Melbourne Victory’s win over Western Sydney Wanderers on a perfect Sunday afternoon was a welcome one following a disappointing result first-time out against Newcastle Jets.
While the defending at times still left plenty to be desired, Victory were relentless going forward, and would’ve had more than their five goals had it not been for the irksome woodwork.
The centre of their attacking mastery was the new number ten in Christine Nairn, who provided all five assists for Victory’s goals.
Her performance not only helped the home side nab all three points, but the significance of this performance could be far greater for the team as a whole.
Following the announcement that mercurial Welsh midfielder Jess Fishlock was not returning and instead headed to Frankfurt, many observers had right to wonder just who Victory could conjure up as a replacement, that is, find an alternative to the irreplaceable.
Fishlock’s hand in securing the title – and indeed a Grand Final appearance a season prior – was highly significant.
She won games off her own boot.
Match-winners are hard to come by at any level of the game, and unbeknown to the casual observer, Victory had signed a gem as their new number ten.
Nairn doesn’t have the flashy numbers that Fishlock has, but on Sunday she displayed just how deadly she can be.
Then again, anyone who gets the privilege to earn a senior cap for the USA team has to have something special.
Her first assist was an out-swinging corner, placed onto the head of Amy Jackson, a ball which teased many and kept the keeper on her line.
The second was a simple through ball to put Racheal Quigley through, and it was the same combination for the third, crossing in low for Quigley to double her tally.
Number four was perhaps her best, threading the ball through a small gap for Lisa De Vanna to attack, and her former Washington Spirit teammate made no mistake that time around.
Nairn perhaps should’ve opened her own scoring account with what ended up as her fifth assist, instead her blocked shot fell into the path of Koca for a rare goal of her own.
Gone was the effervescent Fishlock, for all the memories she has provided the blue and white, they may have just found themselves a new hero.
Her opening appearance in Newcastle was solid, but that was fresh off a long flight from the USA two days prior.
Nairn showed her guile and composure on Sunday afternoon, not allowing a nervous Victory outfit to stay down in the dumps for too long, and going behind early after an upset loss is never an easy hurdle to overcome.
She’s not a high octane player, but she certainly has some smarts on a football pitch.
With the arrivals of Lauren Barnes and Elli Reed this week, Nairn will have an even better supporting cast to tackle a strong Canberra United oufit.
It will only allow her to take her game even further, and on Sunday’s showing, there is certainly plenty of potential for greatness.
Nairn would’ve known nothing of what was to come when she turned out alongside Jess Fishlock for Seattle Reign in 2013, but she has arrived in Melbourne to replace the Welsh captain, and certainly looks the part.