BALLARAT Eureka Strikers are hoping to make their inaugural encounter with Melbourne City an annual event.
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The club is fresh from a heavy 6-0 defeat at the hands of the new W-League team, which rolled out the stars in a practice match at Morshead Park on Saturday.
Australian international Larissa Crummer was prolific in attack - netting a hat-trick - while fellow international Lisa De Vanna put on a master class.
De Vanna is the co-captain of the Aussie women’s team and is one of the country’s most accomplished female soccer players. The 30-year-old has been capped 104 times for her country, where she has hit the back of the net 37 times.
Other Australian players to start the game included Steph Catley and Laura Alleway, with none of the Matildas removed from the game until the 65th minute.
Despite the heavy loss, the Eureka Strikers will gain confidence from keeping the City side to just one goal after half time.
Eureka Strikers assistant coach Laura Brady told The Courier the strength of City meant that her team got an opportunity to play against elite opposition in full flight.
“Melbourne City officials and players commented after the game about how well the Eureka Strikers played; putting up a much stiffer opposition than they expected to face,” Brady said.
“In particular, they were impressed with the youth of the Eureka Strikers side. The average age of the team was 17, with the oldest player to take the pitch being 22.”
Brady said Melbourne City coach Joe Montemurro had indicated that he would like to make the match an annual event.
She said despite being played on AFL grand final day, there was a good crowd at the fixture.
“The combination of the quality of the match, the facilities that were made available to Melbourne City and the public interest combined to make the fixture (an) attractive option for Melbourne City,” Brady said.
The Eureka Strikers have just completed a successful Football Federation Victoria women’s state league one campaign that landed the league title and a grand final berth.
A major focus for the club is now a consultation meeting with representatives from FFV after a failed bid to be part of the newly-created Women's National Premier League.
The club is still hopeful of winning a licence for season 2017.