A visibly shaken John Kyrigos was left dismayed, but extremely proud of his Heidelberg United outfit following their heartbreaking 1-0 loss to South Melbourne in the WPL Grand Final on Sunday.
Having come from fifth spot to make the final, Kyrigos’s team were well in the game, but were ultimately undone by a swift counter attack, finished off by Natalie Martineau with 13 minutes remaining.
Kyrigos said that having got to the final, losing in such a manner was hard to take.
“It’s very, very disappointing, and upsetting for the squad, because they’ve worked ever so hard, and they had the belief and momentum going into the game; we really thought we were going to do it”, Kyrigos said after the loss.
“To work so hard to get there and lose it, it’s very, very painful, very painful for [the girls].”
Despite the loss, it was still a successful season for Heidelberg and Kyrigos believes it’ll put his team in good stead heading into next season.
“I’m very, very happy with what we’ve achieved. Okay, we lost the Grand Final, but the way they went about it, and their professionalism and dedication is second to none,” he said.
“It’s definitely motivation to go even better and win it next year, there’s no doubt about that.”
The goal for next season is a simple one for Kyrigos; “I hope we can all do one better next year. Simple as that. It’s been a positive year.”