Just days after Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson rated Clare Wheeler's performance as "outstanding", the Newcastle product continued to impress by notching her first international goal.
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The Adamstown Rosebud junior remained unused on the bench by Gustavsson throughout Australia's history-making World Cup campaign on home soil this year.
But the 25-year-old Everton midfielder is not wasting a moment during the Matildas' Olympic qualifiers in Perth, producing a solid 90-minute effort in their 2-0 win over Iran last Thursday night then scoring in an 8-0 rout of the Philippines in front of a sell-out crowd of 59,155 at Optus Stadium on Sunday.
Wheeler, in her 16th appearance for the Matildas, was deployed off the bench in the 65th minute against the Philippines and secured her maiden international goal by unleashing a 72nd-minute rocket from the edge of the box.
The 25-year-old's goal came after Sam Kerr and Caitlin Foord both produced hat-tricks and Mary Fowler also scored.
Australia led 5-0 by the break and the win sealed passage through to the next round of Olympic qualifying.
Newcastle's long-serving Matildas midfielder Emily van Egmond, who could be in line for a guest stint with the Jets in A-League Women once her commitments with San Diego Wave are completed in the National Women's Soccer League, also started against Iran then came off the bench with 25 minutes to play on Sunday.
Gustavsson fielded a mostly second-string XI against Iran before unleashing his strongest line-up against the Philippines and has hinted he would resist the temptation of resting his biggest stars against Chinese Taipei in Perth on Wednesday night.
The Matildas coach said he was eager to reward in-form players with a starting spot, and also better prepare them on how to handle a hectic schedule like the one they will face if they qualify for the Paris Olympics next year.
Australia need to win a two-legged play-off against a yet-to-be-decided Asian Confederation team in order to qualify for the Olympics.
"The problem is that I have more than 10 starters now because there's more than 10 players that actually deserve to start," Gustavsson said.
"So that's going to be the conversation. How are we going to start the game, how we're going to finish the games?"
Forward Cortnee Vine is almost certain to miss the match against Taiwan after suffering a suspected hamstring injury in the win over the Philippines.
Gustavsson said the way his players linked up in attack was the best he'd seen during his three-year tenure.
"I think [the performance against the Philippines] was a little bit of a crossroads moment for this team to be honest, in terms of what we want to be about," Gustavsson said.
"We want to be a top team in the world and be able to play like favourites and be able to play parked buses, and we proved today that we have taken massive steps."
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Renee Valentine
Renee Valentine is a sports journalist with more than 20 years of experience in Newcastle. She is passionate about increasing the visibility of sportswomen in the media. Got a sports story, email Renee at r.valentine@newcastleherald.com.au
Renee Valentine is a sports journalist with more than 20 years of experience in Newcastle. She is passionate about increasing the visibility of sportswomen in the media. Got a sports story, email Renee at r.valentine@newcastleherald.com.au
