Melbourne Victory held off a second half Newcastle Jets charge to secure a 4-2 win at Latrobe City Stadium.
This match presented Claudia Bunge with her first ever W-League goal, as she headed home from a corner in the first half.
Victory coach Jeff Hopkins believes the goal was simply a due reward for her perseverance.
“It was good to see her rewarded,” said the head coach.
“There was one [header] she caught that was flying in but was cleared off the line earlier.”
Seeing the 21-year-old on the end of a cross was not a coincidence though. Delivering her the ball is part of a set piece routine which was thoroughly looked at in training.
It is easy to see why this is the case, as Hopkins was especially full of praise for her heading ability.
“Her and Kayla [Morrison] are two of the best headers of the ball I’ve worked with in the female game.
“She is definitely one of our targets.”
It was not just the Kiwi’s ability to find the back of the net that impressed Hopkins though. Her defensive performance was also a key to the team’s success.
“Over the last few weeks, her, and Kayla [Morrison] have been in our top three best players every week,” the Victory coach said.
“In the second half, when we were under pressure, she released a lot of it for us.”
Victory will look to make it three wins in a row as they travel to Newcastle in just under two weeks.
In the meantime, the Jets will look to bounce back against Melbourne City in a week’s time.
Feature Image Credit: Melbourne City FC
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