Reigning Federation Cup winners Belconnen United are regaining their place as one of Canberra’s dominant forces in the top tier and are aspiring to increase their silverware haul in 2024, following a recent rebuild period.
Scott Conlon leads the Blue Devils for a third consecutive season as Head Coach, having played a significant role in their resurgence, after winning them their first trophy since 2019 last season.
While for much of his life the Kambah-raised coach associated with Tuggeranong United, his settlement in the Belconnen area established a desire to bring the club back to its best.
“It’s kind of my second long-term club,” Conlon described. “I went overseas for a few years to play in England, and I came back and situated in Belconnen… and then really, I’ve been associated with the Belsouth and Belconnen clubs for the last 20 years.
“It’s knowing that for something that you are very attached to, you can commit time and effort to try and improve it, and because I’m passionate about soccer, and obviously I’m passionate about my club, it means a lot to me to coach the team…Belconnen is where I live, so that’s what I’m attached to.”
Following almost a decade of dominance, Belconnen United required a revamp across the board, with Conlon deciding to step in to fill the Head Coach void to contribute to this process.
“I had taken a break from first grade coaching as my kids were little, and as they started to enjoy [and play] the game, I coached them,” he said. “It was in my second year of U13s in the Belconnen women’s program, because my daughter was that age… some things went wrong within the club, and there was a gap in first grade.
“I thought right, I can’t have my daughter coming through a program that has no top end, so I said I’ll do first grade, I was going to do it in the not-too-distant future, but I said we’ll just do it now.”
Now having been in the role for a significant period, last season’s achievements indicate that the club is heading in the right direction, notably with their Federation Cup success, although Conlon’s 2023 ambitions for his side were not fully satisfied.
“The reality was, I wanted to come first, and I wanted to win the Grand Final,” he expressed. “The work we put in over the eight or nine months, even the month before Christmas, I felt we were ready to win.
“By the time September came we were just as a group, a bit spent, and that’s not an excuse, as a coach and as a playing group you need to hit your peaks at the right times…but we were at the back end of a monster season.”
Having faced countless disruptions in 2023, and falling to another Grand Final defeat, Conlon has altered his approach to preparation this season, based on what he’s learned.
“Looking back after a little bit of time, you can see where things were won and lost, and some of that could be fatigue at the end of the season, not peaking at the right time, some of that could be not having the skill set or the composure to execute on the big moments,” he explained. “I’ve modified what we’ve done through the preseason this year, so we don’t hit the wall come August…and make sure we’re ready to go as far as November if we have to.”
Another significant modification comes in the tactical department, with the Head Coach opting for a more-attack based style of play in 2024, amongst a side whose solidity at the back has been a key feature of their setup in recent years.
“I’d say a couple of years back I was quite focused on the defensive elements of the game, and I was happy to build a squad that concentrated on not conceding goals, then building from clean sheets to scoring goals, to try to win games,” Conlon said. “Now I think after two years being in the female game in Canberra, I’ve kind of relaxed a bit on the whole defensive approach and modified my philosophy to say I want to be more attacking.”
“If that means sacrificing a little bit of defensive stability, then that’s what it is… I want the players to enjoy how we play… the likelihood is we probably score more goals, and you know what, that could end up with an extra place on the ladder.”
Despite the departures of leading scorer Bessie Riethmuller, midfielder Ella Palframan, and goalkeeper Ellie Summers, most of the cup-winning squad has remained at Belconnen, however Conlon sought several additions to strengthen his side.
The pickups of custodian Monique Pinkiewicz from NPL Tasmania, alongside team of the season-nominated Ailish McDonagh and Alyse Jensen, have proven to be smart signings, while the capture of attack-minded players Pascale La Hei and Alyssa Di-Campli, have settled into Conlon’s side seamlessly, Di-Campli leads the scoring charts seven rounds in, with eight goals.
“Some of what goes into trying to pick players you want to come to you, you’ve got to try to, when you talk to them, understand if they’re going to fit into the group, and those three in particular, Ailish, Pascale, [and] Alyssa, they fit the mould of what we’re looking for, and if Alyse hadn’t of gotten injured in the first game of the season, she was probably ready to make a decent start to her Belconnen career as well.”
To start the 2024 season, the Blue Devils are off to a flyer, sitting top of the table with six wins out of six, and having qualified for the Federation Cup Final against Canberra Croatia. All in all, Conlon couldn’t have asked for a better start.
“[I’m] extremely pleased,” he commented. “I don’t play anybody in preseason that is a title contender or rival… and one of the risks in that is you don’t know where you are.”
“The Croatia and Gunners games… both games creating umpteen chances, we’re scoring five or six in each of those games, it just said to me that we’re on the right path if we want to improve on last year.
“Some of the movement, some of the combinations, just some of the general play… I get frequent messages from people that come to watch just to make a comment about those things.
“We’re using GPS this year with the girls, so that’s given me an indication of the pace of the game… we’re definitely playing a quicker style of football this year and I think that’s something I’ve wanted to bring to the women’s game since being here for two years.”
In terms of United’s ambitions for the 2024 season, Conlon insists that the club’s focus remains grounded in achieving success, as it was last year.
“2024 is pretty much the same as [last season], I’m looking at building from what we did in 2023,” he said. “We like to focus on the things that’s in our control, so we want to grow from last year.”
Words: Sam Watson
