Following the full-time whistle at McKellar Park on Saturday, Scott Conlon became a Federation Cup-winning coach for the third year running, marking a period of success at Belconnen United under his stewardship that has seen the club reclaim its rightful place as a powerhouse in Canberra’s footballing scene.
Conlon said that despite the achievement, it meant that little bit more to see his side’s consistently outstanding performances rewarded through fulfilling the framework for success at the National Premier League Women’s level.
“It’s a nice feeling,” he commented. “Three in a row doesn’t really mean as much to me as it [being] another achievement for the group, we’re trying to get as many as we can, usually success is defined by trophies in first grade, and yeah it’s just another achievement for the girls which I’m really happy about.”
The task was completed by the narrowest of scorelines, with a 1-0 victory enough to see off opponents Canberra Croatia following an Anneke Corry wonderstrike, however Belconnen’s plethora of opportunities should’ve seen the side convert more opportunities.
“I’ll be honest I was frustrated for a lot of the game,” Conlon said. “Not like putting my frustration onto the girls but inside I was frustrated because when you’re as dominant as that, usually there’s more goals to show for it on the scoreboard and we only had one.”
Particularly given the way the Blue Devils have been playing throughout their league and cup campaigns, with 53 NPLW goals scored in just eight games, high-scoring victories are almost an expectation.
“The expectation is high, and we’re scoring a lot of goals so to just get one today from all of our opportunities, it just shows you that finals can change things, and all of a sudden things that would be a goal in a normal game aren’t’ goals,” Conlon said. “They defend a little better, we tense up a little bit in the big moment, and that shows me which girls need a little bit more coaching through that.”
Despite the difference of a final in comparison to regular league games, the Head Coach’s message in the build-up to his team was somewhat uncharacteristic of a high-pressure match, choosing instead to focus on a ‘more of the same’-oriented approach, given the dominant nature of his side’s performances throughout the season.
“I spent a few hours on my teamtalk and then when it came to the crunch I didn’t think they needed all that, all of those ended up being reminders and they didn’t need that, they just needed a bit of a gee up, and we needed to get out there,” he said.
While on paper this season the Blue Devils remain a youthful outfit, their performances and mentality on the field tell a much different story, and this is only amplified in the context of a cup final, where Conlon’s players’ ability to stand up to these occasions is all the more impressive.
“It’s starting to be something I can’t really describe,” the coach expressed. “You’ve got young players who are 18 starting to deal with pressure moments like a 25 year-old, or someone who’s much older, much more experienced, I think making seven Grand Finals in a row, and some of those girls have now been in seven Grand Finals, and they’re still 18 years old.”
Overall it’s a trophy that caps off an incredible start to Belconnen’s 2025 campaign, and having fallen short in the race for the league and Grand Final titles in 2024, the McKellar-based outfit look like a vastly more commanding and authoritative side, which Conlon puts down to several factors.
“I think it’s just a combination of the same coach being there for the same amount of time, so there’s no new voices, or expectations from when other teams change their coaches frequently,” he said. “And the player base has remained similar, and, we did change a couple things in the off season, because I think the girls were ready for something a bit different, and yeah it’s going really well.”
Words: Sam Watson
