And that’s stick together, on and off the field.
This Club is a family and last weekend’s events only reinforced this.
You never want to see a player go down with a bad injury like that, and for it to be someone from your Club and someone you know is always tough.
We sent some flowers as a group and an uplifting card to Juande to show him that we’re here and our thoughts are with him, and we’re glad to hear his surgery was a success.
I was really feeling for all the players at AAMI Park that day, but as a team we stuck together and readied our minds to play throughout the lengthy delay.
The girls handled the situation quite well and we actually started our game against Melbourne City strong and switched on.
The deflected goal hurts and on another day that strike doesn’t go in, yet still we have returned from the game with several positives, including the amount of possession we retained and our movement out of the back was improved.
In terms of our results, we feel the frustration of the fans and know we’re not picking up the points we need to make a dent in this competition.
I feel another win is around the corner and our luck will turn, and from there we can make a serious run in this second half of the season.
I wanted to shoutout Dylan (Holmes) who had another excellent game last weekend.
She was flying against City and her momentum is just picking up and picking up, and I’m especially excited to see her in the upcoming Brisbane game back home at Gepps Cross on Sunday.
Dylan had a great match against the Roar last time around, in what was our third game in eight days, plus it was her third 90-minute game in a row, and she still dominated.
We need to feed off this energy and raise the bar as a collective.
Last weekend’s whirlwind in Melbourne also saw the launch of the second Pride Cup against Victory at the end of this month, which will be another double-header and another symbol of our ‘Togetherness’ as a Club.
We’ll get to wear our striking kit again with the rainbow numbers on the back, and I’m really looking forward to what the Melbourne LGBTI+ community can bring in terms of their support for pride, beside many of our great, travelling fans.
I’ve been an ambassador from the beginning, and I’ve just been so moved to be involved alongside Josh (Cavallo), and to be able to make a tangible difference to inclusion and making our game the safest possible space.
In terms of the naysayers, we must stay strong, keep public, and continue the stances we are making without wavering.
And we will – because everyone deserves a sense of belonging.
