Premier Youth League Grand Finals Review

The synthetic surface allowed the teams to display their wares to maximum effect in each and every game and that added much to the enjoyment levels experienced by the large crowd on hand.
The grandstand was chock-a-block all day and it was awash with the colours of the teams competing on the day, adding to the atmosphere that is unique to this day of the season when the spectator areas are full of hushed conversations, nervous laughter and furtive glances as well as equal measures of cheers and sighs.
Football NSW wishes to publicly thank the Sutherland Sharks for making their facility available and for the hospitality their hard working committee showed throughout the day.
Now it is time to have a look at what happened on the day.
Grade 13 
APIA Leichhardt Tigers were placed second on the final table for the season and they have qualified for the Grand Final by defeating Bankstown City 2-1 in the Preliminary Semi Final and then winning the Major Semi Final with a 2-1 result over Marconi Stallions.
Marconi Stallions are the Premiers after they won the competition by seven points. The reached this match by losing the Major Semi Final 2-1 to APIA Leichhardt Tigers and then winning the Preliminary Final with a 1-0 win over Sydney United.
In head-to-head action the Tigers won both matches against the Stallions, 4-1 and 1-0.
From the kick-off it was clear that both teams had come to this game to play football as they seemed to take turns to produce smooth attacking play with cultured short passing and high energy movement.
Whilst the end result indicates that this was a one-sided game, that is far from the truth as the chances to score fell in approximately equal measure for both teams but only one of them took full advantage of the opportunities they created.
Marconi opened the scoring in the 8th minute thanks to a strike from Liam Foote and then they were two goals to the good just before the interval when Gabriel Cleur rattled the net.
Just one minute after the resumption Phillip Hasiuk gave the Stallions a three goal lead but the Tigers seemed to simply shrug this off as they set about the task of trying to get themselves back into the game but, as had happened several times in the first half, they were not able to convert their shooting opportunities into goals.
One minute before the final whistle Jackson Bandiera added a fourth goal to the Stallions? tally.
Marconi Stallions stepped up to the presentation ceremony to receive their rewards as Premiers and Champions from former Socceroo Milan Blagojevic (34 international caps and now the head coach of the Skillaroos project in NSW) while APIA Leichhardt Tigers were the Premiership and the Championship runners-up.
Both teams can be extremely proud of their season and their play in the Grand Final as it was undoubtedly one of the best matches played on a day full of quality games.
Grade 14
Sutherland Sharks finished the competition in second spot and they reached the Grand Final by winning the Preliminary Semi Final with a 2-1 result over Sydney Olympic and then wining the Major Semi Final with a 2-1 success over Marconi Stallions.
Marconi Stallions are the Premiers after they were two points ahead of their nearest rival on the last table for the season. They have reached the Grand Final after losing the Major Semi Final 2-1 to Sutherland Sharks and then producing a 1-0 win over Sydney Olympic in the Preliminary Final.
In head-to-head action the Stallions had beaten the Sharks 3-0 in the first round and then the Sharks had
The second match of the day was another exhibition of open attacking football but it did seem that, in the final analysis, one team had brought their shooting boots and the other had not as this match was a lot more even than the final scoreline indicates.
Marconi took the lead in the 9th minute when Richard Darko rattled the net and then they made it 2-0 thanks to a strike from Amadou Keita, stunning the Sutherland lads who had created and missed several opportunities at that stage.
The Stallions extended their lead in the 47th minute when Lawrence Hanna found the back of the net and then Darko struck again, scoring his second and his team?s fourth goal just two minutes before the final whistle.
It must be said that the Sharks never threw the towel in, despite conceding four goals and missing a good many chances to score.
Marconi Stallions received their awards as Premiers and Champions from former Socceroo Milan Blagojevic (34 international caps and now the head coach of the Skillaroos project in NSW) while Sutherland Sharks can hold their heads high as the Premiership and Championship runners-up.
Grade 15
Sutherland Sharks are the Premiers and they finished eight points ahead of their nearest rivals. They have qualified for the Grand Final by taking the most direct route, winning the Major Semi Final with a 3-1 result over Bonnyrigg White Eagles.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles completed the competition in second spot and they reached this match by winning the Preliminary Semi Final 3-2 against Manly United, losing the Major Semi Final to Sutherland Sharks and then winning the Preliminary Semi Final match win on penalties over Marconi Stallions after the match had ended at 1-1 and then it was 2-2 at the completion of extra time.
In head-to-head action Sutherland won the first round match 2-0 and then the second match was a scoreless draw.
This was a fine display of direct football as the teams went at each other as if there would be no tomorrow and that provided much entertainment for the good folk in the spectator areas.
The play flowed from one end of the ground to the other but each attacking move was foiled by either some rock-solid defensive play or some fine goalkeeping,
The Sharks found the back of the net in the 30th minute thanks to a strike from Patrick Truman and they were able to take that advantage through to the break despite the best efforts of the White Eagles.
The second half started where the first had left off with the teams continuing to show that they were perfectly capable of producing a very competitive and highly entertaining brand of play.
Sutherland doubled their lead in the 55th minute when James Eldred found the target but Bonnyrigg were far from a beaten team as they continued to search for ways to get themselves back into the match.
The 2-0 scoreline remained in place through to the final whistle.
Sutherland Sharks stepped forward at the presentation ceremony to receive their rewards as Premiers and Champions from Bill Kostandas (Head of Competitions at Football NSW) while Bonnyrigg White Eagles can be extremely proud of their achievements as Premiership and Championship runners-up.
Grade 16
Marconi Stallions finished the season in third position and they have qualified for the Grand Final by posting a 2-1 win over Sutherland Sharks in the Preliminary Semi Final and then defeating Manly United 2-1 in the Major Semi Final.
Manly United are the Premiers after they finished three points ahead of their nearest rivals and they have reached the Grand Final by losing the Major Semi Final 2-1 to Marconi Stallions and then posting a 3-0 win in the Preliminary Final match against Blacktown City.
In head-to-head action Manly won the first round clash 3-1 but then the Stallions won the second round match 3-2.
On a day when the very best football is expected, this match certainly lived up to those expectations as the teams displayed a very high level of skill and commitment from the first whistle to the last.
From the start, the game ebbed and flowed as the teams sought ways to break down their well drilled defences of their opponents and that added some fascination to the contest.
The Stallions made the breakthrough in the 31st minute thanks to a goal from Jonathon Grozdanovski and they maintained that lead through to the break.
Manly gave their best efforts to their attempts to find an equaliser but they were consistently thwarted by solid defensive play, good quality goalkeeping and some very near misses.
Marconi doubled their lead in the 47th minute through a strike from Luca Marongiu and then they scored their third goal just six minutes later when Mathew Yazbeck found the back of the net.
At no stage did Manly have the look of a beaten team as they simply rolled up their sleeves after each setback and continued to go at the Stallions in the clear hope that they could salvage something from this engrossing game but it was not to be as the scoreboard read 3-0 when the final whistle sounded.
Marconi Stallions had come from third position to claim the spoils as Champions at the presentation ceremony from Bill Kostandas (Head of Competitions at Football NSW) while Manly United stepped forward to receive their awards as Premiers and Championship runners-up.
-By Barry Davis