Ninety-four goals scored, four conceded – with those sorts of figures, it would seem Hoppers Crossing should have had the FFV women’s state league 4 west title wrapped up weeks ago.
But the Reds had to wait until the last day of the season to secure their title and promotion.
It turned into an incredibly difficult race for the premiership, with Spring Hills going with the Reds every step of the way.
“We only won it by one point in the end,” Reds coach Sean Sumner told Star Weekly. “We eventually got the job done.”
After a nervous build-up, Hoppers Crossing turned the last day of the season into an anti-climax.
The Reds totally dismantled Kyneton District 6-0 in the final round at Grange Reserve – and then celebrated in front of their home fans.
“Once the whistle blew, we were going crazy,” Sumner said.
“We didn’t even wait – we all sung the song in front of the spectators.”
Sarah Sumner had a day out for the Reds with a hat-trick, while Boki Jovetic and Leonora Wharehinga scored a goal each to share the golden boot with 19 goals for the season.
Wharehinga’s goal output was particularly impressive, considering she missed half the season with a knee injury.
“She only played 11 games because she did her knee,” Sean Sumner said. “Leo had 18 goals to round 10 and scored her 19th goal in the last game – so did Boki.”
Hoppers Crossing’s women’s team was newly constructed this season.
Sumner admits he was unaware of the potential of the team.
“We had to start from scratch, so we didn’t know really what to expect in the pre-season,” he said. “We were either going to have a team off the street or we were going to have a good team.
“When we got all the names rolling in, we thought we had a good chance.”
Hoppers Crossing’s triumph was a product of hard work.
Sumner says he did not give his players an easy ride.
“I trained them pretty hard for eight months,” he said. “When they look back on all the hard work they’ve done, they can be proud. They deserved it.”
With the west title in the bag, Hoppers Crossing is setting its sights on becoming the overall state league 4 champions.
The Reds got their play-off campaign off to a flying start with a 4-0 win over Meadow Park at Egan Lee Reserve on Saturday.
