Mustangs FC

Yep, the nightmare has come true – the Mustangs have merged with the Wildcats, and there's a seriously bad atmosphere affecting life on and off the pitch. The new team is at the bottom of the ladder and Coach Terry is getting shouty. This has to stop. Now. Her first move is to boot Bella from the captaincy and replace her with Michaela. And this is followed by a brand new, bright blue uniform and a grueling tryout process for positions – all the girls are going to have to earn their place on the pitch all over again. Worst of all, Danny isn't even standing up to Terry and fighting for them. Morale is plummeting hard, and the original Mustangs wonder if maybe this is the beginning of the end for their beloved team… and everything it stands for.

After being overthrown as captain, Michaela's feeling pretty vulnerable. It's almost enough to make you feel sorry for her. The harder Terry pushes, the more Michaela goes into a deep wobble. So deep that she even turns to Danny for advice, who, in typical Danny style turns the question back on her. Michaela realises that what she wants is for her mum to actually be a mum… And that means something big's going to have to change… At State, Marnie's discovering that living the dream is a little less dreamy than she'd imagined. If only she had a skerrick of her teammates' effortless, grown up cool. Instead she feels like a dorky little kid whose mum sends her to training with home made muffins for the team. Sure, Jen's blueberry baking was great in Mustangs land but Marnie knows that things are just different at State and that she'll need to up her game if she wants to run with an older, cooler crowd. Sometimes growing up isn't easy…

Something weird's been going on with Gabe lately, and Anusha knows exactly what it is: Gabe. Likes. Bella. Bella is unconvinced, but Anusha is certain of it. 'Cos why wouldn't he? Bella's amazing! Bella figures she'll find out for sure when they do canteen duty together, but Anusha's horrified – that is no setting for a first kiss! So she orchestrates Operation Oceanside, a romantic beachside location for flirting and kissing, disguised as a casual kickabout and a chance for the girls to get some tips from the boys on the one touch pass. Bella's never considered kissing Gabe before, but Anusha's enthusiasm is contagious, and soon Bella is swept up in the plan. Mostly. Everything is perfectly in place, and even the one-touch drill is a surprise hit, with Georgie starting to find her feet as a Mustang. But Zee and Liv and literally everyone else, are sceptical about Nush's scheme… there's definitely a vibe , but maybe it's not actually Bella that Gabe's been crushing on…

The Mustangs are starting to come together as a team, but it seems like Zee is only in it for herself, hogging the ball in an attempt to be the only one scoring goals. Nobody else is getting any time on the ball and the girls are not impressed. Why has Zee suddenly gone goal crazy? Meantime, Marnie's in a last minute birthday panic and has sent party invites to all of the Mustangs, the State team, the boys, and even Michaela. Lara and Liv are horrified – she's mixing her new cool friends with her old cool friends and adding Tom and Michaela in the mix? It's a recipe for social disaster. And when Marnie panics, the girls are forced to reassure her. Maybe it will be all peace, love and rainbows! If Marnie's State mates even bother to show up that is! At the party, everyone's determined to make sure things go smoothly – with zero Mustangs melodrama derailing Marnie's birthday. Anusha and Gabe have resisted the opportunity for a matching couples costume and made a pact to keep their relationship a secret so they don't steal Marnie's thunder. And they've all agreed on no bickering with Zee. All except Michaela that is, and she has a serious bombshell to drop that's going to end any chance of love and rainbows!

Sparkly Girl Lara's back in the land of the leotard, and everything looks the same, so what is it that feels different? Oh – it's her. She's struggling to keep up with her class and she can't seem to muster half the passion for gym that Kev's got. Maybe she's started to outstretch this stretchy world. But when the Mustangs realise they're in dire need of a new chant ahead of their match against the slick-as Scorpions, Lara is more than up to the challenge. Except, not everyone's quite got her level of coordination. Or flexibility. Or enthusiasm. Especially Ruby, who thinks the whole thing's a waste of time, when they could be focusing on actual sport. Ouch. Way to sting Lara right where it hurts. Maybe it's time Ruby and Lara got their friendship back on track? Maybe they just need a gentle push in the same direction? Liv, Georgie and Anusha arrange an elaborate set up to help them along. After all, there's no problem that can't be resolved… on roller skates? Will this be enough to get Ruby and Lara back on the friendship train? What could possibly go wrong?

