THE Swan Hill women’s soccer team has taken a giant stride towards creating history this season, with a 2-0 win over Spring Gully United SC on Sunday further strengthening their grip on a top six finish.
On a weekend when the majority of Bendigo Amateur Soccer League matches were cancelled due to extreme weather and unsafe pitches, the Swans moved five points clear of Spring Gully in their two club battle for the sixth and final spot in this year’s BASL Super Cup finals series.
With four rounds remaining, Swan Hill are now in the box seat to end their long-running finals drought, with the women’s team having never featured in a BASL Super Cup finals campaign since their inception in 2007.
“It was a performance that we’ve been threatening to produce all season to be honest and the girls couldn’t have picked a better time to produce it,” Swan Hill women’s assistant coach Emma Pitts told The Guardian after the win.
“We’re incredibly proud of the girls and not just on how they played today, but for how far they’ve come as a team.
“We’ve improved considerably as individuals since last year and the year before that, but today was one of the first times where it really stood out how far we’ve come as a team.
“We were a little disappointed after our performance last weekend (against Golden City) even though we won and we challenged the girls during the week knowing what this game meant for our season.
“They responded better than we could have imagined against a team that can be quite challenging to beat and for about 80 percent of the game I felt we completely outplayed them.”
With strong winds and scattered showers throughout the match making conditions difficult for passing and ball control, it was Swan Hill’s determination to get a result that shone through early, with striker Trinity Shelton scoring her 10th goal of the season with a well timed strike that beat Spring Gully goalkeeper Jessica Ireland in the 14th minute.
Shelton’s goal not only opened the scoring but further encouraged her teammates to press, with Swans midfielders Luciana Senes, Demi Lai, Charley Baskin and Annabelle Fleming working hard to transition the ball to the open side of the field.
Their dedication eventually paid off in the 28th minute, with Kayla Chrisp finishing some strong team passing with her first goal of the match to give the home side a 2-0 lead.
The Swans would take that two goal advantage into the break, with conditions further deteriorating in the second half.
With scoring becoming increasingly difficult, the Swans turned their attention to maintaining their lead throughout the second half, with Amity Scott, Abbey Houlihan, Sarah Feltrin and Ruby Maher all holding firm in the closing stages as Spring Gully tried to get back into the contest.
“Our passing and our transitional play was about as good as we’ve seen all year, which was even more impressive considering the conditions,” Pitts said.
“We did a little bit of work on our ability to transition the ball through the midfield on Tuesday night and we saw a big improvement in that area of our game.
“I think the most pleasing thing though was our effort across the board, as I said earlier we challenged the girls during the week as our effort wasn’t where it needed to be against Golden City but they all responded really well.
“We were physical when we needed to be, we closed down their (Spring Gully) space when they had the ball, we honoured our teammates with good passes when they made position, we did the things that good teams do.
“Hopefully the girls realise what they are capable of when we play with that level of effort and commitment, because we are genuinely good team when we do.”
Defenders Rhyleigh Pope-Frazer and Sarah Scott were among Swan Hill’s better players, as were midfielders Senes and Alycia Anderson, who both came off the bench and provided an immediate impact for the home side.
Midfielders Skye Bennett and Zyma Aslam also providing key roles in playing more attacking roles in both halves, while goal keeper Mardene de Villiers ensured the Swans secured their fifth clean sheet of the season.
The women’s team will be hoping to extend their winning streak to four consecutive games when they host second placed Castlemaine Goldfields Green this Sunday, with a win almost guaranteeing the Swans a finals berth.
“It was a huge step forward (to playing finals) but we’re not there yet, we still need to win another couple of games to absolutely guarantee ourselves a spot, but we’ve given ourselves a really good chance,” Pitts said.
“It’s a huge game this weekend and one where we need to step up even further if we are to beat Castlemaine, but I’m confident that if we turn up with the same mindset then we will give it a really good shake.”
Among the games to be called off over the weekend included the Swan Hill men’s away fixture against Strathfieldsaye Colts United, with the match announcement on the rescheduling to be announced over the coming days.
Swan Hill under-16 boys fixture against Spring Gully White will also be rescheduled after their match was abandoned on Saturday morning.
Swan Hill’s under-14 boys were the only other team to feature over the weekend, with the team continuing their unbeaten record after defeating Spring Gully 4-1 at the Ken Harrison Reserve on Saturday, with Zeke Simmons scoring two goals for the Swans.
Conor Mcgovern and Elijah Swartz also scored, with the Swans moving three games clear on top of the ladder.
