EXCITEMENT and nerves will be the overriding emotions when the Swan Hill Soccer League’s under-16 girls’ team runs out for their first final against Golden City SC on Saturday.
It will be the club’s first ever junior final with a female team in the Bendigo Amateur Soccer League, with every member of the side playing their first final.
When they cross the white line in Bendigo, it will be a proud moment for their coach Ben Muir-Howie, who said the team had come a long way from its inception at the beginning of the season.
“The majority of these girls had never played any kind of team sport two years ago and they certainly hadn’t played competitive football before,” Muir-Howie told The Guardian this week. “For this group of girls to play finals together is a massive achievement.
“There was a mixture of excitement and nerves at training during the week and I just said to the girls to just enjoy it.
“What the girls have already achieved is unbelievable and it’s a credit to themselves for their dedication and hard work and we’re just going to enjoy Saturday.
“Win or lose, I know the girls will work hard and that’s the main thing.”
It will be the Swans’ third encounter with Golden City this season, having suffered two losses and a draw, with their last encounter in round 13 a 7-0 loss.
In their round 3 meeting, a controversial 3-3 draw, the Swans led into the dying moments until a very late Golden City equaliser.
“(Golden City) are an older, more physical and taller side, which has intimidated some of our girls in the past,” Muir-Howie said.
“Now we know what they’re like, we know how they want to play and the whole focus for us will be to not concede within the first 10 minutes, and play as a compact, defensive unit.
“If we can work the ball and keep possession of the ball, work it around and look for the spaces as the game goes on, we’re going to have our chances.
“We’ll split the game up into two halves, with a defensive mindset in the first half.
“We’ll just aim to get used to the ball and get as many touches of the ball as we can and hold out for as long as we can, and then in the second half, attack the game and go for it.
“We haven’t scored against them at their ground this season, so that will be a target for us.”
Swan Hill will play Golden City SC at Shadforth Park in Bendigo from noon on Saturday.
The men’s team, who finished on top of the BASL Division 2 ladder, have a direct path through to next Sunday’s preliminary final, where they will face the lowest ranked winner from this Sunday’s games between Strathfieldsaye Colts and Golden City Black, and Border Raiders FC and Golden City White.
