Kyra Cooney-Cross’ star turn has propelled Melbourne Victory to a commanding 5-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers and strengthen their grip on a Liberty A-League finals berth.
After providing assists for Catherine Zimmerman and Mindy Barbieri’s first-half goals, Cooney Cross grabbed a deserved goal of her own in the 58th minute before Zimmerman and Courtney Nevin added further strikes to complete a dominating display at AAMI Park.
The win allowed Jeff Hopkins’ side move back into third place on the table and, with a game in hand on their nearby rivals, the defending ALW champions have now won four straight games without conceding a goal.
It represents their longest run of clean sheets in club history.
Stuck on just three goals in 10 games, Wanderers remain anchored near the bottom of the league in eighth place.
It didn’t take long for Victory to open the scoring on Saturday with Cooney-Cross getting down the flank and sending in a cross that Zimmerman, on her second attempt, fired past Sarah Langman.
Punishing the Wanderers’ Bryleeh Henry for a miss moments prior, the hosts made it 2-0 in the 32nd minute when Cooney-Cross collected a knocked-down long ball and sliced a perfectly weighted through ball for Barberi to run onto and convert.
Starting on the wing for the second straight game, the 19-year-old’s performance was comfortably her strongest of the 2021-22 season and she got a goal of her own when she seized on an under-hit headed clearance, rounded Langham and fired home in the 58th minute.
Denied a penalty seconds prior, Zimmerman lashed a venomous volley home on the hour mark, before Nevin’s cross-turned-shot sailed over the head of the Wanderers keeper to complete the hammering in the 63rd minute.
Making matters worse for Wanderers, Danika Matos was carried off late with an apparent ankle injury.
LIVE FEED
Written by Matthew Comito for KEEPUP
FULL-TIME: MELBOURNE VICTORY 5-0 WESTERN SYDNEY
Victory came into this fixture with head coach Jeff Hopkins demanding a lift in his side’s intensity – and the reigning champions brought the energy at AAMI Park, putting five past the Wanderers in a dominant display.
Watch the highlights below.
GOAL! Nevin scores first career goal in stunning fashion (6.15pm AEDT)
A goal on her birthday, how about that!
Courtney Nevin has made it 5-0 in emphatic fashion, whipping a cross off the left flank and catching Langman off guard as the over-hit ball into the box rifled into the top-right corner of goal.
Nevin turns 20 today, and her first ever Liberty A-League goal is the perfect birthday present for the young Matildas star to take home with her from AAMI Park.
GOALS! Two in as many minutes as Victory cruise (6.10pm AEDT)
All of a sudden, it’s a Victory rout at AAMI Park.
Cooney-Cross is running riot for the home side; she scored her first goal of the season to make it 3-0 after driving into the box, rounding goalkeeper Sarah Langman and tucking the ball home from a tight angle.
Then it was Zimmerman putting her second on the scoresheet, set up by Cooney-Cross with a ranging ball of the right flank, heading her initial strike off the post before burying home the rebound.
The Wanderers are all at sea as Victory take a 4-0 lead into the final half-hour.
GOAL! Barbieri picked out by Cooney-Cross to finish (5.24pm AEDT)
That was one of the assists of the season from Kyra Cooney-Cross, splitting Western Sydney’s defence in half to find MelindaJ Barbieri running in on goal to find the back of the net.
It’s 2-0 to the hosts after half an hour – a deserving lead for a dominant start to this contest.
GOAL: Lightning start for Victory (4.55pm AEDT)
Catherine Zimmerman has opened the scoring as the reigning champions make a bright start at AAMI Park.
Kyra Cooney-Cross made a lung-busting run down the right flank to find Zimmerman with a low cross to the front post; her first attempt on goal was fluffed, but Zimmerman kept possession of the ball, turning on the spot to guide the ball into the back of the net.
PRE-GAME
It was the Alex Chidiac show for Melbourne Victory last time out, with the fringe Matilda putting everything but a goal into a complete attacking display in her side’s slender win over the Jets.
Her combination with fellow attacking midfielder Kyra Cooney-Cross was an impressive aspect of the reigning champions’ display – and could be what breaks the Wanderers open in this Saturday night clash.
Watch out for the continued impact of Victory’s United States import Brooke Hendrix, who scored the winning goal on debut whilst notching a clean sheet – the third on the trot accrued by Victory along the way into the top four.
TEAM NEWS
