Wee Waa United FC’s Namoi Soccer League title defence got underway with a 1-0 victory on home soil on Saturday afternoon.
Wee Waa welcomed Moree Services FC to Cook Oval for the sides’ round one match as soccer finally returned to the field after the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the season’s start.
An Elise Vinson goal about 15 minutes into the second half separated the sides on the day.
The goal, which was Vinson’s first in the open senior grade, was a reward for hard work as she refused to give up while chasing down an overhit through ball.
Moree goalkeeper Will Hawker got to the loose ball first and attempted to clear it downfield but kicked the ball into Vinson which deflected into the goal.
Neither side could find the net in the final half hour as the hosts held on to win their first game of the season.
Wee Waa United captain Steve Phelps told the Wee Waa News that he was pleased with how his team performed individually and said that they would continue to gel and grow as a team.
“We’ve been training pretty well for the past few weeks and getting good numbers to training but you’re always going to be a bit rusty on the first game day,” Phelps said.
“There were a few blokes who weren’t quite happy with their performances, but for a first up match against Moree after they amalgamated from two good teams into one even better team, we did well.
“We thought we might struggle a little bit but we held them out really well, we scrambled really well.
“Individual performances were really good and there’s some really good signs.
“A couple of our new players are really gelling well with the team, and as a team I think we will continue to gel and get better.
“There’s good signs.”
Phelps said that his team had its sights set on winning another Namoi Soccer League title in 2020.
“We have the same attitude as always,” Phelps said.
“We are a bit more of a social club but we definitely want it, we want to get to the grand final again and we want to go back-to-back.
“We definitely have the side that can do that.
“The last few years even if we haven’t always got the wins we’ve always had the side that can do it, that can put on that performance and get the job done.
“We are a really tight team, we are really close and we will fight for each other until the last whistle.
“But winning the grand final for us is not the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is to get out there play hard together and have a bit of fun.”
Saturday’s win was even more special considering several players including Nathan and Jayden Hamblin and David Avery were all missing.
Phelps said that everyone who pulled on a Wee Waa kit did their job and helped contribute to the victory.
It was a win that saw Wee Waa begin where it left off in 2019.
The side’s most recent game before Saturday was a 3-2 extra time grand final victory against Narrabri FC (now Narrabri Sporties FC) back in September last year.
Those two teams are scheduled to meet again this weekend in a round two grand final rematch.
However that is currently under threat with rain predicted for both Friday and Saturday.
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