Steve and Claire Doherty celebrate a fortune life

The first movement occurred when his parents made the monumental decision, more than 50 years ago, to leave England and relocate to Australia. Ten pound Poms they were.

The second movement involved Steve relocating from his hometown of Sydney to Tamworth in 1991, as a then-young doctor and a newlywed.

"I just loved the ease of life," he said of Tamworth.

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Accompanying Steve to the North West was his wife, Claire. The proposal that sealed their conjoined fate would lead to their wedding more than three decades ago.

And at Johnson Field on Saturday, September 9, the couple will attempt to help engineer an upset win when their Oxley Vale Attunga side meets Tamworth FC in the major semi-final of the Women's Premier League.

Steve, 57, is the side's longstanding coach, while his 58-year-old partner is a player. OVA veteran Emily Kavanagh said Steve was "just so passionate about the game".

"And you can see how much joy he gets out of it when he's coaching us girls, as does his wife ... she's awesome," Kavanagh said.

In an interview with the Leader at Anzac Park, Steve and Claire radiated passion ... for Mushies, for their work, for life in general.

A critical care specialist by training, Steve is the director of medical services for the region, as well as the director of emergency medicine at Armidale hospital.

"I'm trying to," he said of slowing down, adding that he wanted to "ease into retirement".

"But I'm not sure I'm making the right steps."

Read more: Kavanagh's moral mission: 'I just hope that I'm a good person'

Claire is a physiotherapist at Tamworth hospital. She was in her mid-40s when she took up soccer. It was for OVA, where her four children played, and she tore her calf on debut.

"As a physio, everyone was giving me heaps at work," she said of the injury. "And then I soon realised I better do some prevention work.

"And then from that, my love of preventing stuff came; preventing injuries so you can just have fun [playing soccer]."

Claire prides herself on the fact that no player in the OVA women's side has suffered a ruptured ACL since her preventative measures were introduced.

Following the interview, Steve and Claire held hands on the walk back to their East Tamworth home. On September 15, they will celebrate their 33rd wedding anniversary.

"It's been great," Steve said of their relationship.

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