Super Youth Finals Series Review
The heavy rain late in the week caused havoc at Valentine Sports Park, leaving all the playing surfaces under water and therefore unplayable. That forced the officials at Football NSW to think about the alternatives and there were very few to choose from as just about every ground in the metropolitan area was in the same condition ? except one!
Premier League club Sutherland Sharks came to the rescue and the all-weather Tiger Turf surface at Seymour Shaw was made available for play on Saturday. That meant that five of the ten matches could be played and then the balance would be played as the weather cleared. The Competitions Department wisely decided to play those matches which involved the country teams ? Western NSW Panthers and Southern NSW FC ? at Miranda, leaving possibility of midweek games to metropolitan based teams. The result was four Major Semi Finals and one Minor Semi Final were contested on Saturday.
Sutherland Sharks are to be congratulated, not only for making their magnificent ground available, but also for scurrying to ensure that all canteen and barbecue facilities were open and fully functioning at a time of the season when they were not planning to stage any more games. Not only that, but the Sharks? thoughts were focused on the fact that their first grade team was involved in Sunday?s Telechoice Premier League Grand Final scheduled for CUA Stadium at Penrith and all the logistics involved in that fabulous event.
With the rain persisting throughout Saturday, all other grounds remained closed for the weekend and so the FNSW Competitions folk will be looking for the most sensible way to play the remaining matches. The announcement will be made shortly.
So now you have all the information, it is time to look at what happened on Saturday. Despite the incessant rain and the biting cold, the day was brightened by some of the best football anyone could hope for.
Grade 13 Major Semi Final
Central Coast Lightning v PCYC Parramatta Eagles
Central Coast Lightning were the Premiers and in head-to-head clashes with third placed PCYC Parramatta Eagles, Lightning were 3-0 winners in the first round and they went on to win the second round clash 1-0.
Parramatta came out with all guns blazing and they were immediately rewarded for their positive start when L. Burnie found the net to give them the lead just two minutes after the start.
Central Coast were immediately stirred into action and they bounced back with an equaliser through Tom Mallett thirteen minutes later and that scoreline held until the interval.
The second half was an action packed thriller with both teams threatening to take the lead on many occasions but the only goal of the second half was a late one scored by Lightning?s Christian Mazetti and that was enough to give the lads from Central Coast the direct passage through to the Grand Final. Parramatta will now move into the Preliminary Final.
Grade 14 Major Semi Final
Bonnyrigg White Eagles v Western Panthers
Premiers Bonnyrigg White Eagles and second placed Western Panther had battled out a 1-1 draw when they met for the first time in the competition and then Bonnyrigg won the second match 3-0.
What a terrific game this one turned out to be. Both teams showed just what they were made of as they gave their all to trying to secure the vital victory. Despite plenty of goalmouth action at both ends of the ground there were no goals to be found in the thrill-a-minute first half.
It was clear that the half-time words of wisdom from the respective coaching staff had caused both teams to raise their standards and the spectators were treated to a superb display of everything that is great about Youth League football
However, neither team could gain an advantage as there were no goals scored and so it was necessary to go into extra time to find a winner. Once again, despite many very near things from both teams, they could not rattle the net. That meant that the dreaded penalty shootout was required to settle the issue and it was here that the Panthers came to the fore as they won the contest 5-2 and that has given them the shortcut to the Grand Final while Bonnyrigg will play in the Preliminary Final.
Grade 15 Major Semi Final
Western Panthers v Southern NSW
Western Panthers were the Premiers and their first round clash with third placed Southern NSW ended in a scoreless draw but then the Panthers won the second match 3-0.
This one was an absolute ripper! End-to-end action, plenty of penalty area skirmishes, fabulous goalkeeping, skill and commitment from every single player ? what more could you possibly want?
Southern drew first blood with a 13th minute goal from Billy Zappas and they were able to take that lead through to the interval but Western bounced back with an equaliser in the 39th minute thanks to a goal from Alec Bateson. Try as they might, neither team could add to their tally before the final whistle and that meant extra time was needed for a decider.
Gavin Brown gave Southern the lead once again with a goal in the 77th minute but Western responded just six minutes later with a second goal from Bateson. With the score locked at 2-2 at the final whistle, the penalty spot was needed to determine the winner.
On this occasion Southern prevailed and gained the spot in the Grand Final when they won the shootout 3-1 while Western will need to play in the Preliminary Final.
Grade 18 Minor Semi Final
Western Panthers v PCYC Parramatta Eagles
Third placed Western Panthers had lost 2-0 to fourth placed PCYC Parramatta Eagles when they met for the first time in the competition and then the Panthers had won 1-0 the second time around.
This game continued the trend of fantastic football on a miserable day but there was an added bite to this one as it was the only knockout game to be played on the day.
It was clear from the outset that both sets of players fully realised the challenge that was before them and they set about their tasks with the sort of style and determination that will stand them all in good stead long into the future.
Despite some heart-stopping moments at both ends of the ground when goals looked certain, some very near misses and lots of top class goalkeeping resulted in the game being locked up at 0-0 at the interval.
Both teams stepped up a gear in quality and intensity after the break, much to the delight of everyone in the spectator areas. Each team had chances to take the lead but they were denied by some very determined defending and more good work from the custodians.
Shortly after making what they hoped would be a game-breaking final substitution Western lost two players, one to a red card and another to the stretcher but the boys from the bush fought on gallantly to keep the scoreline at 0-0 at the final whistle.
However, the depleted Western were not able to hang on through the two periods of extra time as Nick Lostsinos and Carlo Manna found the net for Parramatta and that was enough to grant them passage to the Preliminary Final while Western have been eliminated from the finals.
Grade 18 Major Semi Final
Central Coast Lightning v Northern Tigers
Central Coast Lightning were the Premiers and they had beaten second placed Northern Tigers 1-0 in the first round of the competition and then they had repeated that scoreline in the second round clash.
As if we had not experienced enough excitement for one day, the quality of this match extended the thrills to the ultimate as the action kept everyone on the edge of their seats.
Neither team was prepared to give the other a single centimetre of space in the action-packed first half where near misses seemed to be the order of the day when the half-time whistle sounded at 0-0.
While there was nothing between the teams during the early stages of the second half, Central Coast slowly but surely began to take charge of affairs as the game continued and they were rewarded for their tenacity with goals from Scott Briggs and Eamonn Akamomoi.
That proved to be too much for the Tigers to overcome and so they will play in the Preliminary Final while Lightning have taken the direct route to the Grand Final.
-By Barry Davis