AFL Women's: Carlton, Collingwood deliver excitement in first match as Blues win.

A full house at Princes Park has watched Carlton’s Darcy Vescio emerge as a star as the Blues won the first match of the inaugural AFL Women’s season.

Vescio was excellent in the historic match with four goals at Princes Park, while pre-tournament favourite Moana Hope struggled to get involved for the Magpies.

The match was a lock-out, with over 1,000 fans outside the gates in addition to the estimated 24,500 watching in the ground as Carlton won the inaugural match 7.4 (46) to 1.5 (11).

Collingwood was rarely allowed to send the ball deep enough for their drawcard, with Hope spending most of the match a long way forward.

The earliest exchanges left a bit to be desired for those hoping for a goal rush as the two teams threw their nervous energy into hard tackling.

But, after a few minutes of stop-start action, both teams settled into a rhythm.

Five-and-a-half minutes in, Collingwood captain Steph Chiocci snapped across her body for a behind, marking the opening point of the inaugural AFL Women’s season.

Then, two minutes later, Jasmine Garner secured her place in history by marking 20 metres out and kicking truly for the first major.

Unfortunately it was the black and white’s only goal of the match as a Vescio-led Blues side jumped out to a first-quarter lead that they did not relinquish.

Brianna Davey was also superb with a match-best 26 disposals as the Blues ran all over the Pies.

The quality of the match certainly declined in the latter stages as both teams clearly tired, although the result was secondary to the moment.

Capacity crowd turns out to watch historic match

Initially slated to be played at the Olympic Park, the game was moved to Princes Park to cope with fan demand, but it still could not quite reach the level required.

During the match, AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan personally apologised to the fans stranded outside the gates.

“I apologise because it’s not what we wanted but I hope you understand,” McLachlan told the masses.
Police had the call to shut the gates for safety reasons, but according to Vescio the crowd was still deafening.

“We could hardly hear anything out here,” she told Channel Seven.

“That’s what it’s all about; we just want people to get out here and watch us play and see what we create.”

This post originally appeared on ABC News.