She may wear the Sky Blue of Sydney FC proudly but Caitlin Foord cannot wait to return to the Illawarra when her side hosts Melbourne City on Thursday night’s Round 14 Westfield W-League clash.
Born in Shellharbour, Foord will be gracing familiar fields when the match at nearby Wollongong’s WIN Stadium kicks off and the 24-year-old said she could not wait to get back to her roots.
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“I’m super excited, WIN Stadium is one of my favourite stadiums to play at – put aside it being in my home town – I just love playing on that pitch,” Foord told wleague.com.au.
“Obviously put my friends and family into the occasion, it’s very rare that they get to see me play, especially so close to home, it’s always an exciting one for me and one that I’m looking forward to but obviously for the girls as well.”
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Foord’s side take on fifth-placed Melbourne City, who require a big win to have any chance of sneaking into the top four.
Sydney, who sit third, are in the unique position of being able to claim the Premiers Plate or drop out of finals calculations altogether depending on how results play out.
Foord said her side needed to be wary of their conquerors in last season’s Grand Final.
“Melbourne City are still one of the best teams in the league, they haven’t had results this year,” she said.
“[We are] going into this game knowing it’s going to be a tough game and the re-match of the Grand Final last year.
“They need a win, they need a win with a lot of goals and if there’s any team that could do it I think they’re the team that would be up for it so we have to be on our game … it’s a big game for us, we win we could potentially finish first so it’s a massive game for both of us.”
Sky Blues defender Alanna Kennedy was reflective when asked about the relative struggles of her former club, saying there was not much City could do as their quest for a fourth successive Championship was being ravaged by injuries.
“Unfortunately for them they’ve had a lot of injuries, they’ve obviously got a quality side, quality coaching staff and people around them but just sometimes that’s the way it is, you can’t discredit them, they’re a great team and a great club,” Kennedy said.
“From what I can remember it’s the closest it’s been, it’s good healthy competition and it’s good signs for the W-League going forward.”
