Record-breaking Western Sydney Wanderers striker Sophie Harding is adamant the club can continue to turn heads after a surprise surge up the A-League Women ladder under former Socceroo Robbie Hooker.
Harding broke the club’s record for goals in a season last week, taking her tally for the campaign to eight by bagging twice in an 2-0 away win against Perth.
The forward shares the lead for the ALW golden boot with Canberra’s Vesna Milivojevic.
The victory over Perth has propelled the Wanderers into sixth place on the ladder and inside the finals spots ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Melbourne City at the inaugural ALW Unite Round.
The Wanderers have only played finals once in their history and Harding is keen to ensure that happens after helping lead their revival under Hooker.
“We are definitely not stopping at that,” Harding told AAP.
“I think we are capable of finishing very high up the table if we keep playing the way we're playing and I think we will surprise a few people.
“That's Robbie's goal, that’s our goal - to get finals football and keep climbing the ladder.”
The turnaround is all the more stark considering Hooker was jettisoned into the role on the eve of the season.
Hooker replaced Kat Smith 10 days before the Wanderers’ season opener and while the club struggled initially, they have lost just once in their past six games.
“I enjoyed working under Kat and she was a super supporting coach,” Harding said.
“Robbie has been awesome for us girls and he capitalises on our strengths and he has a specific way he wants us to play.
“We don’t have many huge names on paper, but the way we play is aggressive.
“He wants me in the final third as much as possible and we all want to win for him.”
The side's rich vein of form faces an acid test on Sunday against league leaders City.
But the Wanderers’ 4-3 loss against the table-toppers earlier this season is proof they can match it with the competition's heavy hitters.
“We’re not worried about it and we’re definitely very confident going into this game off the back of two wins,” Harding said.
“We know it’s going to be a tough game but we will give them a good run.”
Melbourne Victory kick off Unite Round in a double header on Friday at Leichhardt Oval against Perth, with Wellington facing Central Coast at the same venue later that day.
Canberra meet Adelaide and Brisbane take on Newcastle in Saturday’s games, while Sydney take on Western United in a grand final rematch in Sunday’s other clash.
