Super Youth League The Grand Finals Review
The spectator areas were decorated in the colours of the various competing clubs and the playing surface was in immaculate condition. The usual bouts of nervous laughter from the large groups of supporters were accompanied by hushed conversations and furtive glances. Ah, yes, this was most certainly a day of great importance for all involved and I, for one, was delighted to have been present.
Bankstown City Lions very kindly hosted this event and their hard working committee certainly made life easy and comfortable for all in attendance on this special day. Football NSW has asked me to publicly thank the Lions for their great contribution to the 2010 finals series.
Next week, as I always do, I will provide a complete club-by-club and team-by-team review of the season for your enjoyment.
Now, let?s have a look at what happened in each of the matches this week.
Grade 13
Sydney University completed the competition as Premiers, eight points clear of their nearest rivals, with seventeen wins and two draws coming from their twenty-two matches. They had the most potent attack in this age group with fifty-two goals to their credit and they also had the best defensive record, conceding only seventeen goals over the course of the season. They reached this match with a penalty shootout loss to Central Coast Lightning after the Major Semi Final was locked at 2-2 at the end of normal tome and then there was no change when extra time had been completed. They then went on to claim the Preliminary Final by defeating Mounties Wanderers in a penalty shootout after the game and extra time produced only one goal for each team.
Central Coast Lightning finished third on the competition table with thirteen wins and two draws to show for their efforts. They qualified for this match with a 3-1 victory over Spirit FC in the Preliminary Semi Final before winning the Major Semi Final in a penalty shootout over Uni.
In head-to-head action during the competition Uni had taken all the points with a 3-1 result in the first round and then a 2-0 victory the second time around.
This match was a very even affair from beginning to end as the teams were intent on showing off their attacking prowess without sacrificing their well organised defences and the result was a very entertaining game that rhythmically moved from one end of the ground to the other and back again.
Despite a great many chances to score appearing in both penalty areas adding to the entertaining nature of the encounter, there was no score by the half-time whistle and so it was off to the sheds for some well chosen words from the respective coaches.
They must have been very effective words because Lightning opened the scoring after some excellent lead up play culminated with a goal from Lachlan Wilkinson just four minutes after the resumption of play.
However, that lead lasted only one minute as Uni responded immediately with a strike from Lewis Hunter-Mole following a seriously effective string of passes and so the teams were back on level terms.
Once again the familiar pattern of ebb-and-flow play was in evidence as each team sought a way to break down the opposing defences and so earn the right to be the next to score. Each team had opportunities but some very good goalkeeping combined with some very near misses to keep the scoreline tied.
In the 49th minute a breakthrough came when Wilkinson scored his second goal of the match to give Central Coast the lead once more but they knew that the match was far from over, given Uni?s quick reaction to the last goal Lightning scored on the day.
True to form, Uni rolled up their sleeves and got stuck into find a way back into the contest and while they came close on a few occasions, they found it difficult to break their opponents? resolve. They also had to cope with the threat posed by Lightning?s attempts to increase their lead.
The time ticked on and still neither team could rattle the net before the referee blew his whistle for the last time in the match and so Central Coast Lightning were crowned Champions while Sydney University were able to take great pride in their performance.
Both teams had truly given everything they had and none of us had a right to ask them for more as this match will be savoured for many years to come.
Grade 14
Dulwich Hill were crowned Premiers after they posted seventeen wins and five draws from their twenty-two games, finishing twelve points clear of their nearest rivals. They were the equal leading scorers with forty-six goals to their credit and they had the meanest defence, conceding only ten goals. They took the direct route to this match with a 3-0 win over Spirit FC in the Major Semi Final.
Mounties Wanderers finished the competition in fourth place with eleven wins and three draws to show for their efforts. They came into this match the hard way with a 1-0 win over Central Coast Lightning in the Elimination Semi Final, a 2-0 victory over Sydney University in the Minor Semi Final and then a penalty shootout win over Spirit FC in the Preliminary Final.
In head-to-head action during the competition Dulwich Hill had been successful on both occasions with a 3-1 first round win and then a 2-1 victory in the second round.
It was clear from the outset that both teams had come to play to the very best of their abilities and so the match was a quality display of the highest order, delighting the supporters of both teams and the many neutral spectators on hand.
The first half was a fairly even contest in the midfield area with Dully having slightly the better of the scoring chances created. Neither team troubled the scoreboard attendant in the action-packed first half and so there was an air of expectation about the second stanza.
Slowly but surely, Dully began to take the upper hand but Mounties showed time and again that they were not going to surrender easily as they began to resort to a counter attacking style of play that caused some genuine concern for their opponents.
After some very near things in the area of the goals and some spectacular goalkeeping work at both ends, the referee called a halt to normal time with the scoreline firmly locked at 0-0.
Extra time was needed to try to find a winner. Dully redoubled their efforts and while the Wanderers tried to match them, they fell a little bit short but they certainly made their opponents work very hard indeed.
Worthy of special mention is Mounties? goalkeeper Daniel Panatta who served his team-mates very well indeed with a large number of superb saves, many of them verging on the spectacular, to keep his team in the game when they were under the most extreme pressure.
The first period of extra time came and went without a goal and so did most of the second period.
Just as the game entered the final minute of extra time and the coaches had started to think about who would take the penalty kicks in the shootout there was a dramatic change when Kevin Lopes found the back of the net to give Dully the lead and that proved to be decisive. The Wanderers simply had no time to recover from this body blow.
Accordingly, Dulwich Hill deservedly added the title of Champions to that of Premiers and Mounties Wanderers can hold their heads very high with the knowledge that they gave their all in the biggest game of the season and both teams earned the undying respect of those who watched the match
Grade 15
Granville Rage are the 2010 Premiers after they registered fourteen wins and three draws during the competition to claim the title by a margin of four points. They qualified for this match via the most direct route with a 2-0 win over Spirit FC in the Major Semi Final.
