It was just days after former South Melbourne and Altona boss Bill Mihaloudis walked into his new job leading a battle wounded Heidelberg United – who fell at the final hurdle of the 2014 WPL season – when he uttered the words “this club really is the place to be”.
In that same conversation with the unequivocally measured tinkerman, he stated the club would “need to walk before we can run [and] prepare before we get to that point,” and that “we need to actually find ourselves and then slowly build momentum.”
Now sitting just two games away from a second consecutive Grand Final berth, we can reflect on those prophetic words as an accurate summation of the Bergers’ year in all aspects.
A slow burn start to the season saw the club ‘walk’ into Round 12 – off the back of a 2-1 loss to South Melbourne – in sixth place, with inconsistency plaguing their undoubted talent as they sat 6-0-5.
That loss proved to be their last up until this point, as an astonishing run of seven wins, four draws and 33 goals scored to nine conceded saw them ‘run’ into the finals series with enough dash and endeavour to leave Usain Bolt rosy in the cheeks.
They took that momentum into their Elimination Final against Bundoora United, and swept the powerhouse club aside 4-1 to claim an eighth win in 12 games.
“I think I said this going back a few months ago, but the best is yet to come,” said Mihaloudis in the aftermath of their finals victory.
“Today we started to see the best today of where we’re at. We’re peaking at the best time.
“Credit to the girls, they’ve been fantastic and have come on leaps and bounds. They’ve gone to a totally different level. Today they showed 90 minutes of finals football, which is a big difference as well.”
While they’re firing on all cylinders on the pitch, off it things have gone just as well, if not better.
United were one of eight clubs to be named as a part of the inaugural WNPL season in 2016, while their men’s outfit is going great guns, steamrolling State League opponents on their way to an FFA Cup Quarter-Final.
“It’s fantastic. The club is coming on leaps and bounds. For the men’s team in the FFA Cup we’ve drawn Melbourne City, which is awesome for the club,” Mihaloudis said.
“We’ve got a group of girls here that are playing for each other; they’re a team. I can’t stress that enough. Everything they do, they do it together.
“It’s just brilliant how we’ve been able to put this group together and get them to function the way they have. Credit to all involved, not me, but everyone around me, that helps.”
This rings particularly true for the club’s WNPL bid – which was accepted as of last week – with Heidelberg only one of three remaining clubs to retain their original name in the women’s top flight’s new format.
“It was months and months of work, it really was. Credit to the committee who was behind it all.
“What they and the club have put together to get this over the line is phenomenal, it really is. It’s an amazing club, it’s a club that’s established itself in NPL for the men and we’re hoping to do the same for the women.
“It’s an exciting time, it really is.”
Photos: Matt Johnson