Cooney-Cross excels in Victory 5-0 ALW win

After setting up Catherine Zimmerman and Mindy Barbieri's first-half goals, the teenager grabbed her deserved goal in the 58th minute when she seized on an under-hit headed clearance, rounded goalkeeper Sarah Langham and fired home.

The Wanderers defence giving way, Zimmerman and Courtney Nevin added back-to-back strikes in the following five minutes to complete the dominating display.

"(Kyra is) a super talented player," Hopkins said. "She can play in a number of positions and she can play as well in one position as the next.

"We're just looking at a position where she can help us win the game the most. At the moment, she's doing fantastically well out wide.

"I can't say enough in praising her and her performance today and the fact that she's happy to play in a position that suits the team and is best for the team.

"It shows that she's going to be a hell of a player."

Saturday's win puts Victory back into third place on the table and, still possessing a game in hand on their nearby rivals, the defending ALW champions have now won four straight games with clean sheets, the latter a club record.

"I thought for the first 70 minutes we were excellent," Hopkins said. "We came out and started the game really well against a team that was pretty motivated to come here and beat us."

Stuck on just three goals in 10 games, Wanderers remain rooted near the bottom of the league in eighth place.

"Disappointed, a 5-0 loss is not acceptable to me or to anyone," Wanderers coach Catherine Cannuli said.

"I think after the first two (goals) they were still fine and in the game but once they copped the third I think it was hard for them to get themselves back in it."

Making matters worse for Wanderers, Danika Matos was carried off late on in the contest with an injury, Cannuli saying post-game that "it doesn't look good" for the 22-year-old.