Adelaide United are enjoying their best start to an A-League Women season but ambitious forward Chelsie Dawber isn’t satisfied yet.
The Reds have won their opening two games for the first time ever and can make it three in a top-of-the-table clash with Western United on Sunday.
But both wins, against Sydney FC and Perth Glory, have been 1-0 and exciting forward Dawber is yet to find the back of the net, while Fiona Worts is sidelined through injury.
“It is definitely exciting to see that in the future we will score goals and we do work very well together as an attack,” Dawber told AAP.
“But at the moment it’s a little bit frustrating that we’re not killing teams off and doing quite what we know we can do.
“I was only around for two weeks of the pre-season and a few girls have been in and out with school and work and injuries and things like that.
“So round three might be the time where we click and we smash them (the opportunities) and put them all away.”
Dawber, who had limited minutes at NWSL club Chicago Red Stars after starring for the Reds last season, has extra motivation: snatching a Matildas berth ahead of the Women’s World Cup.
The talented forward is on the radar as she travelled with the Matildas under-23 squad to July’s AFF Women’s Championships.
“I’ve got something to prove now, that I want to be playing NWSL, I want to be pushing for the Matildas,” she said.
“My time back here is just to enjoy it again, get game time but also to prove a point to everyone else that I am good enough.
“It’s match fitness, playing well, scoring goals, working hard, both offensive and defensive and I think maybe just waiting my time and see what happens.”
Seeing fellow South Australians Alex Chidiac, Matilda McNamara and Charlotte Grant getting their opportunities over the past year has helped too.
“It definitely gives me that extra drive and push to keep going, keep doing what I’m doing because that could be me,” she said.
She hopes that scoring run can start in a difficult test against newcomers United at ServiceFM Stadium.
“It’s always gonna be difficult playing a team that we can’t really scout – only really two games,” Dawber said.
“They’ve done quite well, they beat Victory and then Wellington last week so we know we’re going to be up for a challenge.
“But given how we’ve played the last two games we want to make more history going three games in a row which has never been done before at Adelaide United.”