Veronica Latsko continued her prolific goal-scoring form after bagging a clinical brace in Adelaide United’s 5-2 loss against Sydney FC at Cromer Park on Thursday night.
It was a belated birthday present from a personal perspective for the on-loan Houston Dash forward, who struck her double a day after turning 23.
Her two goals also propelled her to the top of the Westfield W-League golden boot race with six goals in as many matches.
She opened the scoring by emphatically dispatching a one-on-one effort into the bottom far corner, before initially restoring parity after the break via a sublime header.
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Despite the American import netting two goals in textbook fashion, she played down her own form pointing out that it means little because winning is the most important thing.
“We want to win, getting goals is great and all but that’s not the end goal,” Latsko told Fox Sports post-match.
“The end goal is to win the game.”
Compounding the loss was the fact that the match saw two lengthy interruptions in each half.
A thunderstorm brought the game to a halt 20 minutes into proceedings which lasted an hour, while the floodlights went out for 15 minutes late in the second stanza.
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Latsko said the Reds needed to be more alert after both stoppages.
“I think there were a lot of stop and starts and we have to stay switched on during all of them,” she said.
With lightning strikes forcing the players off the field due to safety concerns, Latsko added it was not a new experience having dealt with similar weather issues back in Houston.
She admitted the stop-start nature does take a physical toll.
“I’m kind of used to it with Houston weather,” she continued.
“It’s a little bit unpredictable but it’s tough your legs are tired and you just have to get warmed up and get back into the game.”
Adelaide United host Melbourne Victory in Round 8 of the Westfield W-League 2018/19 season on Friday, 21 December at Marden Sports Complex. Kick-off is at 7.00pm ACDT. Gates open at 6.00pm.