The Matildas believe they have rediscovered their identity after back-to-back wins over Korea Republic that not only solved the riddle of how to get the best out of Mary Fowler, but also proved the side is still a box office brand.
Consecutive victories were the perfect tonic for a side low on confidence after a dismal showing at the SheBelieves Cup in America in February.
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The side might still be operating in caretaker mode under the guidance of Tom Sermanni, but it finally felt like some progress had been made, extricating the side from a painful period of post-Olympic limbo.
The road to the Asian Cup on home soil next year will remain filled with uncertainty while the search for a new full-time coach goes on, but even that appears to be coming to an end.
If Football Australia snares its leading candidate in current Lyon coach Joe Montemurro in the coming weeks, then the extent to which the sides preparation for that tournament has been compromised so far will be somewhat minimised.
BACK-TO-BACK WINS BREEDS CONFIDENCE
Two wins and two clean sheets.
That hasn’t happened since victories over Uzbekistan in February and Mexico in April last year.
“I think for a bit of time we maybe didn’t feel like we had our identity in our performances, and we were just losing games, and I think a bit lost in why we were losing so poorly,” said Mary Fowler.
The 1-nil win over Korea Republic in the first friendly in Sydney on Friday night was a classic case of being physical if you couldn’t be clinical.
“So, I think this camp all the girls feel like we’re enjoying it a bit more and we feel like we’ve got a bit of fight back,” Fowler continued.
Part of that fight over form situation in Sydney was down to the state of the pitch at Allianz Stadium. Several players continually lost their footing on a ground that has seen an enormous amount of traffic over the last few months. The Socceroos also suffered a similar problem in their World Cup qualifier against Indonesia in March.
It was a different story in Newcastle. The side started to show signs of cohesion with the ball – particularly in the second half – and deserved more than the two goals they finished with.
“I thought we played some really incisive, dynamic football at times,” said Sermanni.
“I thought we kept the ball well; we made a lot of good decisions in possession. We still need to do a little bit better in taking care in possession at times. Some of those turn overs could have cost us.”
The Matildas can take heart from that fact these two victories were achieved without several players who are usually among the first on the team sheet.
Ellie Carpenter, Hayley Raso, Mackenzie Arnold and Katrina Gorry all missed the two fixtures due to injury. If a similar situation occurs before or during the Asian Cup there’ll be some small sense of comfort amongst the unease.
“I think at major tournaments that’s where you really feel that you need depth,” said captain Steph Catley.
“As you can see you can pick up injuries very, very quickly and half the team can be out within the blink of an eye so its important that other players step up.”
Tillies down South Korea in Sydney | 01:38
FITTING IN FOWLER ONE OF THE KEYS TO SUSTAINED SUCCESS
Putting arguably Australia’s most technically gifted player in her preferred position doesn’t seem like a difficult decision, but it is one that has stumped successive Matildas’ coaches when it comes to Mary Fowler.
In a bid to get as many of the Matildas best players out on the pitch at the same time, Fowler has been used as a striker and a central attacking midfielder over the last two years. That has allowed Caitlin Foord, Hayley Raso, Tameka Yallop, Kaitlyn Torpey and Sharn Freier to be used on the wings. The by-product was Fowler not quite being able to make her mark on games with play going around her instead of through her.
“At clubland I play on the wing quite often and I really like playing there,” Fowler said.
“I see a lot of the field from there and just a lot of different angles.”
It’s an assessment Sermanni now agrees with too after conversations with Fowler in camp over the last week and he named her to start on the left flank against Korea Republic in Newcastle on Monday night.
The result? Fowler scored Australia’s first and she produced her most creative display in a Matildas jersey for some time.
The Manchester City star has had to be flexible to accommodate others. It seems the reverse of that situation might just be one of the big keys to success for Australia.
“On a personal level I want to try and be a bit more consistent with my performances with the national team, so I think being out in that position made it a bit easier for me to be in a role that I’ve played quite a bit this season,” said Fowler.
The 22-year-old insists she’ll play anywhere for the national team but keeping Fowler in her most dangerous position and juggling Foord, Raso, Yallop and Torpey elsewhere might just lead to greater overall results for the side.
TEAGAN MICAH GETS HER TIME TO SHINE AGAIN
Teagan Micah is not a newcomer, a fill-in or a back-up. The shot-stopper is a genuine contender to be first choice goalkeeper for the Matildas again.
Again, is the key word.
Mackenzie Arnold shone so bright at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023 with Micah on the bench, that it’s easy to forget the roles quite easily could’ve been reversed.
Micah was in goal for five of the Matildas’ six-games at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and played the last four friendlies of 2022 before a nasty concussion, suffered during a Champions League game for club side Rosengard in December that year, sidelined her for several months.
Those months included the all-important build-up to the Women’s World Cup. Arnold literally took the opportunity with both hands.
However, an arm injury, suffered in training in Sydney, saw Arnold ruled out of the two fixtures against Korea Republic and sent back to NWSL side Portland Thorns.
