Melbourne Victory is eager to mark Gulcan Koca’s record-breaking appearance with a win against Adelaide United in the Westfield W-League on Friday.
Koca, 27, is set to play her 66th game for Victory, an outright record for the club, when it visits the Reds in the final round of the season.
Victory head coach Jeff Hopkins said his players would be keen to see Koca’s milestone appearance celebrated with a win.
“I think last week the girls were talking about it a fair bit and I think we’ll make sure it’s in their heads again, give them another reason to put in a good performance and another reason to win,” he said.
“She’s a very popular player around the group and I’m sure the girls will have another reason to put in a very good performance on Friday.”
Victory – which hopes to regain goalkeeper Casey Dumont from injury – is out of finals contention, but can finish sixth on the table with a win at Marden Sports Complex.
Hopkins said that was another motivating factor for his team, which has tested most sides this season.
“We’ve got the opportunity to jump a spot with the great result Western Sydney had in Perth last week,” he said.
“It means if we can get ourselves a win, we can jump up a spot so that’s our goal.
“It’s to finish with a good performance and a good performance that leads to a good result which means we finish a little bit higher in the league, knowing also that if we don’t, Western Sydney can go above us.”
Westfield W-League 2017/18 Round 14
Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory
Friday, February 2, 8.00pm AEDT
Marden Sports Complex, Adelaide
