Matildas v Korea Republic analysis: Mary Fowler shines as Tom Sermanni era nears end

In what may have been his final game as the Matildas’ interim coach, Tom Sermanni has solved the Mary Fowler mystery that has blighted the national team for years.

Mary Fowler scores the Matildas’ opening goal against Korea Republic. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

It wasn’t in his job purview but interim Matildas coach Tom Sermanni has solved the Mary Fowler conundrum in what could well have been his last game at the helm.

Fowler’s role was never clear under Tony Gustavsson’s reign – he moved her from midfield to striker to winger and back to midfield.

But the 22-year-old was the standout in the Matildas 2-0 win over Korea Republic in Newcastle on Monday night.

Sermanni lined her up on the left wing, as part of a four strong midfield alongside Kyra Cooney-Cross, Clare Wheeler and Tameka Yallop.

She had Holly McNamara and Emily van Egmond in front of her.

Fowler was electric. She had plenty of touches on the ball.

Mary Fowler celebrates her goal against Korea Republic. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Her energy was contagious. The Matildas had 16 shots on goal, seven on target. In their first clash, where Fowler came off the bench, they had 13 shots with just three on target.

Fowler made space, runs, crosses, shots on goal – scoring the first goal of the night.

The ever humble Fowler gave all the credit to Newcastle local van Egmond, who did play a very sweet ball into the attacker.

But Fowler then had to put on her dancing shoes and dazzle her way through two defenders before perfectly placing the ball into the goal.

“The hardest part was probably the pass from EVE,” Fowler said post match.

“It was perfectly weighted, I think with those sorts of things it’s like habit almost, sometimes they go in and sometimes they don’t, but credit goes to EVE for the pass.”

Regardless of who gets the credit it was a Fowler we haven’t seen for months.

She enjoyed having the ball so much there were times where she would put in a cross from the left wing and then sprint back across into the midfield to help out again.

In recent times she had often looked lost on the field and hardly involved at all.

But a simple genius switch from Sermanni back to the trusted 4-4-2 formation flicked proved the key.

Fowler, who plays on the wing for English WSL side Manchester City, said she certainly feels much more comfortable in that position.

“I really like playing on the wing,” Fowler said.

“I see a lot of the field from there, and just a lot of different angles.

“On a personal level I want to try to be a bit more consistent with my performance in the national team. I think being in that position made it a bit easier for me to be in a role that I've played quite a bit this season.

“Coming into a national team I always try to be a player that’s putting the team first so if the coach wants to play me somewhere else I’ll put my hand up to go play there but I think it’s just trying to get the balance of trying to get the best out of you and the best out of the team at the same time.

“It was nice being out there on the wing, I felt more comfortable, I felt like I could give more to the team there.”

Matildas fans saw the best of Mary Fowler on Monday. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Sermanni said he had spent time chatting to Fowler this camp trying to work out where she wanted to play and how to get the most out of the star who has six goals and seven assists for City this season.

“We played wider but also tried to get her involved a little bit more infield to get her on the ball as much as possible,” Sermanni said.

“I haven’t seen Mary in a lot of games because of injury and various things but I thought tonight was the most involved that I’ve seen her in a game since I’ve been the coach. You see how valuable a player she is when she actually gets on the ball.”

END OF AN ERA

It isn’t locked in, even Sermanni wasn’t sure if that was his last game as the Matildas interim coach – but wonky results aside there is no denying he has had a big impact during his eight months with the team.

He certainly wasn’t a stranger to the Matildas nor the players – this was his third stint at the helm.

When he came in the Matildas were at rock bottom having been knocked out of the Olympics in the group stage with just one narrow win from their three games.

There were reports of culture issues and unhappy players.

Sermanni had his work cut out for him.

He didn’t expect the job to last this long. While it has left the team in limbo in terms of strategies and team formations moving forward to the Asian Cup it has seen their team morale rise.

Tom Sermanni is unsure if he has managed his last game as Matildas coach. Picture: Saeed Khan/AFP

And he has them back playing football with a smile on their face and a bit of energy about them.

Captain Steph Catley only had praise for the coach.

“Tom has done a great job coming in, he creates an amazing culture for the girls, a real positive energy and you can’t fault him and how he’s gone about it,” she said.

Tash Prior, who was given her Matildas debut by Sermanni said the coach had a huge influence over the team and was a “calming” influence.

SQUAD DEEPENS

Squad depth is the key to any strong sporting team at any level and Sermanni has made a good start on creating that for whomever he passes the whistle too.

While many of his decisions were forced on him through injury to regular players it has yielded positive results.

Matildas pulled off back to back wins, without conceding a goal, against Korea Republic with a squad that was missing six of the players who lined up for their World Cup semi-final in 2023.

Catley said depth was crucial coming into the Asian Cup.

“At major tournaments that is where you really feel that you need depth,” Catley said.

“As you can see you can pick up injuries very quickly and half your team can be out in a blink of an eye.

“We are at the very early stages of a rebuild and that happens every cycle when you are leading into major tournaments.

“We’ve got less than a year to build. It’s about trying new players, trying people in different positions.

“Sometimes it’s going to be growing pains and we’ve definitely been through that, it’s about peaking at the right time and creating depth and making sure we’re giving players the opportunity to prove themselves at the right time.”

Under Sermanni’s recent stint players including Prior, Charli Grant, Teagan Micah, Kaitlyn Torpey, Holly McNamara and Winnonah Heatley have all been given really good exposure to international football.

Depth creates a selection headache for whoever the new coach will be with many of these players pushing to take spots from stalwarts such as Emily van Egmond, Tameka Yallop and Katrina Gorry – if not for the Asian Cup than certainly for the LA Olympics in 2028.

There will also have to be a decision to make about which player gets dropped to make way for the returning Sam Kerr.

Will it be Michelle Heyman?

It will be interesting to see if the new coach, when appointed, builds on what Sermanni has created or tears it down and starts again.

Originally published as Matildas v Korea Republic analysis: Mary Fowler shines as Tom Sermanni era nears end