Gold Coast Knights women take out FQPL Champions League to win fifth trophy of incredible season.
The Gold Coast Knights women won every trophy available to them in a remarkable season. Inside their latest triumph and the magnitude of their achievements.
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Forget the treble, forget the quadruple, the Gold Coast Knights women have achieved an extraordinary quintuple after a convincing FQPL Champions League final win.
The 3-0 defeat of MA Olympic in Townsville secured the Knights their fifth trophy of the season after they won everything they possibly could in 2024. It’s a feat so rare it may well never be achieved again.
“Even for us, this is probably a one-off to achieve what we have, that was never our goal,” said Knights coach and head of women’s football Gary French.
“Our goal was always to win the league and just see if we could have a good run in the Queensland Cup, they were our goals and everything else was just a nice bonus.”
The Champions League triumph came a month after the Knights had last played a competitive match - when they secured a 4-0 FQPL1 grand final win over North Lakes United.
It was just as much of a whirlwind for French, who touched down on Australian soil just 24 hours before jetting north to Townsville for the match after a three-week sabbatical in England.
“A lot of the girls had switched off after that grand final, a month is a long break,” French said, adding that after three weeks off the group had come back for two training sessions leading into the game.
“It’s just because they’re such a tight knit group of girls, their attitude was its just one more game, let’s go up north and give it everything. “The attitude was fantastic to go up there, especially in the heat as well.”
It was a hit-and-run mission, with Gold Coast landing in Townsville at 11.30pm on Friday night, just 13 hours before kickoff.
The Knights would open the scoring in the 15th minute when a well-weighted through ball found Harriet Withers in the box for a simple finish, though MA Olympic goalkeeper Millie-J Lino-Gofton did well to get a hand to the ball and delay its journey across the goal-line.
The Knights doubled their lead 15 minutes later when a Withers corner was sent into the chaos in the box and an unfortunate deflection resulted in an own goal, giving the visitors a 2-0 lead they carried into the sheds.
Tighter defence saw MA Olympic hold out their classy opposition for almost the entirety of the second stanza until the Gold Coast finally broke through in the final stages.
Lino-Gofton made a great initial save with two minutes left on the clock but couldn’t prevent the second shot from sailing into the back of the net after it rebounded into the waiting feet of the Gold Coast forward.
“With the heat and with them not being prepared we talked about having to keep possession as much as we could and don’t give the ball away,” French said.
“Just being patient, that’s exactly what happened during the game, we had so much possession of the ball and just waited for the opportunities.
“That was what we talked about, that it was so important to possess the ball for the full 90 minutes and they did a great job of doing that.”
Along with the Champions League, the Knights also added the Kappa Pro Series Cup, Kappa Queensland Cup, and the FQPL1 championship and premiership to their packed trophy cabinet this season.
“I don’t think it’s ever been done before, that’s what I was told anyway, and there’s a good chance it might never be done again,” French said.
“You’ve got an FQPL1 team actually winning the Queensland Cup, for us to win that we had to beat three NPLW teams and Lions in the final. It would be very difficult for that to be repeated again.”
For me, it’s just been down to the squad of players that we’ve had.”
Ahead of the squad’s maiden NPLW campaign - in what will be just the third season of the Knights women’s program - French believes he will be able to keep the majority of his star-studded squad together, with the only confirmed loss co-captain Kaitlyn Kissell who is returning to the USA.
For now however, French’s focus is firmly fixed on some well earned rejuvenation.
“The first thing I’m going to do is put my feet up with a cup of tea and just relax.”
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