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Mary Fowler captured in beautiful act of sportsmanship after Matildas break hearts at Olympics

The 21-year-old is already showing signs she is a future Australian captain.

riley morgan
Sports Reporter
·4-min read

Mary Fowler has shown why she is a future captain of the Matildas after immediately consoling the Zambian goalkeeper after the African nation lost 6-5 in devastating circumstances at the Olympics. The Matildas were on the brink of Olympics ruin overnight as they trailed trailed 5-2 against the African champions.

Australia were desperate for a win after going down 3-0 to Germany in their opening game, but were staring down the barrel of another heavy defeat in Nice. However, the Matildas have produced arguably their greatest ever comeback having scored four goals in 30 minutes to secure a vital three points.

Mary Fowler embraces Ngambo Musole and Fowler lines-up.
Mary Fowler (pictured) consoled goalkeeper Ngambo Musole after her tough mistake in Zambia's devastating 6-5 Olympics loss to the Matildas. (Images: Channel Nine/Getty Images)

The loss was devastating to Zambia having lost 3-0 to USA in the first game and now relying on a big win over Germany and other results to progress. And you could see the devastation from the Zambian players as they were scattered across the field in disbelief after letting a three-goal lead slip.

And one player that was in tears was goalkeeper Ngambo Musole. The Zambian No.1 made a brutal mistake for Steph Catley's goal for to make it 4-5 in the 65th minute. Catley attempted to curl a free-kick into the top corner, but only managed to hit straight at Musole.

Mary Fowler also embraced Deborah Abiodun and Jennifer Echegini after the brutal loss at the Paris Olympics.
Mary Fowler also embraced Deborah Abiodun and Jennifer Echegini after the brutal loss at the Paris Olympics.

Although the Zambian No.1 was unable to control the ball and fumbled it into her own net. The fotunate goal gave the Matildas a glimmer of hope and they didn't look back with Catley making it the five goals 13 minutes later, before Michelle Heyman scored the winner.

And after the mistake and conceding six goals, Musole was in tears after the full-time whistle. The goalkeeper was surrounded by her own teammates as she dealt with her mistake in the 6-5 defeat.

And in a classy move from the 21-year-old, Fowler went up and embraced Musole. While it was a small gesture, it showed Fowler's future ability to lead the team and was a reminder of what the Olympics is all about.

While Fowler was all after the whistle, it was Catley who was the game-changer on the field. The left-boot of Catley had a roll in four of Australia's goals as the Matildas boosted their hopes of qualifying out of the group stage.

Catley and Heyman were Australia's saviour against Zambia and Fowler's role in the victory might come under scrutiny again with the talented 21-year-old failing to have any major real involvement in the game. Fowler played as a striker against Germany in the Matildas' 3-0 loss in the opening group stage game and came under pressure for a lacklustre performance.

Michelle Heyman celebrates scoring with Mary Fowler.
Michelle Heyman (pictured left) celebrates scoring with Mary Fowler (pictured right).

And Fowler against went goalless across the 90 minutes, despite the Matildas putting six past Zambia. This could lead to question whether Fowler is better used as a ball-player in the midfield to give her more time on the ball. Some fans have suggested Fowler needs to get herself into the game more, which could see Heyman start and Fowler drop back into midfield against the more well-rounded USA team.

The win means the Matildas are still a big chance to make it through to the quarter-finals, but they may still have to take at least a point against the powerful USA team in their final match. Eight of the 12 teams will advance to the next stage, with two of the third-placed pool finishers to move on alongside the top two in the three pools.

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And Aussie fans were left stunned at the comeback, which has kept Australia's chances of progressing alive. "A memorable night in Nice ... the Matildas have cooked up their most extraordinary comeback yet," said commentator Brenton Speed on Channel 9.

Aussie football legend Craig Foster wrote on social media: “Craziest game ever. Gutsiest performance. Talk about never say die. Unbelievable.” Heyman told Channel 9 after the match: “We want that medal. We are trying our hardest to bring something home. We knew we could do it. It was going to come. We have it our all, and we never gave up.”