Mary Fowler detail called out as post-Tony Gutstavsson Matildas era off to sluggish start

The Matildas' post-Tony Gustavsson era has got off to an underwhelming start, with the Australian side somewhat lucky to escape Zurich with a 1-1 draw after a flat performance in new interim coach Tom Sermanni's first game in charge. Hoping to bounce back following their Olympic flop under new interim coach Sermanni, the Australian women again failed to shine at Zurich's Letzigrund Stadium.

The Swiss dominated the ball and had a host of good chances in the first half but the Aussies managed to take a lead into halftime when Caitlin Foord won a penalty and converted it a couple of minutes before the break. But her goal was cancelled out by Geraldine Reuteler's 58th-minute strike with some panicky defending enabling the 25th-ranked side in the world to earn a well-deserved draw against a Matildas team ranked 10 places higher in the FIFA hierarchy.

And it could have been worse for the Matildas, who were captained by Ellie Carpenter for the first time, with Swiss substitute, Larina Baumann, in the 90th minute missing a golden chance to snatch the win after some sloppy defending. Her curling shot had Mackenzie Arnold well beaten but the bar denied her, with the Matildas lucky to get away with a draw. Following the match, Sermanni pointed to the team's "low confidence" for the underwhelming display. But many football fans believe the coach was largely to blame for playing star player Mary Fowler in a deep-lying midfield role.

Fowler came up as a traditional No.9 and plays as a winger and striker for English club side Manchester City. But against Switzerland Sermanni played her in a deep-lying midfield role, meaning she failed to get many meaningful touches in goal-scoring positions. And football fans called for Fowler to be played as a forward for the game against Germany on Tuesday morning AEDT.

Ellie Carpenter says getting right coach is key

Football Australia has consulted with the Matildas' leadership group of Sam Kerr, Steph Catley, Carpenter and Emily van Egmond, regarding the hunt for Gustavsson's successor, a decision Carpenter says is of the utmost importance. "Yeah, initially we had some conversations, but at the end of the day we trust them for that process and to make the right decision," Carpenter said. "For us it's simple: we want a coach that can bring the best out of all of us players to play the best football and to get results.

"We are 15th now in the world, and I think we're not satisfied with that, and, yeah, we need to produce results in these next couple of years and this is a very important start of a massive cycle for this team." Experienced mentor Sermanni's interim tenure kicks off in earnest against world No.25 Switzerland on Saturday AEDT and world No.4 Germany three days later.

"With Tommy being only the interim at the moment he's voiced that he's all-in with us, 100 per cent, and I think that's important to have that right from the get-go," Carpenter said. Carpenter said she expects Australia to play with a sense of attacking freedom against Switzerland and Germany - and return to the form that saw them topple top-10 nations before.

"The girls really want to buy into that and get back to winning ways," Carpenter said. "Because we're 15th and results for us from now onwards matter, especially leading into the World Cup with rankings. So we're out to do a job, we're out to perform and we want to get us back in the top 10."

with AAP