And we’re fully committed to the cause.
Our trip to Melbourne was an enjoyable one overall despite us missing out on the three points I thought we deserved.
The stage was set for a memorable clash in the lead up to the Pride Cup, and I think we will all remember the occasion for the rest of our careers, and lives.
It was a surreal experience with a lot of hype in the lead-up and there was even a pre-game show which set the tone.
It was great to see our opponents in their rainbow kits and us in ours all in solidarity, and there’s still some time left to get bidding on our playing shirts in which the proceeds will go towards Pride Cup.
The game itself was an improved showing and we were content to score twice, plus our pressure around the ball was at a higher intensity.
The first goal was particularly enjoyable as just about everyone touched the ball in the lead-up, which is exactly what you want as a team.
There was some poetic justice for Meisha (Westland) who scored her first goal for the Club and we were thrilled for her. She spent some time in Melbourne playing for City last year, and ex-Victory player, Mindy (MelindaJ Barbieri) provided that sublime assist.
That was a huge boost for us all during the match and going forward.
To score from a corner as well was fantastic, and something we’ve been working hard on.
I enjoyed my time a bit further up the pitch which I’m prone to doing a few times during the season, and it was a bit of a tactical move from Stents (Head Coach, Adrian Stenta) to spark a bit of movement and some goals.
I’m happy to play wherever the team needs me.
There’s still plenty for us to work on and improve and we’ll set our sights firmly on doing so.
Of course we will miss Chelsie Dawber and Xiao Yuyi who have now officially finished their loan spells with us.
They’re obviously big losses but Dawber in particular has the opportunity to play at a high level with a World Cup around the corner, and we believe in our younger players who will be itching to fill that void in the front third.
The departing pair have made great contributions and we wish them the best.
Canberra United is next up following our poor performance the first time out and their goals were actually pretty crazy and unlucky (for us) in that game, so we’ll have to stamp out their opportunities.
Our biggest focus this week has been to continue to be as aggressive as we can and win the ball as high as we can, and keep getting those shots away.
We want to be attacking and that was the mentality we deployed against Victory and it worked in our favour, and we didn’t allow them to play or get many balls into the six-yard box.
Hopefully this is just the start of the corner we’ve been working hard to turn.
There are still several points up for grabs and we want to be getting as many as possible heading into the closing stages of the season.
You never know what can happen in this crazy game of football.
