So it would seem for South Springvale Soccer Club, a club run by women that can't quite believe its luck. A fairytale suburban football team that has won through to the round of 16 in the national Westfield FFA cup.

The Springvale Aris – they take their name from the Greek god of war – are a small amateur soccer team playing in one of Victoria's bottom leagues. They're Saturday afternoon footballers, really.

And now they're a match away from winning a chance to face one of Australia's elite A-League teams in the final rounds of the knockout Football Federation Cup – a game which, should they make it, will provide a financial windfall that could regenerate this club.

South Springvale, who play at Warner Reserve in Springvale, just behind the creek, was founded in 1968 by Greek immigrants fresh to Melbourne's outer eastern suburbs.

The club has maintained its strong Greek identity but, says Orfanidis, lost a lot of the machismo that can sometimes go with it – so much so that eight of the club's 12 director spots are filled by women.

That gives the place a whole different feel to other soccer clubs.

"Because there's so many women and children, it's a very respectful place, so no one feels uncomfortable to be there, males don't dominate our club to be honest with you," Orfanidis says.

"I think we're quite equal, and they really appreciate what the women do there.

"I think that's why we've got where we are. All the boys play for the jumper. They'll all say that they get treated well and they treat us well."

The club's ladies sew the uniforms and do the washing – "we're slowly getting the men on board – my husband puts in a couple of loads," Orfanidis laughs.

And on match days, Angela Argyropoulos runs the canteen.

"We do souvlaki, gyros, we're very well known for our gyros, a lot of people from other clubs come down and want to eat our gyros," she says.

Argyropoulos grew up watching her cousins play at Springvale. She watched the boy who lived in the house across the road from hers play there as well. Now, she's married him and he's the president and her boys play for Springvale's juniors.

To get here, the Aris have beaten six teams in a row to get into the last 16 of the knockout competition which involves amateur and professional soccer teams from all over Australia.

Argyropoulos will now fly up to Queensland on the weekend ahead of Springvale's match against the Palm Beach Sharks. Beat the Sharks, and they'll likely face an A-League Club from Australia's top tier, a match certain to bring fans flocking through the turnstiles.

Then, hopefully, she'll be able to sell enough gyros to set up her club's financial future for the long term.

"I don't think it's really hit us completely, if that makes sense.

"It's all happened so quickly. We're very overwhelmed. Sometimes you sit back and you think 'Oh my God'."

On Thursdays, the whole club, men and women, juniors and seniors, eat together at the clubrooms on big round tables. Its schnitzels and chips and a chance to catch up.

You'll often find seniors captain Craig Metcalfe ("the token Aussie, I guess") there, tucking in and chatting.

At his old top-tier club "you felt like you were playing for money and there wasn't a lot of spirit," he says.

"[Springvale's] one of the only clubs where I felt like there was a passion for the place.

"They've never expected rock stars or stuff, they just expect you to try your best. I'm not the most skilful player in the world but I'll always throw myself into a tackle, I guess that's why they like me."

The Aris, like most amateur clubs, don't exactly enjoy first-grade facilities. How the team could use a win against the Sharks and then a match-up against an A-League side. At the moment, all the club's winnings from the competition – so far in the region of $5000 – will go to an end-of-season trip for the players. But if they win, the gate takings could build a fence around the ground, or get rid of the damn cricket pitch that runs right through it.

The team's league competition actually ended last weekend, with the Cup comp continuing on separately. Metcalfe says his players are taking the trip up to Queensland "like an end of season trip, almost".

"Unless we win, in which case we've got to train for another month. F---!"