Gold Coast teen Shelby McMahon’s rise from soccer prodigy to Melbourne City superstar
The loudest cheers for teen soccer super sub Shelby McMahon - who hit a “banger” of a goal to send her Melbourne team into a big payday final were heard on the Gold Coast. FULL STORY
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An ex-coach of Gold Coast teen soccer sensation Shelby McMahon - the new toast of Australian football - isn’t surprised by her “banger” goal to send her side into an historic final.
The 17-year-old belted an insane, long-range winner in the 94th minute of Melbourne City’s semi-final match against South Korea’s Incheon Red Angels in the Asian Women’s Champions League final on Thursday night.
It broke a 0-0 deadlock and sent her team into a frenzy.
It sets up McMahon, a Southport State High alumni, and her team-mates for a $2m team payday if they win Saturday night’s final against Chinese powerhouse Wuhan Jiangda.
“I don’t shoot from out there – I don’t know what I was thinking,” a stoked McMahon said post-game.
“You’ve got to take the half-chances if they’re there.
“The girls were yelling ‘shoot!’ so trusting my teammates and trusting myself to get us across the line was the biggest, most important part.
“This was easily the best goal of my career because I don’t usually find the back of the net from such a distance.”
Her former Southport State High coach Dean Critchlow said she always dominated on the pitch.
“She is a bit of a freak, in a good way,” he said. “As a player she has everything, she can score goals, she can create goals and she can dominate the midfield.
“She is very humble - she is destined for big things.”
McMahon’s parents Dean and Amy McMahon, were glued to their TV at their Gold Coast home as their daughter came onto the pitch after the halftime break in China.
They said they were screaming with excitement and jumping up and down when she booted her missile-like goal from 25 metres out into the back of the net.
“She has been playing for a long time so she knows what to do and she has that confidence to go out there and get it done,” Mr McMahon said.
Making the final guarantees the team at least $1.25m with the winner taking home $2m - a tidy $50,000 per player.
Mr McMahon said the mega prize money wasn’t front of mind for his daughter but would eventually fund her dream of owning an old Toyota Landcruiser.
“She just wants to do as well as she can and contribute to the team as best as she can but the money would be a nice little bonus for her,” he said.
Mr McMahon said she had put in a lot of work in the past 12 months after a stress fracture below her knee.
“The start of the season was a slow one for her so she had to build it back up but she
is back fighting fit now,” he said.
McMahon joined Magic United as a six-year-old, playing in the boys team as there wasn’t a girls squad.
She later joined the Gold Coast Knights Football Club and played for the junior Matildas as captain before landing a professional contract with Melbourne City last year.
“She’s had really good coaches through her career and they had to push pretty hard to let her stay in the boys competition,” Mr McMahon said.
Southport State High School principal Greg Moran said McMahon was an inspiration to other students.
“She is only young so we don’t want to put too much pressure on her but she is doing really well and we’re really happy for her,” he said
Mr McMahon said his daughter was busy preparing for Saturday’s championship final against Chinese team Wuhan Jiangda.
“She keeps it pretty real and stays quite composed,” he said.
“We’ll stay pretty relaxed and let her do her thing.
“She has a lot of people on the Gold Coast who support her and she feels that, she loves it.”
McMahon, the youngest player in the competition, said the big Champions League win was redemption after they missing out on the chance to play in the ALW final.
“It’s the first time, so proud that we can represent Australia and be the ones to give it a crack,” she said.
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