpredictable" by Sermanni, the Australians found it difficult to control the pacy Africans early on, despite Sydney FC forward Khamis opening for the Matildas after eight minutes.
But there was some controversy in the 16th minute when Khamis hit the post and African defender Bruna caught the ball, believing a free-kick had been awarded, dropped it and played on.
The incident was not seen by Hungarian referee Gyoengyi Gaal, who later apologised through FIFA for missing the obvious hand-ball.
Anonman got the equaliser after 21 minutes with a spectacular solo run to the delight of the 15,640 crowd.
The 22-year-old dispossessed tumbling striker Servet Uzunlar to race towards goal, beating dithering Australian defender Elise Kellond-Knight and then finishing past advancing goalkeeper Lydia Williams.
Van Egmond and Khamis both missed chances, and Australia almost regained the lead two minutes before the break when Colette McCallum's free-kick from the edge of the box hit the crossbar.
The 11th-ranked Australians came out battling after the break, with 17-year-old Van Egmond getting her first international goal three minutes later before substitute De Vanna slotted home a third after 51 minutes.
The Africans kept pushing and Anonman, who plays for German club Jena, took advantage of another Uzunlar error to fire past Williams after 83 minutes.
"As a team we could have done a bit better," said player of the match De Vanna. "The refereeing wasn't the greatest but that's how the game is. We got the three points and that's all that matters."
Sermanni said he had not seen the handball.
"The referee can't be 100 percent right all the time. I didn't see it, the referee missed it, you just have to move on," he said.
Equatorial Guinea coach Marcello Frigerio said he was proud of the effort shown by his side, who are ranked just 61st in the world.
"Our country has a very low ranking. We lost 1-0 to Norway and then had a very close defeat today. This is something we can be proud of," he said.
"We tried to play a good match and leave a good impression."
Controversy has surrounded the team, with Anonman remaining in the squad despite a pre-tournament gender row, while sisters Salimata and Bilguisa Simpore, both accused of being men, were excluded.
"We regret very much that some of our important players had to be left at home," added Frigerio.
Australia play Norway next Wednesday in Leverkusen, with Equatorial Guinea challenging Brazil on the same day in Frankfurt.
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