Melbourne Victory head coach Jeff Hopkins believes there is more to come from Kyra Cooney-Cross, but he will be careful with the teenager.
Cooney-Cross, 15, produced another fine display in Victory’s 1-0 Westfield W-League Derby loss to City on Friday.
The winger caused City problems, running at the defence and creating openings on numerous occasions.
Hopkins said he was happy with what Cooney-Cross was showing early in her Westfield W-League career.
“She’s just so relaxed when she gets out there, she’s got a great understanding of the game and what to do and when to do it,” he said.
“The other thing is she’s got a lot of improvement in her game as well. I’m really excited about her.
“We’ve got to be careful with her as well. We sometimes forget she’s only 15 years of age, but she’s an exciting prospect and we’ve got a lot of good, professional players around her to give her advice and help her as well.”
Cooney-Cross has played out 90 minutes in both of Victory’s opening two games, catching the eye against Canberra United and City.
Hopkins said he was unsure what to initially expect, and he plans to be careful with how he manages the attacker.
“I wasn’t sure what I’d get out of her and how she was, what her qualities were like. Since I’ve been working with her, nothing fazes her,” he said.
“There’s going to be times this year where we’re going to have to take her out and rest her and look after her because she is a young player with a young body, but I’ve got every confidence in her when I put her in.”