Holmes away from home for Adelaide

AN ongoing relationship between Adelaide United and Mildura would sit well with Reds midfielder Dylan Holmes.

The Matilda and her A-League teammates are excited to perform in front of a big crowd at Mildura Sporting Precinct today when they face Western United in the One Agency Mildura A-League Festival of Sport.

The Reds finished bottom of the table last season but have ambitions of returning to finals under coach Adrian Stenta.

Holmes, a central midfielder who has great composure on the ball, said the club would love to extend their fan base across the border and would back future A-League games in Sunraysia.

“I’ve never been to Mildura before but I know everyone is really excited,” she said.

“The expected numbers makes it seem like it will be a big crowd which is awesome for both the women’s and the men’s teams.

“It was would be fantastic if Adelaide United can form a nice relationship with Mildura, who knows if there could be opportunities to play A-League games there in the future, I think that would be pretty cool.”

A raft of new additions is hoped to help Adelaide United make a strong push for finals this season, starting with their opener against Melbourne Victory on November 2.

New signings including former Central Coast Mariners gun Tiarna Karambasis, emerging English midfielder Abbey Clarke, American forward Erin Healy and Dominican Republic international defender Lucia Leon.

Similar to their male counterparts, the Reds women’s side also pride themselves on blooding young South Australian talent into the team.

“We’ve had a couple of practice matches but this will be or first game in a long time against A-League opposition so we’re really excited,” Holmes said of Saturday’s match.

“We learned a lot from last year, we’ve brought some new faces into the playing group and they’ve brought some real energy.

“The signs are there so far. We’re looking at this year as a fresh start and we have to be ambitious, our aim is to play finals football.

“I think it’s an important part of Adelaide United that there are opportunities for young players, I think quite a few of them will get minutes in Mildura which is exciting.”