CommBank Matilda Mary Fowler reflected on her first appearance for the national team in 328 days after the team’s 1-0 victory over the Philippines in the opening match of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026™.
She came on as a second-half substitute and made an immediate impact on the game in her first national team minutes since rupturing her ACL last April.
“I’m really happy to be here,” she said.
“It's been a long time away from playing any football. I’m incredibly grateful to be here. To be able to get out there in front of a home crowd was extra special as well. I’m just feeling really happy.
“I feel like I've come back into it with fresh motivation to want to improve as a player and do the best I can as a teammate.”
She said that the message from Head Coach Joe Montemurro before making her way onto the pitch was a simple one.
“Just enjoy it,” she recalled.
“I like Joe. We get on well. I like the way he wants to play. I think it's a relationship built on trust. So I felt confident. Just enjoy it, was the message.”
Giving herself space to take in such a monumental occasion was top on her priority list last night.
“Being out of football for a while with a long-term injury, I think you’ve just got to celebrate the small wins where you can,” she expressed.
“I'm really giving myself the patience to enjoy the moment, take my time, to feel good as a player out there again, and then just build on that.”
From her perspective, there were lots of positives to take from the performance that the team would carry with them for the rest of the tournament.
“In tournament football, it can go either way,” she said.
“Sometimes you want to win games by more than one goal, but sometimes one goal is what you need to get three points, and those three points are really important. So I think there are a lot of positives in the game.
“We had a lot of chances, and I think we could definitely be a bit more clinical. Playing teams that drop off a bit more makes it a bit difficult to get a lot of goals, and create opportunities. But I think we kept our cool and kept on trying to attack, and at the end of the day, we got the three points.”
AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026™
CommBank Matildas 1 v 0 Philippines
Date: Sunday, 1 March 2026
IR Iran v CommBank Matildas
Date: Thursday, 5 March 2026
Venue: Gold Coast Stadium, Gold Coast
Time: 7:00pm AEST/8:00pm AEDT
Broadcast: Network 10, 10 Play and Paramount+
Buy Tickets
CommBank Matildas v Korea Republic
Date: Sunday, 8 March 2026
Venue: Stadium Australia, Sydney
Time: 8:00pm AEDT
Broadcast: Network 10, 10 Play and Paramount+
Buy Tickets