EVEN with all their recent success, Mildura City’s senior women have not forgotten their team-first mantra.
New coach Damien Argiro has been impressed with the selflessness of the two-time defending title winners, who got their S-League season off to the ideal start last Sunday.
After a round 1 bye, City secured a 3-0 result against Nichols Point after a Maeve Hammett brace and an own goal.
“We’ve got a very young side again this year and I was really impressed with their performance last week,” Argiro said.
“Most of the squad is still together from last year, so they all have a really good bond out there and they got the win which was great.”
Argiro said the versatility of the squad meant they had plenty of options to plug gaps when required.
“A lot of the girls can play in a lot of different positions and everyone is happy to put their hand up to play where is needed, it’s not a team full of players who only want to play striker,” he said.
“There’s no individual attitudes, everyone is playing for the team and the club which is something we really talked about during pre-season.
“It’s my first year coaching the women’s side too, so it is a bit of an adjustment for myself but they’ve been fantastic and have taken a lot of what I’ve said on board.”
While the majority of the senior squad remains the same from last season, Mildura City experienced an influx of players from last year’s Women’s World Cup fever.
The performance of the Matildas on Australian soil against the best in the world resulted in the club’s Facebook page receiving plenty of messages of interest in playing.
“There was a massive intake of numbers with how the ‘Tillies’ performed last year,” Argiro said.
“At the time there was one week left of the season, but a lot of those new players have still come along which is great.
“There’s a lot of young faces and a lot of faces new to soccer which I think is great for the sport.
“It would be ideal to get some more teams involved. Only having a three-team competition isn’t ideal, but it’s what we’ve got at the moment.”
Mildura City face Irymple Knights on Sunday at 12.40pm at Soccer Park.
Meanwhile, in senior men’s action, Irymple Knights’ winning ways to start the campaign come under fire when they face Mildura United on Sunday.
In a change of fixture, Mildura City faced Three Colours under lights at Soccer Park on Friday night.
