Manchester City forward Mary Fowler found the net as the Matildas sealed back-to-back victories over South Korea with a 2-0 win on Monday evening.
After a narrow 1-0 triumph in Sydney—courtesy of an own goal—the Matildas delivered a more convincing performance in front of 28,000 fans at Newcastle's McDonald Jones Stadium.
Fowler opened the scoring just before halftime, while a second-half own goal from Lim Seon-joo extended Australia’s lead in the 63rd minute.
The result provided another boost for the Matildas, who are looking to rebuild momentum following their drop to 16th in the FIFA rankings despite last year’s historic run to the Women’s World Cup semi-finals on home soil.
With star striker Sam Kerr sidelined and watching from the stands as she recovers from a knee injury, the Matildas faced early pressure from a lively South Korean side that dominated territory in the opening stages.
Australia weathered the early storm and began to find rhythm, eventually capitalising just before the interval when Emily van Egmond played a precise pass into the box. Fowler controlled expertly before firing past goalkeeper Kim Min-jung in the 43rd minute.
The second half saw Arsenal midfielder Caitlin Foord introduced, and she quickly brought additional intensity to the attack. Foord nearly doubled the lead soon after the restart, forcing a strong save from Kim with a close-range effort.
Moments later, Foord struck the crossbar during a chaotic sequence in the box. Kaitlyn Torpey reacted quickly to the rebound, and her shot deflected off defender Lim Seon-joo and into the net for 2-0.
Monday’s fixture could mark the final game under interim head coach Tom Sermanni, with Football Australia expected to name a permanent head coach in the coming days. Lyon boss Joe Montemurro is currently considered the leading candidate.