Spirit FC completed the competition in third position with twelve wins and four draws coming from their twenty-two matches. They reached this match with a 1-0 victory over Sydney University in the Preliminary Semi Final, a 2-0 loss to Rage in the Major Semi Final and then a 3-0 success over Uni in the Preliminary Final.
In head-to-head action during the competition Rage were 1-0 winners in the first round encounter and then Spirit took the second round points with a 1-0 result of their own.
What a match this one turned out to be! Purely and simply, it was chock-a-block of everything you could hope to see in a top quality contest and it was a terrific advertisement for all that is good in our great game.
There was an extremely high level of individual and team skill on display for all to see and that was combined with healthy helpings of innovation, determination and tactical awareness.
Open attacking play was the order of the day for both teams as they made raids on the goals during the earliest of exchanges and that was to set the pattern for the match.
Granville gained the advantage in the 20th minute when Mitchell Luc found the net after a typical smooth flowing movement and that seemed to inspire both teams to even greater levels of achievement.
The standard of the intricate passing moves and the creative movement off the ball became a fascinating part of the overall spectacle of the game as the teams went at each other with a style and grace expected of older, more experienced players.
There was no addition to the score before the interval and it soon became evident that the second half would provide even more entertainment.
Wave after wave of clever attacking play from both teams delighted the crowd and they responded at times with some spontaneous applause, encouraging the players to raise the quality bar even higher.
No-one could bear to take their eyes off the action in case something wonderful was missed and while the entire second half passed without another goal being scored, it really didn?t seem to matter as the quality of the match more than made up for that.
The record books will show that Granville Rage claimed the title as Champions and that Spirit FC were the runners-up in this match but they won?t show the obvious pride felt by the respective coaches in the absolute quality of the match their charges had produced. This was certainly a game to remember.
Grade 16
Spirit FC are the Premiers after they posted sixteen victories and two draws to take the title by a margin of five points. They had the best attacking record in this age group with forty-nine goals. Spirit reached this match with a 1-0 win over Parramatta Eagles in the Major Semi Final giving them the direct path.
Parramatta Eagles finished the competition in second spot with thirteen wins and six draws on the record. They had the best defensive figures in this age group. Their path to this match involved a 3-0 win over Macarthur rams in the Preliminary Semi Final, a 1-0 loss to Spirit in the Major Semi Final and then a 1-0 success over the Rams in the Preliminary Final.
In head-to-head action during the competition the honours were shared with Spirit taking the first round points thanks to a 1-0 result and then Parramatta won the second round clash 2-0.
In the true tradition of Grand Finals play, this was classic match that had everything a football fan could hope for with loads of goalmouth actions and thrills and spills galore.
The first half was a fairly even affair as the teams went at each other as if there would be no tomorrow and that provided entertainment-plus for the supporters of both teams.
Parramatta Eagles drew first blood when Rustam Mia put the ball into the back of the net in the eleventh minute but everyone knew that this goal was only the start of the real action.
After a number of chances went unrewarded for both teams Spirit got back on level terms just two minute before the break thanks to a strike from Michael Gaitatzis and that meant that both coaches needed to dig deep into their tactical repertoire during their half-time talks.
While both teams showed that they were keen to go on with their attacking ethos and produced many chances as a result, we had to wait until the 65th minute for the next goal.
It once again came from Rustam Mia to give the Eagles the lead once again and then, just five minutes later, Deng Mawein gave Parramatta a 3-1 lead and that gave Spirit no room to move as the full-time whistle sounded almost immediately after the goal.
Parramatta Eagles were crowned Champions as a result and the lads from Spirit can hold their heads high after giving everything they had in their contribution to a fantastic match.
Grade 18
Spirit FC were crowned Premiers after they finished seven points clear of their nearest rivals thanks to fifteen wins and two draws coming from their twenty-two matches. They had the best defensive figures in this age group. Their 2-0 win over Parramatta Eagles in the Major Semi Final gave them the first place in this match.
Parramatta Eagles finished in third position with twelve wins and four draws to show for their efforts. They qualified for this match with a 1-0 win over Northern Tigers in the Preliminary Semi Final, a 2-0 loss to Spirit in the Major Semi Final and then a 1-0 victory over the Tigers in the Preliminary Final.
In head-to-head action during the competition Spirit had bagged all the points with a 2-0 result in the first round followed by a 1-0 success the second time around.
On a day when the very best is expected of everyone, this match really lived up to those high level demands and provided so much more to gladden the heart of even the harshest of critics.
Parramatta seemed determined to roll spirit for the first time this season while the lads from Gladesville showed a quiet confidence that they would achieve their aim in this match.
While the first half went without a goal, there was no shortage of action and heart-stopping moments as the teams went at each other with skill, passion and determination in equal measure, creating loads of goalmouth action and a large number of near things.
That pattern of play continued into the second half and it seemed to be only a matter of time before one of them would make a vital breakthrough as the match was being played at a frantic pace.
We had to wait until the 75th minute for the first goal and it came from Spirit?s Adam Parkhouse after some good lead up play but everyone was certain at that stage that it would not be the only goal.
That assumption proved to be correct when Andrew grey scored an absolute screamer in the 83rd minute to bring Parramatta back to level terms.
However, Spirit showed some genuine class when they resumed the lead just two minutes later when Max Haubus found the back of the net.
While the Eagles piled on the pressure over the last five minutes of play, they could not find another equaliser.
Spirit claimed the title as Champions and Parramatta left the arena with their pride well and truly intact.
-by Barry Davis
