CANBERRA -- The Matildas farewelled interim head coach Tom Sermanni in style with a 4-1 victory over Argentina at GIO Stadium on Monday night.
Amy Sayer bagged herself a brace in her first start back for the national team in 549 days before Emily van Egmond and Michelle Heyman completed the win with second half goals. Kishi Núñez scored the visitors' lone goal; a gorgeous finish just inside the box.
With six changes made to the team which defeated the Albiceleste 2-0 in Melbourne last Friday, the new players made their mark, none more so than Sayer.
She produced two neat finishes following some excellent work from the likes of Charli Grant, Kahli Johnson, and Caitlin Foord.
Local hero and second half substitute Heyman also made her mark on the game, firstly by pouncing on the poor back-pass which Van Egmond eventually finished before scoring one of her own.
The win rounded out a big day for the national team with Football Australia announcing Joe Montemurro as the new head coach earlier that morning. He was in the stands watching before officially taking the reins on June 16.
The only sour note was Johnson's early exit from the contest in the 31st minute.
Sayer picks up where she left off
A year is a long time in football. So you may have forgotten that in the aftermath of Sam Kerr's ACL injury, beyond the obvious candidates, Sayer was looked at as a potential attacking option for the Matildas in her place. She had been impressing in Sweden and there was an opportunity open for her to take.
"She's always been on the radar. We always believed she's a player that's got international quality," Sermanni said of the Kristianstads player.
Unfortunately, football is cruel and Sayer tore her own ACL in April of 2024. She worked diligently and returned to the pitch for the national team on Friday in Melbourne via the bench. She got the start in Canberra -- 549 days after her last start for the Matildas -- and she wasted no time making the most of it.
Her two goals were excellent and much more than she hoped to achieve on her return to the starting XI.
"One goal I was pretty happy with and then to get two was amazing and that's more than I've ever scored for the national team and in one game as well," she said post-game. "Also to come back from such a long injury, I worked really hard to get to this point and I think it showed on the field, the work that I put in and the time, it all paid off."
Every journey back from an ACL injury is unique and Sayer's is no different.
"My motivation throughout my whole rehab and the whole year that it took was just to be back on the field and playing the game that I love and to get such a good result and to have such a good performance personally, I think it's just a bonus," she said.
"But to be able to run again and kick a ball again is something that people take for granted. I think there was a point in my rehab where I didn't even think I'd be able to walk properly again.
"The biggest thing is just for me to be on the field and anything extra is the bonus."
Grant is pushing for a starting spot
Montemurro was in the stands at GIO Stadium and, while the players certainly don't need any extra motivation to play well when donning the green-and-gold, it certainly doesn't hurt to put your best foot forward with the new boss watching.
One player who stood out -- and has been playing solidly for a while now -- was Tottenham Hotspur full-back Grant. She has started all but one game for the Matildas this calendar year.
The 23-year-old deputised for Ellie Carpenter while she has missed games due to injury and personal reasons, and filled in for Steph Catley during the Arsenal star's transformation into a centre-back. And with that move seemingly permanent -- and not the negative it once was -- Grant has surely done enough to stake her claim as a more permanent fixture down the flank.
Grant's confidence has been evident and her improvement when pushing forward, whether it be making a run, putting in a cross, or simply making a better decision in the attacking half, has been noticeable.
'Let's play for Tom'
For the 151st and final time, Sermanni coached the Matildas before handing the reins to Montemurro.
The pair are now connected by this massive day in the history of Australian women's football and there is an obvious respect between the duo.
"Joe came in to visit us before we left for the stadium, and he even said, 'let's play for Tom,'" Sayer told media post-game.
While Sermanni told reporters he and Montemurro had had a brief chat when he was introduced to the players earlier in the day.
"I know Joe quite well and we had a little chat before the game and we'll probably catch up, maybe some time in the upcoming weeks, when he's back full-time in Australia," he said.
Sermanni's legacy in Australian football won't necessarily be defined by this third stint in charge of the Matildas in isolation. But it is fitting that he got to experience the Matildas as they are now.
"The thing that stood out to me is that every time we've played a game at home, and I've walked out onto the field, into the coaching box, and just looked at the crowd, it's been a phenomenal experience," he said.
"I've never witnessed a crowd such as a Matildas crowd.
"When I played in England or whatever, you had crowds that were very football related. It was still never an atmosphere like is being created now with the Matildas. It's just unique."
It's special that he got to bask in the glow of the team he fought so hard to develop and nurture, not only through his coaching but through his involvement in setting up the national training centres around the country and the W-League to give Australian women pathways to play in.