This past weekend South Melbourne’s Senior Women’s squad pulled off a remarkable upset to claim their first Nike FC Cup, after defeating Heidelberg on penalties.

South were the clear underdogs ahead of the match having experiencing a poor run of form. Heidelberg on the other hand lead the NPL Women’s competition by nine points and were clear favourites ahead of this game. South however seemed to tap into their early season form though, and produced an great performance, worthy of a Cup Final.

In the first half neither team was able to score however South managed to hit the post twice. It was Heidelberg though who managed to score first when Sarah O’Donoghue opened the scoring in the second half. Undeterred though, South equalised quickly through Nikki Furukawa at the 69^th minute. At the end of regulation time the scores remained 1-1, meaning the final would go on to extra time.

Furukawa had a chance to win the game for South in extra time, but her long-range effort was saved and the game went to penalties.

Grace Taranto and Nikki Furukawa converted their penalties for South. Heidelberg however were having no such luck and had two shots saved by Ayana Aoyagi. This allowed South’s Akeisha Sandhu to step up for a chance to win the game. Sandhu confidently scored her penalty to win the game for South and deliver an unlikely Cup!

It is South’s first Nike FC Cup after being runners up four times in the competition, and also completes a remarkable double for the club after the men also defeated Heidelberg in the Dockerty Cup. The win is a much-needed boost for the women’s team who have struggled recently in the league, after leading the competition early in the year. Hopefully the win is a sign of things to come. Well done South!