Victory Women aiming for win in China

Melbourne Victory Women will be looking to finish the Shanghai International Women’s Soccer Tournament on a winning note when it faces Shanxi at Jinshan Sports Stadium on Monday.

Melbourne Victory Women will be looking to finish the Shanghai International Women-s Soccer Tournament on a winning note when it faces Shanxi at Jinshan Sports Stadium on Monday.

Victory Women, which is the first Westfield W-League team to compete internationally, was defeated 4-0 by Tianjin in its opening match on Thursday, before suffering a 3-0 loss to Shanghai in blustery conditions on Saturday.

Victory Women is using the tournament as a development opportunity ahead of the second Westfield W-League season, with a number of Football Federation Victoria Summer League players earning their spots after impressing in the inaugural competition

Despite losing its opening two matches, Victory Women Coach Matt Shepherd said the side remained upbeat and was looking forward to face Shanxi, which is also yet to register a win in the tournament.

“(Tianjin) was always going to be a tough game given our limited match preparation,” Shepherd said.

“It-s a young side and we-re looking forward to improving together.

“The 3-0 result (against Shanghai) probably wasn-t a good reflection of the team’s effort, as there was a marked improvement from our first match.”