Melbourne Victory head coach Jeff Hopkins revealed Natasha Dowie said she would score a hat-trick before her treble against Sydney FC.
Dowie led Victory to a 3-2 win over the Sky Blues on Sunday as the club consolidated top spot in the Westfield W-League and maintained its unbeaten start to the season.
Hopkins said Dowie, who now has 21 goals in 35 games for Victory, had predicted she would score a hat-trick for her dad in the lead up.
“She was clinical. That first goal, against the run of play, it really took the pressure off us and it really hit them quite hard,” he said.
“I think her dad has been over for a week and she called it before the game. She said, ‘I’m going to go out, I’m going to score a hat-trick for my dad’ and she’s as good as her word.
“She was excellent, not just the way that she finished, but the way she leads the line for us is amazing and again at times she was up there on her own, holding the ball up on her own, waiting for support.
“Other times she was in the box with really good support and she made the most of it, it’s really good.”
Dowie has scored four goals in as many games this campaign, with Victory collecting 10 points.
