And just like that, we've set sail for the 2023 season!
We're very excited to get the new season underway, and are also keen to return to the field in the coming weekends during the Men's Championship Summer Cup and the WSL Summer Cup. We're also greatly anticipating the new league format in the Women's game, with our WSL Development team now underpinning the WSL seniors. But for now, the question on everyone's salt-smacked lips is whether or not our Men's Championship lads can hold onto their shiny piece of silverware in their imminent Cup battles? We'll have to stay tuned to find out!
Last weekend, our Men's Championship team and WSL team took to a rain-sodden Kelvedon to play back-to-back friendlies against Launceston United. Men's Championship Head Coach, Llewyn Tubb, says, "Thank you to Fernando and Launceston United for travelling down to Kelvedon for very a wet afternoon of football. It was great to give 20 players from our squad some match time this early in preparations. There were plenty of learning opportunities and I’m excited for the opening rounds of Summer Cup ahead."
Our Men's Championship team started the game strong, and were able to open the scoring tally. However, they couldn't keep the lead and were ultimately defeated 2-5. Our WSL team also started the game strong, leading 2-0 at half time, and were able to vanquish the WSL title holders with an impressive 3-2 win. A huge congratulations to the team, and especially to Daisy Parsell for nabbing a brace and Mia Fujiura for adding the extra goal. The win provides a great confidence boost which the WSL Pirates will be able to carry into their first round Cup game next weekend.
Tomorrow sees our Men's Championship Pirates embark on their own Cup journey. Coach Llewyn says, "First up we take on Nelson on Saturday 4:15pm at KGV, followed by Olympia Warriors on Sunday the 19th at 5pm. With five pre season matches in the Summer Cup, our focus will be on conditioning and developing our playing style." Best of luck to our lads this weekend, make sure to get along to KGV to cheer them on!