Division One Youth League Grand Final Review

The Grand Finals
What a wonderful day it was on Saturday as the sun shone brightly in the sky, providing a comfortably warm Spring day for what many felt was the ultimate day of the 2008 season.
The tension was incredible and you could almost cut the air in the spectator areas with a knife while the players simply wanted to get on with the job of playing and winning these prestigious matches.
The playing surface was showing the effects of a long season but that did not dull the enthusiasm of the teams as they produced the games of their lives to provide plenty of thrills and chills for the supporters and loads of talking points that will live long into the future.
Grade 13          Gladesville Ryde Magic v Sydney University
The first half was a very even affair with the chances to open the scoring falling in equal measure to both teams but they were consistently nipped in the bud by well organised defences.
The game was played at a frantic pace and the spectators created a wall of noise from the grandstand as they gave their best to cheer the players on to greater achievements.
Not that they needed much encouragement as the passion and skill shown by both teams was wonderful and that made this game a very special one for all concerned.
Magic made a breakthrough ten minutes into the second half when livewire striker David Chung got his head to a corner kick and he steered the ball wide of the best efforts of the diving Uni goalkeeper.
At that stage Uni stepped up a gear as they knew they had to get themselves back into the game and that really put Gladesville onto the back foot for long periods but the attackers went unrewarded.
With five minutes remaining on the referee?s watch, the match took a dramatic turn as Uni found the back of the net with a header and then they took the lead just four minutes later with an unstoppable drive before they took the scoreline to 3-1moments later with another strong shot.
Those goals came from Zachary Chang, Christopher Kolistasis & Petros Stefadouros and they broke the hearts of the lads in the blue and white Magic shirts.
Sydney University were crowned Champions while Gladesville Ryde Magic recovered from their obvious disappointment when they received their rewards as the Premiers.
Grade 14          Camden Tigers v Blacktown Spartans
The early stages of this match were bogged down in the midfield as the defences held firm and kept the number of genuine scoring chances to a minimum.
While the teams gave their all to finding a way to make the vital breakthrough, they could not make it happen and so it came as no surprise that the scoreline was 0-0 at the break.
Six minutes into the second half the Spartans gained the upper hand when Yousef Harake took advantage of a mix-up between the Camden goalkeeper and a defender as he nipped in to slip the ball into the net.
Camden threw everything they had into their attacking play but the Blacktown defence held firm as they repelled the pressure being applied to them in huge doses.
With the Tigers sending players forward in search of a goal, they were left a little short at the back and they looked a bit disorganised as a result but the Spartans were unable to capitalise and so there was no addition to the score before the final whistle.
Blacktown Spartans completed the season with the double, winning both the Premiership and the Championship.
Grade 15          Fraser Park v Blacktown Spartans
After a helter-skelter opening period the game was thrown wide open when Ryan Gibson gave the Spartans the lead in the 15^th minute with a shot that was far too good for the Fraser Park goalkeeper.
That forced Fraser Park to move into all-out attacking mode as they sought an equaliser but they could not breach the Blacktown defence which held firm despite the enormous pressure being applied to them.
The scoreline remained at 1-0 through to the interval but the Spartans were able to double their advantage in the 42^nd minute when Max Dengate?s acute angled shot snuck past the goalkeeper to find the back of the net at the far post.
However, that only served to strength the resolve shown by the Dragons and they really rolled up their sleeves in a serious attempt to get back into the event.
Their first reward came in the 55^th minute when William Tavares netted and then, just six minutes later, the scores were level after Dileepan Pious supplied a goal.
Fraser Park took the lead in the 68^th minute when Paul Sorras converted a spot kick and that left Blacktown too little time in which to recover.
That gave Fraser Park the Championship title while Blacktown Spartans have the crown as Premiers.
Grade 16          Fraser Park v Stanmore Hawks
This was a thoroughly entertaining game from the first whistle to the last as the teams went at each other with skill and enthusiasm that kept the folk in the spectator areas on their feet with copious amounts of spontaneous applause.
Fraser Park took the lead in the 5^th minute when Elias Fajloun found the back of the net and they when further ahead in the 22^nd minute after Toby Biggins provided a goal.
The Hawks showed that they were far from a spent force when Marcus Papaloizou took the scoreline to 2-1 just a minute before the half-time whistle and so the stage was set for a rattling second half.
The teams went at each other at a frantic pace throughout the second half, providing thrill-a-minute action and plenty of goalmouth skirmishes at both ends of the ground but there were no more goals thanks to the skill and courage of both goalkeepers.
Fraser Park were crowned Champions while Stanmore Hawks were to take the spoils as the Premiers.
Grade 18          Blacktown Spartans v Mt Druitt Town Rangers
This match was an absolute ripper as the teams once again produced the skill and commitment that is expected at this level of the game and the match flowed from one end to the other with a quality of play that left all the supporters delighted.
The Rangers drew first blood when Hosyah Cakal scored in the eleventh minute but the scores were levelled two minutes before the break when Nick Haramis found the net for the Spartans.
The second half began with the teams going at each other in search of an advantage but it soon became apparent that Blacktown were taking charge of the match as they were launching more of the attacks.
They took the lead through a goal from Ben Treharne in the 78^th minute and that really took the wind out of Mt Druitt?s sails as they struggled to get back into the game.
Blacktown continued to press forward and their persistence was rewarded when they added a third goal with the very last kick of the ball in the match for a final scoreline of 3-1. 
The Spartans were crowned Champions while Gladesville Ryde Magic, who were knocked out of the finals last week were the Premiers.
-By Barry Davis