WITH destiny now fully in their own hands, Ballarat Eureka Strikers have all eyes on winning the Football Federation Victoria women’s state league one crown.
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The Ballarat girls closed the gap on top side University of Melbourne to one point with last weekend’s big win over Cairnlea and can keep the pressure on the leaders with victory this Sunday against Brighton.
Ballarat will host Brighton – which it drew 1-1 with earlier in the season – at Morshead Park.
Strikers assistant coach Laura Brady has reported Jordan Ivey will return to the team, but expects her to play minimal game time as she recovers from an ankle injury. As a result, Vanessa Yung retains her spot in the squad for this weekend as cover.
There is an injury cloud over central midfielder Tessa Curtain, and while she is likely to play, may be rested if the Eureka Strikers can take control of the game in the early stages.
Meanwhile, Erin Plucke retains her position in the team over Lily McLean due to her excellent run of form.
“The key to the Eureka Strikers this week will be maintaining focus for the full 90 minutes,” Brady said.
“The odd lapse last week, particularly by goalkeeper Jasmina Zdelar, created worrying moments and against a better team could be far more costly.”
Ballarat heads into this home fixture on the back of four-straight wins, with the team still yet to be beaten this campaign.
In other news, FFV has revealed 22 clubs have applied for the inaugural Women’s National Premier Leagues competition.
Applications will go through a two-stage process. Firstly, it will be established they meet basic mandatory criteria before being assessed on weighted criteria, including youth development and coaching, finance, facilities and council support.
Successful applicants are set to be offered a three-year licence in the WNPL.
FFV chief executive officer Peter Gome has welcomed the geographic spread of applicants.
“It’s pleasing to see not only such wide ranging support for WNPL (with 22 applications) but to see all major areas of Melbourne and a number of regional areas represented,” Gome said.
“It shows the strength of the women’s game in Victoria.”
Successful applicants are expected to be announced following an FFV board meeting in August.
The Ballarat Eureka Strikers submitted a 160-page document as part of their tilt at a licence.
Brady, who is also the bid coordinator, said a working party, which included Ballarat and District Soccer Association representatives, was "reasonably" confident that the application would be successful.
