Canberra United co-Captain Michelle Heyman says that there are more positives to take out of Saturday’s loss to Melbourne Victory than there are negatives as United get set to welcome back their crop of Young Matildas.
Natasha Dowie’s goal in the second half on Saturday proved the winner for the Victory on Saturday at Epping Stadium, but with almost as many players unavailable as there were available, the trip was always going to be tough.
Heyman said that while the loss was a less than ideal start, the playing group was looking forward to working as a full unit for the first time.
“I think there are a lot of positives to take out of the game,” she said.
“We’ve still got a few things to work on, but definitely when we get our full strength squad back I think things are going to get put into place and we’ll come away with a few wins.”
“There were a lot more positives than negatives.”
“If we can keep building on that then it is definitely something that will definitely help us in the future.
“It’s more about getting back into training, and making sure that we can work on the little things we didn’t do so well.”
The match marked Heyman’s return to Westfield W-League action, completing a long-winded rehab cycle following her nasty ankle injury against the Victory in December last year.
Heyman said that returning against the same team she hurt herself against played on her mind, but that scoring in her first match back was a huge boost to her confidence.
“I was so happy,” Heyman said.
“I was nervous the day before, thinking ‘ooh I did my ankle against Melbourne Victory and now we’re playing against them’, I was in my own head a bit.
“But I was telling myself to score a goal to give me that confidence. For myself I thought I did alright and I was just personally happy with how I did.”
The squad now turn their attention towards the Round 3 fixture against Sydney FC, with a bye this weekend allowing some extra training with a full squad.
The Co-Captain said the two week buildup will be valuable, but they must also be wary of a Sydney squad that will have a full contingent of players too.
““Just because of Sydney’s result and them missing a few players, it’s going to be a totally different team to what went out against Brisbane,” she said.
“It will be a good hit out for us to get the full squad back in and work on those little things we need to improve.”
Tickets will be available soon for the clash with Sydney FC at McKellar Park on Sunday the 12th November, kicking off at 4:30pm.