The boys' manager, Deano, decides to hold a Unity Day to promote the club postmerger and bring in some new players. There's going to be a sausage sizzle, face painting, and Deano's pièce de résistance – a girls vs boys exhibition match, to showcase the teams' skills. An opportunity to thrash the boys is great… but a public battle of the sexes… not so much. Anusha's got her own concerns – if Cindy's at the match she's going to have to go parent public on her relationship with Gabe - there's no way they they'll be able to hide their obvious chemistry. This needs some careful planning. At the training match, it becomes clear the boys are all going easy on the girls, supposedly worried about hurting them. But when the girls insist they don't holdback, Tom takes it as an opportunity to make a straight up aggressive foul against TJ. Shocked and hurt, TJ is keen to shift attention away from herself, and underplays the whole situation. The game is abandoned and TJ is left reeling and in pain. The Mustangs angrily leap to her defence while Tom and the boys quickly forget anything even happened. How can that be right? The girls are appalled, wanting to hold Tom accountable, but they know it's important to support TJ in whatever way she chooses. Teej knows she doesn't want Tom to just get away with making her feel vulnerable and weak, but how does she stand up for herself without feeling like she's making a big fuss?

After a stinker of a loss, the Mustangs are downbeat and everyone's feeling the slump. Except for Bella, who sees things differently – it's can't always be just about winning and losing, it's about playing well. But sadly no-one is listening to Bella's wise words, especially Liv and Anusha, who are totally absorbed in their flourishing romances. When Bella feels frustrated at being caught in the couple-sandwich, Anusha's mind starts ticking… obviously Bella is jealous. Maybe she wants a boyfriend too? Maybe it's time for a... triple date set up?! Meanwhile, Marnie's feeling the heavy weight of her hopes and dreams as she's relegated to the sidelines yet again. Yes, she's at State, but does it even count if she hasn't actually played a State game yet? And when Ruby turns up at an open State training session, Marnie's mounting insecurities about whether she's good enough really start to take hold.

The Mustangs are bang in the middle of the big A-League ladder - not bad right? Wrong. If they don't win their next match, against the toughest team in the league, then they're out of the running for the semis. But while Ruby's feeling the intense pressure of being captain, the rest of the team don't seem to be feeling enough pressure. This is a big deal – it's time for everyone to step up. Anusha for one is up for the challenge… research and strategy is her happy place. In fact, she'd kinda rather be doing that than hanging out with Gabe lately. Yup, the love buzz has definitely faded, and Anusha is not one to rest easy in the mediocre-zone. On game day, captain Ruby has the team in full annihilation mode, but on the pitch, they're the ones being destroyed. The Predators are getting goal, after goal, after goal – total disaster. It's time to bin their carefully thought out strategy and just play. Although the Mustangs rally like champions, it barely makes a dent on the score board. The dream is over. Slumped and devastated, Ruby tries to get the team back on their feet. But why even bother playing the rest of the season now, let alone training? Is there any way to turn this disaster around??

Back in the competition by the skin of their teeth, the Mustangs are still holding on to a chance at the finals. But it doesn't really feel like they've earned it, and after their crushing loss last match, they don't exactly feel like they're a winning team. In typical Liv fashion, she decides to boost morale with a fun team building exercise – a mural! But crafternooning isn't the kind of training the team had in mind to prep for the semis. And Liv's suggestion goes down about as disastrously as literally everyone except Liv could have predicted! While letting off steam to Marnie about the team's lack of commitment to the cause, Liv accidentally butt dials Michaela, sending all her spiky frustrations to be recorded onto Michaela's voicemail. And these are the kind of words that are definitely best kept inside your head. So, when Liv turns up for another painting session, she gets a sinking feeling as she sees the girls crowded round Michaela's phone, faces crumpled in real, true hurt. She said mean stuff about people that were supposed to be her friends. Even TJ's little sister Sienna wasn't spared. Is it even possible for Liv to undo the damage she's just done? Is she ready to accept the consequences and apologise, without expecting anything in return and making it all about her?

