Mark Bosnich slams Matildas coach for failing to unleash Mary Fowler in Sam Kerr’s absence

Australian football legend Mark Bosnich has laid into Football Australia for what he believes has been a costly blunder.

Australian football legend Mark Bosnich has slammed interim coach Tom Sermanni for failing to get the most out of his Matildas stars after the side were bundled out of the SheBelieves Cup on Thursday.

The Matildas have struggled to replicate anything close to their performance at the last World Cup where they reached the semi-finals in a run that turned many casual sports fans into Matildas fanatics.

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But since then the side has failed at the Olympics and more recently went winless at the SheBelieves Cup.

And once again the story was the same as it has been for the past 12 months.

The Matildas attack was toothless managing just two goals in three games and their defence was arguably worse, conceding eight goals.

And after the 2-1 loss to Columbia on Thursday, Bosnich questioned why Football Australia hadn’t relieved Sermanni of his post and signed a new full-time coach with the Asian Cup on home soil next year.

“The most important thing for the Matildas is to win this competition (the Asian Cup),” Bosnich told Wide World of Sports.

Pictured Mark Bosnich left and Sam Kerr right.

“I think a par for the tournament will be the semi-finals but a lot of people will be saying a par should be to win it but after hearing about Japan I’m not so sure. A decision (on who should be the next Matildas coach) needs to be made as quick as possible for everyone’s sake because it is leaving everything in limbo.”

Major alarm bells ringing ahead of Asian Cup tilt

Whoever is named the next Matildas coach will have a massive task ahead of them.

The Australian side’s defence has long been shaky but the attack of Kerr, Fowler and Caitlin Foord has got them out of trouble on multiple occassions and has therefore allowed them to compete with the best in the world.

After the World Cup many pitted Fowler as Kerr’s successor and Australia’s next superstar.

However, despite her fine form for club side Manchester City - where she has net six goals and six assists in 13 games this season - she looks lost in the Matildas attack.

Mary Fowler has struggled at international level since Sam Kerr’s injury. (Getty Images via AFP)

And with Kerr’s return to the national team still unclear, as she continues to recover from a ruptured ACL, Bosnich has called on Sermanni to find a way to best utilise Fowler’s undoubted ability.

“The structural problems (seen at the Olympics) still seem quite prevalent, especially in attack – namely being their inability to get the ball early to Mary Fowler,” Bosnich added.

“They need to find Fowler so she has as much time and space to do her damage … That’s something they really have to sort out because she is a weapon that is being under-utilised right now.”

Originally published as Mark Bosnich slams Matildas coach for failing to unleash Mary Fowler in Sam Kerr’s absence