By Kieran Yap 18/9/23 (Kieran84@live.com.au)
Above: Claudia Mihocic in action for Bulleen in Victoria’s NPLW. Photo: Gold Leaf Creative.
Bulleen’s premiership winning campaign also saw the return of one of Australia’s best young defenders from injury. Claudia Mihocic talks about her comeback season, and what lays ahead with Perth Glory.
Bulleen and Calder United had played over 100 minutes of the semi-final. Scores were level, and neither side had been able to make a breakthrough during extra time. With penalties looming Bulleen had a free kick from a deep and central position. When the ball was curled in, defender Claudia Mihocic reacted sharpest. She sprung the off-side trap and directed the ball into the net to send the premiers into the Grand Final.
As one of the NPLW’s best centre backs, scoring dramatic winners is not Mihocic’s main role, but it was a moment of deserved joy after she had spent much of the previous 12 months sidelined through injury.
The celebrations were chaotic. Teammate Alana Jancevski was first on the scene and collided with Mihocic with cartoonish jubilation before the rest of the Bulleen team joined in.
“I remember I was so excited, I started sprinting.” Mihocic said to Impetus Football.
“I was looking back at the Line-o just in case they were going to call it offside.
“When I turned my head I saw Alana and I though ‘oh no I haven’t though this through.’
“A couple of the girls said that they thought I hit my top speed during that celebration.
“The main feeling that the end of the game was relief that none of us had to take any penalties.
“In the moment it was very exciting. I didn’t really know how to celebrate hence me running full speed at Alana and getting taken out.
“It was really exciting and we really banded together after the 90 minutes. I think we picked back up and we fought right to the end. It was nice to get that win to be able to contribute in that way.”
That winning goal had capped off a terrific season for the highly regarded centre back in which she returned to form and fitness after a challenging year.
An injury sustained while playing in a Nike FC Cup classic for South Melbourne last season meant that Mihocic missed the entirety of Perth Glory’s A-League campaign. She had remained a target of the Bulleen Lions recruiters and manager Caitlin Friend offered her the ideal environment to return to the pitch.
“The things I’ve heard from the players and the kind of environment she spoke about and what they were looking to achieve this year aligned with what I wanted for myself.
“Coming back from injury and coming off the A-League season, I think it was the best place for me to be able to contribute to the team.
“The quality of players and the training sessions that I was doing really helped get my confidence back up in terms of the on-field stuff.
“We had a great strength and conditioning coach that helped with building up my strength and fitness.
“A big thing for me with this NPL season was getting my confidence back and getting game minutes and building off the previous experience that I hadn’t had for a good while over the last W-league and the injury before that.”
Mihocic was also the ideal player for Bulleen. Defensive quality has been a trademark of Caitlin Friend’s teams, and the former NTC captain effectively stepped into the boots of Melbourne Victory star Kayla Morrison.
Alongside the likes of Katie Beck, Leah Muldeary and Alex Natoli, Mihocic formed a defensive unit that had the equal best record in the league.
On top of that, her impressive passing range and composure on the ball helped Bulleen maintain possession, absorb pressure and start attacks from deep. Mihocic is as likely to pass the ball into midfield as she is to make a well timed sliding tackle, and she has the technical ability to make both look easy.
She also scored two vital goals. The semi-final winner was the most dramatic, but a volleyed effort against Heidelberg was another reminder of her class at either end of the pitch.
The Round 13 fixture was a turning point in the season. The winner went into second place on an increasingly tight ladder. After scoring with a well struck volley and holding Heidelberg scoreless, it was also the game in which Mihocic felt like she was getting back to her best.
“I remember going into that game, mentally ready to go and pretty fired up.
“Performance wise, I was happy with my defending and on the ball stuff.
“The goal was nice,” she recollects.
“It’s always nice to score as a centre back.
“It was more the quality of actions that I was quite happy with, and there was a lot more consistency in that game, which was something I was trying to build back.”
Bulleen never dropped out of the top four after that match and were eventually crowned premiers on the final day of the season. Although they were beaten in the Nike FC Cup Final and the Grand Final, they were the only side in contention for all three trophies. To end the season ontop of the ladder vindicated the faith placed in Mihocic, and her decision to join the club.
“It was great,” she says of lifting the premiers plate.
“Especially after that NIKE FC Cup final, it was nice that we finished on top.
“It proved to us that we’d been consistent all season.
“We had a pretty good defensive record throughout the season. it was a good boost for a whole team, the backline in particular and Gaby (Garton) our goalkeeper.
“It was nice to win something that showed that throughout the past few months that we had been consistently a very good team.”
The NPLW continued through the Women’s World Cup. Far from the global even being a distraction, Mihocic said it helped inspire the Bulleen players during their successful campaign.
“I think the whole excitement and success of the world cup helped us through our football. It was really inspirational. We had a lot of fun at training. We had some world cup inspired training sessions. We all got around it and I think it helped with the excitement and how we were feeling towards our own football.
“It helped in every way for women’s football.
Mihocic is now back at Perth Glory. Her first season at the club was heavily interrupted by Western Australia’s border restrictions at the time, and her second curtailed by injury. The club and manager Alex Epakis re-signed her for the coming season.
Following the retirement of Kim Carroll, Mihocic could be a vital player as the team pushes for finals.
She will also be joined by some new international signings. Epakis has added some Star recruits from The Philippines World Cup squad including gun forward Quinley Quezada. The new faces have added a sense of optimism about the Glory’s season.
“They were great at the world cup. They’ve come into training the past couple of days. They’re quality players, great characters and super easy to talk to. It was cool to see what they did at the World Cup, and how much they’ve really developed and helped Philippines football in such a short time.
“It’s really great to have them on our team.
“We’ve really kicked off pre-season really well,” she says of her return to the A-League club.
“I think leading into this season, it’s one of the best groups we’ve had.”
“It’s really exciting and after the past couple of season’s where we’ve been so close in making finals, I think this year Alex had brought in some really good players, we all know each other and have gelled. There’s some good characters in the team.
“I’m really looking forward to this season, and pre-season has gotten off to a really good start.”
Claudia Mihocic has already achieved the remarkable. She has overcome a long term injury and claimed a premiership in Victoria’s top flight.
With the A-League Women season about to kick off, the best may still be yet to come.
Follow Impetus on social media – we’re @ImpetusFootball on Threads, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. DON’T MISS our brand new TikTok platform @ImpetusFootball too!
impetusfootball.org 