Vink tries to stop what she helped start At a glance
Maia Vink was there when the Canterbury United Pride dynasty began with back-to-back national women’s football league titles in 2013 and 2014 – first as a player, then as a member of the coaching staff.
The Pride haven’t missed a final since, winning again in 2016, then in 2018 and 2019, and they are the favourites to make it three triumphs in a row and six in eight years when they host the ISPS Handa Women’s Premiership final at English Park in Christchurch tomorrow (kickoff 1pm).
But as they try to extend their golden run, it is Vink who is tasked with stopping them in her role as coach of their opponents, Capital.
She took charge in Wellington this year after serving as an assistant last year, having spent four years before that working in the Netherlands and Canada, gaining coaching experience while keeping tabs on how her former team and her friends in the squad and on the staff were going.
‘‘I’ve obviously got quite a good relationship with some of those girls,’’ Vink said this week.
‘‘So it was really pleasing to me to be on the other side of the world and to be able look at the games and see them set the standard across the league consistently.’’
Capital last made it to the final in 2017, but lost 2-0 to the Pride on that occasion, then finished fifth, fourth, and fifth again the last three seasons.
Vink said she viewed the Capital region ‘‘as an area with huge potential’’ and one where ‘‘some really powerful figureheads’’ had helped to lay a solid foundation.
‘‘Wendi Henderson, Emma Evans, Natalie Lawrence, Emma Humphries – there’s been some key people involved in women’s football, so it’s laid a good foundation. We’ve got some strong female clubs in the region, so it makes my job a whole lot easier.
‘‘I guess I’ve come in with a bit of a fresh lens and with things that I’ve taken away from the international experiences I’ve had and tried to focus on development in those areas, where I feel like I know where the standard is at an international level, but it’s also relevant to the Wellington region.
‘‘We started this year, a winter training group, that was operating during the club season for those that wanted an extra session. That allowed us to keep connected set the standard physically, and to start to build the culture.
‘‘It wasn’t necessarily the final team at that point, but we’ve kept going from there, and that allowed us to have a good build into the season and hit another level.’’
Capital are only playing in the final – and the Pride hosting it – because the form team in the league this year, Auckland, were penalised for fielding an ineligible player in their first three matches of the season.
NZ Football originally decided not to take action, but after an
appeal by Capital Football, Central Football, and Mainland Football – which runs the Pride – it reversed its decision last Friday, ahead of
What: ISPS Handa Women’s Premiership grand final, Canterbury United Pride v Capital
Where, when: English Park, Christchurch; tomorrow, 1pm Canterbury United Pride (from): Amelia Abbott, Lily Bray, Emma Clarke, Margi Dias, Nicola Dominikovich, Jasmine Donald, Ellena Firth, Annie Foote, Una Foyle, Whitney Hepburn, Tahlia HermanWatt, Mikaela Hunt, Rebecca Lake, Freya Lodge, Annalie Longo, Zoe McMeeken, Frankie Morrow, Britneylee Nicholson, Gabi Rennie, Samantha Senior, Kate Taylor, Marisa van der Meer, Lara Wall, Alyssa Whinham
Capital (from): Sarah Alder, Katie Barrott, Nea Blackham, Libby Boobyer, Tui Dugan, Helena Errington, Ellen Fibbes, Hope Gilchrist, Anna Green, Olivia Ingham, Nina Kondo, Pepi Olliver-Bell, Jemma Robertson, Mickey Robertson, Dani Ohlsson, Alina Santos, Molly Simons, Kaley Ward, Sam Whyte, Charlotte Wilford Carroll, Molly Woodhead