THE Bathurst under 16s girls soccer side will have a chance to make it two Country Cup titles in a row this weekend when they head to Wellington for the annual showdown with opponents from the Southern and Riverina districts.

Bathurst got through their three rounds of Western Youth League competition against two Lachlan sides without suffering a single defeat for the second year running. They conceded just one goal in the process.

Twelve months ago it proved a good indicator of their form for the Country Cup, as they completed that tournament undefeated as well.

Bathurst coach Andrew Speed isn’t getting ahead of himself, but he has every right to be confident given the level of continuity in his squad.

“We only have one player different in the squad from what we took last year, which is good,” he said.

“The way the age groups work means there was an under 15s competition last year, this year it becomes under 16s, so most of the teams can back up and pick the same players.

“We took on two Lachlan sides, same as 2014, and won all six games against them.

“I wouldn’t say I’m over-confident about repeating it at the Country Cup, those tournaments are always tough and last year even though we didn’t drop a match, it was still very hard work to do as well as we did.”

The defensive aspect of Speed’s young team is the most impressive part of their play. While their 12 goals across the six matches in WYL was a strong indicator of their quality, the lone goal they let in was even better.

“Our defence is very strong, to only concede one goal was pretty satisfying,” Speed said.

“With our attack we have been good at just making the most of our opportunities and finishing off well.

“We have a bit of an advantage because most of the side plays together at club level also with a Macquarie team, so they’re constantly on the field or training alongside one another.”

It is a long way off, but if Bathurst are successful in Wellington, they will have the quality to push for a three-peat in 2016. Speed is quick to dismiss that sort of talk just yet.

“We only lose three players after this year, most of our girls are young for the age group, so if they want to go around again they will have the chance next year,” he said.

BATHURST UNDER 16s: Lucy Field, Jessie Marshall, Teagan Miller,  Darby Elnes, Izzy Speed, Grace Finlayson, Madeleine Matthews, Larissa Kilby, Emily Schembri, Claire Sheehan, Monica Webster, Laura Banning, Cathy Norton, Abby Harver, Kara Lane, Zoe Dwyer.