Shellharbour's Simone Foord has described watching her daughter kick a tournament-saving goal in the FIFA Women's World Cup in France as "the best feeling'".
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Simone flew out from Sydney last week and arrived in Montpellier, France, just before kick-off in the Matildas' must-win encounter with the highly-ranked Brazil.
Caitlin's goal led to an Australian revival, which saw the Matildas win 3-2 and stat in the hunt for the World Cup.
The Matildas play Jamaica in the early hours of Wednesday morning before progressing through to the knockout round with the result against the Jamaicans to determine who their next opponent will be.
"The atmosphere on game day in Montpellier .... there definitely was a feeling of excitement heading to the stadium," Simone said speaking to the Illawarra Mercury from France.
"It was the best feeling knowing when Caitlin scored the girls were going into half-time just one goal down. It was a proud moment for us all to be there to witness it."
The group have been wearing "I Love The Gong" t-shirts across France, kindly supplied by Destination Wollongong.
Simone said Caitlin, who played all her junior football with Shellharbour and remains a proud local, has been loving the support she has received from the Illawarra.
"We went back to the hotel where the girls were staying after the game and Caitlin was so happy to see us all," Simone said.
"Caitlin would like to thank everyone back home for there kind words and support for herself and the girls. The girls are feeling positive and confident going into the Jamaica game."
