Tara Murray
Calder United’s remarkable Nike F.C Cup run has continued with the club winning a fifth straight title.
Having last lost in the knockout competition since 2016, Calder had been hoping to make it a handful of victories on Sunday night against South Melbourne.
After taking control of the game early including two first half goals, Calder consolidated their lead with a penalty early in the second half to win 3-0.
With the game in the bag, Calder was able to celebrate the result, while keeping one eye on the busy few weeks they have ahead.
Calder coach Mark Torcaso said this one was pretty special having had no expectations heading into the season.
“Five is really good,” he said. “With the group we’ve had, there’s some young girls who were excited to play and it was great for them.
“We had three or four of them start and another one or two come on at the end, it’s five or six young girls getting to experience that.
“That’s the main reason for the excitement.”
Torcaso said they had wanted to give the younger girls in the squad the best opportunities to play in important games and this was a case of being able to do that.
He said the whole squad was involved in the day, whether they were playing or not.
“This is why we brought them up,” he said. “To experience as many games as possible. The experienced ones had more enthusiasm than some of the younger ones.
“Some have been involved in four or five of this, it’s amazing for them to be part of this with the girls winning their first, second or third.”
Torcaso said the game with South Melbourne was always going to be a difficult one. He said playing on a bigger ground meant that they needed to change their game up.
In the end, it was Calder’s day.
“We took control from the start,” he said. “As they tired we locked down the game, as we’ve got a couple of big games the next few weeks.”
Mel Taranto, who scored the penalty, was named player of the match. Torcaso said Taranto, new Western United signing Alana Cerne and Alexis Rossi were the three standouts.”
Captain Aleks Sinclair and Emma Robers have been involved in all five Nike F.C Cup wins.
Calder’s attention will quickly return to the National Premier League Women’s competition.
Calder sit atop the table after 18 rounds, two points clear of Heidelberg United. Calder has a game in hand.
They face three games in the space of seven days. Despite setting no expectations pre-season, Calder is keen to add another piece of silverware to their cabinet.
“Hopefully we can win the premiers plate, that is what we are aiming for,” he said.
“We need nine points from the last four games.”
