Tara Murray
Caroline Springs George Cross’s women’s side has nothing to lose in the biggest game of the club’s female program’s short history.
In only their second season, the Georgies will take to the field in the quarter finals of the knockout Nike F.C Cup competition on Wednesday night against National Premier League powerhouse South Melbourne.
Playing in the state league 3 west competition, the Georgies are the lowest ranked team left in the competition.
Georgies technical director John Floros said they will just look to enjoy the moment.
“We are definitely underdogs,” he said. “It’s the biggest match we’ve had.
“We want to play the best competition and there is no one better than South Melbourne, an NPLW team.
“We’ve told the girls to leave everything on the pitch and give everything they have.”
The match is the highlight in what has been a strong season so far for the women’s side. They were sitting second after five rounds in the state league 3 west competition.
Floros said it was a tough competition with five or six teams fighting for promotion.
While the results are good for the women’s side, the focus is on the overall development of the club’s female program.
COVID-19 has had some impact, with the club set to have a women’s side in 2020, before the season was called off.
“The most important thing is focusing on our program,” Floros said. “I came into the role in October and we were still trying to rebuild after COVID.
“We want to build the program and get promoted in the league. We want to put standards in place.
“We’re trying to get positive results, while also developing girls in senior football.”
As well as having a senior side, the club has under-7, under-8, under-9, under-16s and under-18s girls teams.
The senior women are invested in those programs, with several players coaching junior teams.
Floros said it was about giving the young players something to aspire to.
He said while they were thrilled with how the season was going so far, they didn’t want to get too far ahead of themselves, knowing there’s a lot of work to do.
“We’re proud of the girls and how far they’ve come in the Nike Cup and what they’re doing week to week,” he said.
“We want to continue to build this program over the next three to four years and get more people involved.
“We have the facilities here and we’re striving to be the best we can.”
Tara Murray
