AFTER the Swan Hill men’s soccer team secured their first trophy of the season last Saturday, Swan Hill’s two female teams will be fighting for their opportunity to compete for silverware this weekend.
Swan Hill’s under-16 girls team will be the first in action when they travel to Shadforth Park, Bendigo, to take on Golden City SC, with the Swans needing just one more win to guarantee themselves a spot in this year’s Super Cup competition.
In fourth place with four rounds to play, Swan Hill find themselves 12 points clear of fifth-placed Spring Gully Warriors, who will face bottom-placed Kyneton District SC.
It would be the first time that Swan Hill have had a junior girls team qualify for the Bendigo Amateur Soccer League Super Cup competition, with Swan Hill’s women’s team also needing a win in order to keep their Super Cup chances alive this weekend.
A late-season resurgence has the Swans women’s team on the cusp of a top-six berth ahead of Sunday’s must-win home game against Golden City SC, with the women’s team chasing their first Super Cup appearance in over a decade.
With Swan Hill suffering a 5-1 defeat earlier in the season, Sunday will be no easy task according to women’s captain Sarah Scott, who told The Guardian she was expecting a far more competitive performance this time.
“We’ve come a fair way as a team since that game and to be honest, the end score wasn’t a true reflection on that game as it was,” Scott said.
“That was probably the first game, where we were genuinely able to compete against a top team and even though we lost 5-1, we were still in the game until the last 10 minutes or so.
“We let them score a couple of late goals and probably didn’t make the most of our opportunities either.”
While Swan Hill have clearly improved, having won three of their past five matches, so too have Golden City. The Rams shocked the competition to defeat reigning premiers Border Raiders FC 1-0 last weekend.
The Swans on the other hand are fresh off the bye, having lost 7-0 to Castlemaine Goldfields FC the week before.
That day was a disappointing one for the Swans, who trailed 6-0 at half-time before rallying in the second half, with Scott confident of a much-improved performance against Golden City.
“To be blunt, we were poor in the first half against Castlemaine,” Scott said.
“We had a few things going against us that day, including having a few key players missing, but I think we’ve learnt a few things from that loss and we’ll be much better prepared this weekend.
“For us, it’s all about our work rate and our ability to pressure and compete. If we can get those key indicators up and make it difficult for them to transition from defence to attack then I think we’ll be in the game.”
The Swans will be without centre midfielder Heidi Annand, with Abbey Houlihan and Malyna Tants expected to return for Swan Hill to strengthen their defence and forward structure.
Also in action over the weekend will be the club’s under-16 boys and youth boys teams, with both sides hosting FC Eaglehawk and Tatura SC on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
Both teams will be looking for their first wins of the season, with Eaglehawk (first) and Tatura (second) going in as favourites in their respective competitions.
