Ellie Carpenter could be set for a rare goalscoring purple patch at international level as Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson ponders a tweaked role for the 23-year-old defender.
Carpenter scored the opener in Thursday night's 2-0 Olympic qualifier win over Iran in Perth, and came close to adding a second later in the first half.
The goal was just the fourth she has scored in 70 internationals for Australia.
After the match, Gustavsson revealed he had given the full-back an inverted role - granting her the freedom to drift inside from the right flank into more dangerous central spaces.
Gustavsson was full of praise for Carpenter's efforts against Iran, and hinted he may persist with the tactical tweak heading into next year's Olympics.
"She was outstanding as an inverted back," Gustavsson said of Carpenter, who was named player of the match.
"We looked at some pictures from the World Cup to see how we could get more out of Ellie.
"And also I owe Ellie a little bit, because I had her in a back three at the last Olympics and she didn't like that (role) at all.
"So now it's payback time. But that's OK - get out there and score some goals.
"She was amazing - her timing of her runs to get in behind, her shots were good - instead of being stuck on the sidelines all the time.
"With a little bit more training on the timing of that we might even get more out of it."
Carpenter said she had enjoyed the tweaked role.
"It worked well," she said.
"With these teams that play the deep block, you have to push and pull; you have to make a lot of movement to try to break that and get behind the line.
"One of the things that could break the line ... was me coming in(side) here or there."
The Matildas fielded a second-string starting line-up against Iran in a bid to ease the team's stars back into international action.
Gustavsson is set to field a much stronger XI in Sunday's crunch clash with the Philippines at Optus Stadium.
Only the group winner is guaranteed progression to the final stage of Olympic qualifying in February.
The world No.44 Philippines sit atop of Group A on goal difference after opening their campaign with a 4-1 win over Taiwan.
