It was a grudge match for the two relegated teams, which both moved to women's state league two north-west competition after finishing in the two bottom spots on the state league one ladder last season.

The Strikers, desperate for a win, could only draw with Lara in two 2017 outings.

Vranesic said there had been no surprises from Lara at Morshead Park on Sunday and his players had been prepared for the opposition to come out hard early.

“We knew they were going to be a well drilled team,” he said. “Initially, before the game started, we said we would just play smart football, defend and start playing some long ball until they started running out of legs and then we could start playing our own game.”

But even with a focus on defence, the Strikers’ Alysha-Grace Reisacher scored within the first eight minutes. 

And it took just four minutes for Lara to reply.

“Once Lara scored the second goal, we went back to the game plan – playing a few longer balls to make the midfielders do more running,” Vranesic said. “Every person on the park had to play their part for us to get the result, so it was definitely a team effort.”

Ashley Blackburn celebrated her first goal for the Strikers, which put the team back on level terms, and, while Lara took the lead again in the second half, Barbara had the final say with a goal of her own to follow from her two assists. 

“In the first two games of the season our midfield and defence have been quite solid,” Vranesic said. “And this week we had three different goal scorers so that was really, really good to see.”

The coach said the win against rivals Lara was a confidence boost for the team, which is yet to lose a match after two rounds this season. 

“After last year, it was a bit of a challenge because we only won the one game,” Vranesic said. “The main thing for me was to change the atmosphere of the club and get the girls to enjoy their football again and start believing in themselves because they are good enough.”