Mary Fowler exorcises demons from Olympics as Matildas teammates cop massive setback

Mary Fowler didn't actually get to play in Paris during the recent Olympics, but she did on Wednesday in Manchester City's 5-0 thrashing of Paris FC in the Women's Champions League. The Aussie superstar exorcised some of her demons in France from the Matildas' woeful campaign, scoring a goal and dazzling in the capital.

Fowler was at the centre of much controversy during the Olympics after former coach Tony Gustavsson opted to play her as a sole striker up front, rather than in her normal role in the midfield. And her performance for Man City on Wednesday showed why it was such a glaring mistake.

The 21-year-old got a chance to start up front after City's superstar Jamaican striker Khadija Shaw failed to obtain a visa to travel for the first leg, reportedly due to a late application. But she did so in conjunction with another striker, rather than on her own.

Fowler got in on the goal feast soon after the half-time break, gifted the simplest of tap-ins for City's third once she robbed goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie and slid the ball into an open net. Her goal in the first-leg victory in second-round qualifying will almost certainly mean she and City get to play in the main stage of the WCL, and next week's second leg at home appears now merely a formality.

Fowler is looking to rebound strongly for her powerful club after the Olympics flop. City just missed out to Chelsea on the English title on the final day of last season.

Caitlin Foord suffers huge blow in Arsenal loss

Fowler and City might be safe, but progressing looks a lot more difficult for her Matildas' teammates at Arsenal. Kyra Cooney-Cross and Caitlin Foord featured in a 1-0 first-leg defeat at Swedish side Hacken, and are up against it to qualify for the next round.

The Gunners women were thwarted by solid defending and then pipped by a 77th minute goal from Tabitha Tindell. Foord failed to get on the scoresheet just a fortnight after netting four against Rangers in the first round of qualifying.

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Mary Fowler hoping to rebound after Olympics disappointment

Fowler recently opened up about the disappointment of the Matildas' failure to make the knockout stage of the Olympics for the first time since 2000. She said the hard lessons learned in France will hold the Matildas in good stead for the Asian Cup.

"Obviously it's hard looking back at the Olympics not to feel disappointed with the results from that," she said. "I think we definitely worked as hard as we could to prepare for the tournament. Sometimes football just doesn't go your way.

"Being at home and having that home advantage, it's very different playing a home World Cup versus being overseas. Sometimes things just don't go your way. we reflect on that as a team and I'm sure the girls have done that individually as well.

"We all really want to win something with the national team. So having another opportunity to do that (at the Asian Cup in 2026) is really good for us, and a lot of us will work for the next year and a bit to get there."

with AAP