Tara Murray
Calder United’s youngsters will be on show as the club returns to the field in the Nike Cup next weekend.
The semi finals of the state wide knockout competition will finally be played after being postponed due to lockdowns.
The grand final will be played the following weekend.
Calder president Amanda Stella said the playing group was keen to get back on the field. All four semi finalists will be without their A-League women’s players
“It’s a good opportunity for the clubs to play younger players,” she said.
“We’re pretty pumped and excited as we haven’t played a lot of football in the last two years.
“The reserves group, some who will play this week, have played the least football.
“Every club has lost three to four good players [due to A-League], it’s good to showcase the youth.”
Stella said normally at this time of the year, the group hadn’t started pre-season. With the knowledge that they might still get to play the Nike Cup, they started preparing as soon as lockdown ended.
The club is the reigning champions having won the event the last three times, most recently in 2019.
“We’ve come together on the track and it’s been great for them all,” Stella said before the weekend.
“We have a practise match this week. One game before the match against a different team.
“The girls just want to play.”
Calder faces Box Hill United in its semi final at David Barro Stadium on Sunday at 5pm.
