{"id":323301,"date":"2023-08-13T20:13:41","date_gmt":"2023-08-13T20:13:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=323301"},"modified":"2023-08-13T22:00:12","modified_gmt":"2023-08-13T22:00:12","slug":"im-so-sorry-why-matilda-apologised-to-fans-after-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=323301","title":{"rendered":"'I'm so sorry': Why Matilda apologised to fans after win"},"content":{"rendered":"

M\ufeffatildas<\/a> midfielder Mary Fowler<\/a> has apologised for her part in the emotional rollercoaster endured by the nation watching Australia's quarter-final win over France<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Given some of the Matildas' best chances during regular play fell at her feet, Fowler could potentially have ended the match with a multi-goal haul, and the 20-year-old remembered as a hero.<\/p>\n

However, it was not meant to be as France's water-tight defense blocked every attempt \u2014 including a stunning first-half strike where her open goal-bound shot deflected off the inside of French defender Elisa de Almeida's thigh.<\/p>\n

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\"Elisa<\/p>\n

"Yes, I know. I'm so sorry," \ufeffFowler cheekily told reporters in the mixed zone post-match.<\/p>\n

"I can't wait to watch it back and see what the hell I was doing but I mean football is like that sometimes."<\/p>\n

Despite Fowler peppering France's goal at every opportunity, the match was decided by a dramatic 20-penalty shootout in which the Matildas emerged 7-6 winners.<\/p>\n

Stepping up to take Australia's fourth penalty kick, Fowler said her desire to finish off those earlier chances fueled her \ufeff"one shot" to help the Matildas secure a historic semi-final berth at their home FIFA Women's World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ufeffWith a clinical and all-powerful kick into the left corner, the Manchester City forward levelled the score at three successful penalties apiece.<\/p>\n

Following superstar striker Sam Kerr's conversion, Fowler admitted the whole action was a blur.<\/p>\n

\"Mary<\/p>\n

"I felt prepared for mine and I felt like everyone else felt prepared, and so you just act like it's training. That's how I did it. I just felt like it was training," she said.<\/p>\n

A reporter added that this would mean that more than 49,000 people in the stadium were watching her train.<\/p>\n

"For me, it didn't really come into my mind, \ufeffI just treated it like practice," Fowler said.<\/p>\n

"It's been a big build up so to be able to get through on penalties is massive for us. So, it's a great feeling.\ufeff"<\/p>\n

Speaking post-match, Kerr \ufeffpraised the composure of the Matildas' emerging stars during the shootout \u2014 Fowler included.<\/p>\n

"I'm so proud of those kids," she said.<\/p>\n

"Mary Fowler is not even a child. She's one of the most amazing players on our team. She's 20 years old but she has a head on her like she's 30 and been around the game for a hundred years."\ufeff<\/p>\n

This sentiment was \ufeffechoed by coach Tony Gustavsson.<\/p>\n

"She plays beyond her years in terms of maturity," he told media post-match.<\/p>\n

\"Mary<\/p>\n

"She understands her defending role and she can spin on a dime with her technique. Her technical skills are just one of a kind. She could have had a couple of goals … next game.<\/p>\n

"Mary has a bright future but also I think we need to be very careful about putting too much pressure on her now. She's a young player, she should just play freely, do her thing, and just be 100 per cent Mary Fowler because we all love it when she is."\ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

M\ufeffatildas midfielder Mary Fowler has apologised for her part in the emotional rollercoaster endured by the nation watching Australia's quarter-final win over France. Given some […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":323303,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323301"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=323301"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":323307,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323301\/revisions\/323307"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/323303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=323301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=323301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=323301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}