Marnie is gutted after executing the worst kick ever done by a human foot, which then loses an important game for the State team. Desperate to dig herself out of this hole, Marns pushes even harder with her training – ignoring that niggling pain in her knee, ignoring the worry that Ruby will replace her on the team. Didn't she get the memo that ignoring problems doesn't mean they go away? It just means they simmer below the surface until something - maybe something like Ruby getting invited to Matilda's training camp when Marnie doesn't - threatens to send it all crashing down. And everything isn't entirely smooth sailing in Mustangs land either. Anusha and Gabe are navigating that weird post-breakup zone and trying to be "friends". Just "seeing how things go" is not easy for someone like Anusha, who's determined to get an A at being an ex-girlfriend. And Liv's in the lonesome aftermath of the butt-dial debacle, filled with remorse and waiting for time to hurry up and heal the wounds. Luckily Lara has a mysterious sparkle about her, and she's prepared to share her secret with Liv.

Remember that shouting, angry Mustangs mess from the start of the season? Now imagine the exact opposite. Harmony, cooperation and some really great soccer. Coach Danny's proud of his team, and although Ruby's happy with where the Mustangs are at, she's also secretly starting to wonder about life back home in the USA. Is it worth risking giving up her shot at joining the Matildas for a total unknown chance at playing for the US, like she's always dreamed of? With so many pros and cons to weigh up, Ruby needs to get some advice and turns out it's the perfect research and statistics exercise for Anusha. But even when the results are clear, somehow Ruby still feels a pang of doubt. Maybe there's something… or someone… keeping her here? And even if she's sure about heading back to California, she's just missed this year's try out dates, so she'd have to wait another whole year for a place at UCLA. Unless Anusha's got a time machine, there's nothing she can do about that, right? Meanwhile couch-bound Marnie's ascent to soccer glory is still seriously stalled by her knee injury. BFF-of-the-year Liv pulls together every effort to cheer her up, but the usual fail-safes – soccer magazines, soccer videos, soccer themed board games – are a total flop. Marnie won't even look at anything soccer related, she's chowing down on snacks with zero percent protein, and she's even left her soccer boots caked in mud. A world first. Something about this feels not quite right to Liv, but she's going to have to be very careful how the words come out this time.

The countdown to the semi-final is on, and the Mustangs are on a serious training schedule. Nothing's going to slow them down. Not even Ruby's huge news - she's got a scholarship and is leaving for the States. Wow. Of course everyone's thrilled for her, but Lara seems to be having some difficulty processing what that means. Bella's mind, on the other hand, has gone into overdrive – this is her chance to step up as captain. But when she builds up the courage to vocalise her goal to Danny, he seems totally oblivious – why is she thinking about that when they've got the semi to focus on? Crushed by his less than enthusiastic reception, Bella lashes out – she doesn't care what he has to say anymore, he's just a patronising old man. Ouch. Meanwhile Liv's preoccupied by Zee's weird behaviour – why is she avoiding hugging everyone? Hugs are what sport and friendship are all about, right? It's hard to believe that maybe not everyone loves physical contact quite as much as Liv does. But when Zee explains that she's just not feeling the love, the girls decide to create a hug charter. On the day of the final, Danny seems to be strangely M.I.A., and as the starting whistle blows they've got no choice but to go on without him. Still feeling low and realising that her knee problems are in her head, Marnie is definitely avoiding the game, secretly hoping to stay in PJs for the rest of her life. But when a trip off the couch to Danny's shop reveals a shocking blow, she knows there's only one place she needs to be – with her team.

Blunt Zee is already telling it like it is – they don't have a coach or a captain and they bombed the semis – the Mustangs are over. Does she have no sense of shame?! But maybe's she right… no-one has really thought about what will happen now. Except for Ruby of course – it's definitely all over for her, with a flight out of the country in two days. Oops – that's crept up quickly, with everyone caught up in the dark grief fog. And it's hanging particularly thick around Bella – with her not-so-nice last words to Danny echoing in her mind. Lara meanwhile pours her concentration into a scrap book for Ruby, but when she drops it on her doorstep without so much as an xoxo, the girls are shocked. Doesn't she want to say something… more? And finally, the feelings Lara's bottled up are unplugged – she wants to say so much more, but is it too late?? The girls leap into action, and when Lara comes face to face with Ruby, the words she's struggled with for so long, finally turn out to be the easiest thing in the world to say. As the team comes together for a final celebration, Marnie has an announcement – she'd like to coach the Mustangs… maybe they can stay together after all? Mustangs forever – teammates and best friends who have come so far, laughing, crying and kicking goals together, no matter what the future holds.