Plenty of Action on final day of APFA Nationals
The final day of the 2013 competition saw teams playing for their national rankings.
South Australia took on New Zealand for 5th place, Victoria and Western Australia faced off in the 3rd place play-off and both undefeated sides, Queensland and 2012 champions New South Wales came head to head for the National Championship.
South Australia took on New Zealand for 5th place, Victoria and Western Australia faced off in the 3rd place play-off and both undefeated sides, Queensland and 2012 champions New South Wales came head to head for the National Championship.
In the first match, both the Sabres and the Kiwis were still searching for their first goals of the tournament.
South Australia were the first to open their account with Chantel Bongiovanni taking a shot which went in off the post.
Chantel returned the favor to her brother Santo with a great cross which he tapped at the far post.
At half time SA led 2-0 and NZ were still looking for their first goal. They didn’t have to wait much longer as they won a free kick outside the box.
Luke Alderton passed to Melissa Counihan inside the box who flicked the ball between the two defenders.
The Kiwis had scored their first goal, but that was when the match changed. South Australia responded quickly through Nathan Van Roy.
South Australia suddenly had all the play with Damien Porter scoring a quick double and Santo Bongiovanni scoring his second from long range.
Jono Grigg finished off a 7-1 rout with all 5 Sabres scoring goals. Congratulations to both sides for their debuts at the Australian National Championships.
South Australia were the first to open their account with Chantel Bongiovanni taking a shot which went in off the post.
Chantel returned the favor to her brother Santo with a great cross which he tapped at the far post.
At half time SA led 2-0 and NZ were still looking for their first goal. They didn’t have to wait much longer as they won a free kick outside the box.
Luke Alderton passed to Melissa Counihan inside the box who flicked the ball between the two defenders.
The Kiwis had scored their first goal, but that was when the match changed. South Australia responded quickly through Nathan Van Roy.
South Australia suddenly had all the play with Damien Porter scoring a quick double and Santo Bongiovanni scoring his second from long range.
Jono Grigg finished off a 7-1 rout with all 5 Sabres scoring goals. Congratulations to both sides for their debuts at the Australian National Championships.
By comparison, the 3rd place play-off was a dour affair with both sides more focused on defence than scoring a goal.
Victoria’s Luke David and Western Australia’s James Kim battled against each other for the majority of the match.
Repeated contests between the two left few attacking opportunities but WA would have felt disappointed at half-time for not creating more shots.
The same eventuated in the second half before WA won a penalty.
James Kim took a shot which was saved off the line by Luke David, however he went aroundthe outside of the goal post to do this, preventing Kim’s shot from scoring.
David escaped without a card and Kim coolly scored from the spot. Scores stayed that way with Western Australia going on to take 3rd place.
Victoria’s Luke David and Western Australia’s James Kim battled against each other for the majority of the match.
Repeated contests between the two left few attacking opportunities but WA would have felt disappointed at half-time for not creating more shots.
The same eventuated in the second half before WA won a penalty.
James Kim took a shot which was saved off the line by Luke David, however he went aroundthe outside of the goal post to do this, preventing Kim’s shot from scoring.
David escaped without a card and Kim coolly scored from the spot. Scores stayed that way with Western Australia going on to take 3rd place.
The National Championship game was contested between Queensland and New South Wales for the second straight year with both sides going through the competition without losing a game and without conceding a single goal.
Something had to change in the final. New South Wales started with their line-up of Abdullah Karim in goals, Jordan Crane and co-captains Dimitri Liolio-Davis and Chris Suffield.
For the Queenslanders, they started with Ryan Czernia, Bryce Castles, Josh Merkas and captain Tristram Peters.
Both sides started slowly, trying to feel each other out.
Both sides were nervous with passes they would normally make being played with less conviction and accuracy than normal.
Eventually the game settled down and New South Wales began playing their passing game.
The Queensland defence held firm for a while before Dimitri Liolio-Davis played a clever pass from a throw-in.
Suffield made a small opening on the edge of the box, with Liolio-Davis used to find Jordan Crane on the far side.
Crane made no mistake and scored with a well placed shot just inside the post. New South Wales continued to make attacking raids but couldn’t string enough passes together to get through the solid Queensland defence.
