MID North Coast emerged from a successful TAFE NSW Women's State Cup, even if they didn't bring home the trophy.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Jonathon Newman-coached side headed to Speers Point at the weekend mainly aiming to get some more miles in the legs.
They did that and a bit more when they stunned South Wallsend 1-0 in their third game to progress to the semi-finals.
"It was a good tournament which gave us a chance to take a few of our first graders down, but mainly our under-20 girls," Newman said.
"This sort of tournament gave us the opportunity to work with the team, try different players in different positions and see how they react to different game situations."
Mid North Coast reacted perfectly against South Wallsend when they scored early through Jessica James before they "set up camp" in front of goal.
"I don't usually coach my teams to play that way, but I thought I'd see if the girls were capable of defending a lead like that," the coach said.
"It was a good learning curve for the girls."
Libby Copus-Brown was then the difference as Wallsend accounted for them 3-0 in the semi-final.
"Libby dictated the pace of the game early on, but our girls were quite happy with their efforts," Newman said.
Mid North Coast beat Maitland (2-0) and Western Phoenix (3-0) before they held out a South Wallsend side made up of 50 per cent of Women's Premier League players.
The Red Devils were then too good on the way to winning the title.
"Maddie Newman was our player of the match in the semi-final," Newman said.
"You know she's had some work to do when your goalkeeper is player of the match."
What else is happening in sport?
While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from the Port Macquarie News. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, SIGN UP HERE.