Micah made the most of her chance with two assured displays and now the coveted spot between the sticks could be hers to lose with under a year to go until the Asian Cup on home soil.
“It’s still far away, but of course it’s on the forefront of all our minds, but for me it’s just one game at a time and that’s just how I’m taking it,” Micah said after the first game against Korea Republic in Sydney.
Asked if she felt like she had re-emerged from the shadow of Arnold, Micah added that she felt “really good” in herself and that it was “a tough question but yeah, for sure.”
Micah has now started in Australia’s last four fixtures, but playing time at club level could have a big role in the battle for the green and gold gloves.
Micah has been on the bench for Liverpool in their last four games while Arnold is first choice at the Portland Thorns in America.
MATILDAS-MANIA NOT DULLED BY RECENT POOR RUN
A poor campaign at the Paris Olympics where the side failed to get out of its group and a mixed run of results since threatened to take the shine off the Matildas Women’s World Cup heroics, but these two matches proved the bond between the side and its fans is deeper than big tournament infatuation.
37,199 rocked up at Allianz Stadium in Sydney on Friday night before another 28,019 packed into McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle. To get a crowd that big for a friendly on a Monday night is no small feat. The figure smashed the Matildas previous record at the venue which was 20,495 from 2021.
“It just shows that people really do care and it’s so nice when we’re coming on the bus on the way to the games, you look out and you see little boys with their dads and all different types of demographics coming to watch us,” said Catley.
“Its special that this team brings people together the way that it does.”
KERR REMAINS FAN FAVOURITE AS COMEBACK EDGES CLOSER
Sam Kerr was an unexpected member of this camp. Chelsea and Australian medical staff decided it was beneficial for the striker to continue her rehabilitation from an anterior cruciate ligament injury in Sydney during the international break.
The merits of jumping on a plane to travel halfway around the world while in the final stages of a comeback from a significant injury are debatable, but her appearances on the big screens in Sydney and Newcastle while watching from the stands proved one thing: Matildas fans still love Sam Kerr.
That was an open question just a week ago following a rollercoaster court case involving the 31-year-old where context was added steadily with every day’s proceedings.
The case ended with the forward being found not guilty of racially aggravated harassment of a police officer, but that context didn’t stop Kerr arriving in Australia with debate raging about her suitability to remain captain of the side.
It’s worth mentioning as a side note that the press release announcing Kerr would be linking up with the Matildas used the word “leadership” three times. It spoke of Kerr as a “valued member” who was looking forward to “rejoining the team.” Nowhere is the word “captain” used. It could be reading too much into a statement that was always going to be carefully crafted, but it was an interesting distinction nonetheless.
Regardless of whether Kerr continues as captain or perhaps shares it with Steph Catley, who has filled in admirably in Kerr’s absence, Football Australia (FA) got an unexpected public opinion poll during this window. Kerr’s captaincy prospects might’ve lit up radio talkback lines for days, but it’s clear FA’s core constituents are united. Just over 65-thousand fans across two-games erupted every time they caught a glimpse of the former Ballon d’Or nominee.
“You read a lot of stuff, and you hear a lot of stuff; the real Matildas supporters showed what they think of Sam Kerr, and they’re absolutely delighted to have her back, as are the team, as are the staff and obviously hopefully Sam is happy to be,” Sermanni said.
“She has been a really positive influence around the squad and hopefully it’s not too long before she is back on the pitch.”
THE JOE MONTEMURRO SHOW LOOMS LARGE
It seems Joe Montemurro is FA’s preferred candidate to finally relieve Sermanni of his interim duties.
Montemurro is currently employed by French side Lyon and has a contract with the powerhouse club until the end of the 2026 season.
Still, that didn’t stop him recently admitting to having discussions with Football Australia over the full-time role on two occasions.
The Australian also has stints at Arsenal and Juventus on his resume and is really the only candidate it makes sense waiting this long for given Tony Gustavsson stepped down in August 2024.
If Montemurro does decide to leave Lyon and jump into the Matildas hot seat, then the matter of timing is unclear.
Lyon is about to face Arsenal in the semi-finals of the Women’s Champions League over the next three weeks. The French league season wraps up on May 8, but the Champions League final is on May 25, just five days before Australia’s next game against Argentina.
That would be too tight a turnaround and puts the focus squarely on potential fixtures in an available window in late June and early July.
The players have the utmost respect for Sermanni and the job he has done over a period that has gone on longer than even he expected but it’s clear the squad is crying out for certainty.
“It’s hard as a playing group when you’re in limbo a little bit,” said Catley.
“You haven’t got clear direction in how we’re going to play moving forward. Tommy has done a great job coming in. He creates an amazing culture for the girls, a real positive energy. You can’t fault him in how he’s gone about it, but it is difficult when you’re trying to build towards something specific and its been a while since we’ve had that.”
“Hopefully it gets done sooner rather than later.”
No-one will disagree with that.
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