Teenage prodigy Holly McNamara is making up for lost time.
In just four games, the fleet-footed Melbourne City winger is proving to be one of the sensations of the A-League Women season.
But the 18-year-old’s breakthrough could easily have come far earlier, were it not for suffering a dreaded ACL tear at 15.
“It was in camp, a day before we were supposed to fly out with the Junior Matildas to Kyrgyzstan,” McNamara told AAP.
“The day before we were just doing a training match against the boys and that’s when I did it.
“I came back from that and then obviously COVID hit, which took up a big chunk out of everyone’s season.
“Then at 17 I did a stress fracture in my foot, so quite a bit of time out of the past three years.”
McNamara quietly went about her football comeback and while training with the Future Matildas last year took a call from City coach Rado Vidosic.
The rest is history.
In her debut season, McNamara has created a plethora of chances, recorded a league-leading three assists and scored a goal to help lift City to second on the table.
She’s also formed a dynamic attacking partnership with New Zealand international Hannah Wilkinson, which is certain to come to the fore in Sunday’s clash with the winless Wellington Phoenix.
“Being around the teammates that I have, people like Wilky who can finish amazingly, it’s really allowed me to play the way that I want to play with a bit of freedom, which is good,” McNamara said.
“Rado’s system that we have going now has allowed every player to express themselves a bit and show freedom, which is always nice as a younger player.
“I’ve always loved running at defenders and using my speed, which is one of my strengths.
“I’m glad that I can use it at the moment to good ability and help out the team where I can, if it’s providing assists or scoring goals, which I’m trying to get a few more of.”
Seeing other teenagers earn caps has further spurred McNamara towards her own Matildas goal.
She took a big step towards that on Saturday when she was named in the extended travelling squad for the Asian Cup, with a chance to press her case for selection at a training camp in Dubai.
“Hopefully by the 2023 World Cup, we can get a few more younger players in there and really cement their spot,” McNamara said prior to her selection.
“But it’s so good seeing Tony (Gustavsson) now take all of these young players and give them that experience at the next level.”
