The meteoric rise of New Zealand soccer wunderkind Milly Clegg has her coach urging patience.
Clegg scored her first A-League goal as Wellington Phoenix posted their first win of the season with a shock 5-0 hammering of Canberra United.
She starred despite playing out of position as a winger and looms as a headache for the Brisbane Roar on Saturday afternoon when they host the Phoenix.
Clegg only turned 17 on November 1 and starred for New Zealand at the under-17 and under-20 World Cups.
She comes from a family of sporting high achievers, with her mother Kylie (nee Foy) twice playing hockey for New Zealand at the Olympics.
Phoenix coach Natalie Lawrence expects it is only matter of time before Clegg is promoted to the Ferns senior national team, but is cautious about rushing her development.
"It's still important that we're really careful, she's only just turned 17," Lawrence told reporters on Friday.
"She's so well-grounded, her parents have been in high performance, so she doesn't get ahead of herself.
"It's important for us that we're also really patient with her ... she's super, super-young."
But Lawrence also appreciates the excitement building around Clegg.
"She has something special. She has something that probably not many players do have, that eye for goal," Lawrence said.
"The confidence she gained from that performance, you should see her in training this week - she just hasn't put a foot wrong."
This looms as a danger game for Brisbane, who are coming off a loss to Western United.
They are seventh on 11 points, eight behind fourth-placed Melbourne Victory, but have two games in hand.
Lawrence said confidence was building in her squad before the big win over Canberra and they now must build on that drought-breaking performance.
"We know we haven't necessarily travelled amazingly, so that's the next goal as we continue to build through the season," she said.
"I've been saying the whole season I felt this result was coming and we were building and we were progressing, while the results weren't showing that.
"Having a big win like that gives you that confidence, gives the players the belief that what we're trying to do is going to work.
"Now, if we can back that up and end the season really strong, it all becomes worth it."
