Nathan Cleary cheers on girlfriend Mary Fowler after heartwarming Sydney rendezvous - as the Matildas star ends goal drought vs South Korea

Nathan Cleary cheered connected his beau Mary Fowler arsenic she ended a agelong hold to find the backmost of the net.

The Matildas prima has not scored successful her past 14 appearances for some nine and country. But connected Monday night, the Manchester City guardant strode into the South Korea punishment country and sent the shot flying into the bottommost close country of the extremity to springiness Australia a 1-0 pb heading into half-time.

Her extremity spurred Australia to seal a 2-0 victory, with Kaitlyn Torpey adding the other extremity successful the 2nd half. 

Fowler has has been backmost successful Sydney this past week portion connected planetary work and had caught up with her boyfriend, Cleary, implicit the past fewer days.

While they are presently surviving astir 17,000km apart, it appears their narration is going arsenic beardown arsenic ever, with the sporting powerfulness mates being pictured enjoying immoderate clip distant from their respective codes with a travel to Redleaf Pool successful Sydney's eastbound suburbs.

The heartwarming pictures showed Cleary and Fowler embracing and sharing a buss and brought backmost similarities of erstwhile they were famously pictured successful a Perth parkland backmost successful November 2023, aft they had conscionable gotten together. 

On Monday, Cleary smiled arsenic helium sat successful the stands astatine the McDonald Jones Stadium.

It's been a rocky fewer weeks for the Penrith halfback connected the footy transportation for the Penrith halfback, who had suffered a concussion earlier this play during the Panthers' decision by Melbourne Storm.

The defending champions person looked a shadiness of their erstwhile selves this year, having won conscionable erstwhile successful 2025, slumping to 15th successful the NRL ladder.

It came aft the broadside slumped to a 22-18 decision astatine location by the Cowboys connected Friday night. Cleary had besides been connected the extremity of a arguable hit, with fans fuming that Coen Hess had brutally caught the Kangaroos playmaker high. Replays appeared to amusement the tackle had made interaction with Cleary's head, but the Cowboys seasoned was neither sent to the sin-bin oregon enactment connected study - sparking outrage online.

At the commencement of the play Cleary and Fowler had met up successful America, with the Matildas prima featuring for her broadside successful the SheBelieves Cup, portion the Penrith halfback flew to Las Vegas to diagnostic successful Penrith's triumph against Cronulla.

Cleary had asked his coach, Ivan, to drawback up successful California with Fowler, pledging to his dada that he'd play amended if helium was capable to drawback up with his woman earlier hand. 

And aft their rendezvous this week, Fowler has recaptured her unsafe champion to assistance motorboat the Matildas to back-to-back wins against South Korea.

After igniting Australia disconnected the seat successful Sydney, Fowler returned to the starting line-up astatine McDonald Jones Stadium and wasted nary clip to marque her beingness felt against the satellite No 19 outfit.

The 22-year-old prima outworked 4 South Korean defenders successful the container to slot the 44th-minute opener earlier sparking Torpey's extremity successful beforehand of a grounds 28,019-strong crowd.

Fowler had plucked the shot disconnected Lim Seon-joo and crossed to substitute Caitlin Foord - cleared of suffering a chemoreceptor fracture aft a caput clash successful Friday's lucifer astatine Allianz Stadium - successful the 63rd minute.

A dogged Foord was denied 3 times earlier Torpey tried her luck with the crumbs, her shot deflecting successful disconnected the ft disconnected Lim Seon-joo.

Torpey was awarded the goal, portion the South Korean No.6 was stretchered disconnected aft an awkward landing.

Fowler had looked threatening from the outset, stationed by interim manager Tom Sermanni connected the near helping successful the aforesaid relation astatine nine broadside Manchester City.

She had cleverly danced astir the visitors' defence lone to nonstop her 13th-minute changeable consecutive astatine goalkeeper Kim Min-jeong.

McNamara scrambled to prime up the crumbs but a quick-thinking Kim Min-jeong got to the shot first.

Teagan Micah worked diligently astatine the different extremity successful injured No.1 goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold's lack to assertion back-to-back cleanable sheets.

South Korea had astir deed the scoreboard erstwhile Ko Yoo-Jin's header crossed the enactment successful the 86th minute, but the debutant was recovered to beryllium offside.

It was hometown leader Emily van Egmond who recovered the backmost of the nett successful the 2nd infinitesimal but the extremity was disallowed fixed Holly McNamara had fouled Lim Seon-joo successful the pb up.

Van Egmond popped up again aboriginal to acceptable up Fowler's opener, with erstwhile Newcastle Jets midfielder Claire Wheeler and substitute Tash Prior besides enjoying a homecoming.

Kennedy looked worse disconnected with extended bruising astir her close feature aft accidentially colliding with Yallop, who appeared to locomotion distant gingerly from the incidental with a genu complaint.

The brace were yet substituted successful the 59th minute, replaced by Claire Hunt and Torpey.