A chance for the Wellington Phoenix academy to make history on Sunday afternoon.
Women’s reserves head coach Callum Holmes is embracing the pressure ahead of this weekend’s Kate Sheppard Cup final.
His side will have the chance to lift the academy’s first senior trophy against Auckland United, after overcoming Cashmere Technical 2-1 in a dramatic semi final.
He believes the team have earned their shot at silverware with the effort they’ve put in this season.
“We’re excited,” Holmes told media pre-match. “It’s all the hard work that the players have done throughout the year.
“It’s been a long year that’s going to continue for them. It started way back on the 20th of January so it’s an exciting time for the football club.
“We don’t often talk about winning games. Although winning is an important part of development, we talk about performance a lot.
“So it’s about making sure our performance is consistent, working on the things that we think are important leading into the final.”
Auckland United, the current holders, knocked the Phoenix out at the semi final stage last year, but Holmes is unfazed by the rematch.
“It’s not something we spoke about. We’re largely a different team.
“We’ve got a few players that have stepped up to the first team, a few players that have left us, and they’re different too, so they’re going to pose a slightly different challenge.
“I think we’re well prepared but it’s not something we really think about.”
There will be extra incentive for Auckland United to lift a trophy, after they relinquished the Northern League title for the first time in three years.
“It’s going to make them hungrier. They’ll have a little bit of fire in their belly coming into the game, but so will we.
“They’re an experienced team. They’ve won a lot of titles, won a lot of games over the last few years, have a good coaching staff, and they’re probably the best team in the country.
“We expect an experienced team to be quite cohesive, but we’re prepared and ready to go.”
But Holmes is confident that a young side will step up to the challenge and showcase the Wellington Phoenix academy on the big stage.
“No bones about it, we are the best academy pathway in Oceania.
“These games are great because it means we get to show off what we do on a bigger stage.
“All the staff and all the players know what we do every single day. It’s an opportunity to get it out there and show people what we do.”
“We’ll get the players ready, we’ll prepare them, and we’ll go out and enjoy the occasion. That’s the most important thing.”
The Kate Sheppard Cup final between the Wellington Phoenix women’s reserves and Auckland United will take place at North Harbour Stadium at 4pm Sunday, and will be broadcast live and free on FIFA+.
Cover photo credit: Photomac/Cam McIntosh