Crane had an opportunity to play a similar ball and repay Liolio-Davis and Suffield played a ball across the box that went behind Crane but they couldn’t convert either chance.
The sky blues made some changes at the break with Alex Scollard and Andy Waite taking the field.
A 1-0 lead was never going to be enough and Bryce Castles proved that to be true after the break, managing to block clearance from Suffield back into the goal.
Karim couldn’t get to the post in time and scores were level.
New South Wales coach Luke Robinson made some changes, giving Suffield a rest and returning Liolio-Davis and Crane to the field along with Chris Turnbull.
Queensland was in control before those substitutions with Josh Merkas and Bryce Castles combining well before New South Wales wrestled back control of the game.
Scores remained the same with both sides having their chances as time began to run out.
Something special would be needed to win the match the Dimitri Liolio-Davis was the one to break the deadlock.
Camped down near the Queensland goal, the team in sky blue began to pass like they had earlier in the week.
Merkas and Castles blocked shot after shot, but the passes kept flying.
Liolio-Davis’ first spin kick was blocked but fell back out to his team mates. Eventually Chris Turnbull played a nice pass and Liolio-Davis lined up a powerful shot which flew into the goal.
The New South Wales bench erupted with jubilation but the players on the field continued to search for another goal with Crane firing a hard shot against the post.
But time was against the Queenslanders with New South Wales winning the 2013 National Championship with the same 2-1 scoreline as in 2012.
Something had to change in the final. New South Wales started with their line-up of Abdullah Karim in goals, Jordan Crane and co-captains Dimitri Liolio-Davis and Chris Suffield.
For the Queenslanders, they started with Ryan Czernia, Bryce Castles, Josh Merkas and captain Tristram Peters.
Both sides started slowly, trying to feel each other out.
Both sides were nervous with passes they would normally make being played with less conviction and accuracy than normal.
Eventually the game settled down and New South Wales began playing their passing game.
The Queensland defence held firm for a while before Dimitri Liolio-Davis played a clever pass from a throw-in.
Suffield made a small opening on the edge of the box, with Liolio-Davis used to find Jordan Crane on the far side.
Crane made no mistake and scored with a well placed shot just inside the post. New South Wales continued to make attacking raids but couldn’t string enough passes together to get through the solid Queensland defence.
Crane had an opportunity to play a similar ball and repay Liolio-Davis and Suffield played a ball across the box that went behind Crane but they couldn’t convert either chance.
The sky blues made some changes at the break with Alex Scollard and Andy Waite taking the field.
A 1-0 lead was never going to be enough and Bryce Castles proved that to be true after the break, managing to block clearance from Suffield back into the goal.
Karim couldn’t get to the post in time and scores were level.
New South Wales coach Luke Robinson made some changes, giving Suffield a rest and returning Liolio-Davis and Crane to the field along with Chris Turnbull.
Queensland was in control before those substitutions with Josh Merkas and Bryce Castles combining well before New South Wales wrestled back control of the game.
Scores remained the same with both sides having their chances as time began to run out.
Something special would be needed to win the match the Dimitri Liolio-Davis was the one to break the deadlock.
Camped down near the Queensland goal, the team in sky blue began to pass like they had earlier in the week.
Merkas and Castles blocked shot after shot, but the passes kept flying.
Liolio-Davis’ first spin kick was blocked but fell back out to his team mates. Eventually Chris Turnbull played a nice pass and Liolio-Davis lined up a powerful shot which flew into the goal.
The New South Wales bench erupted with jubilation but the players on the field continued to search for another goal with Crane firing a hard shot against the post.
But time was against the Queenslanders with New South Wales winning the 2013 National Championship with the same 2-1 scoreline as in 2012.
Later that afternoon Australia took on New Zealand in the first ever international match between the two nations.
The Australian side selected the previous night included New South Wales players Jordan Crane, Chris Turnbull, Abdullah Karim, Dimitri Liolio-Davis and Chris Suffield, Queenslanders Josh Merkas and Tristram Peters and Victorian Luke David.
The first half was a surprisingly tight affair with the Kiwis holding the Aussies out for most of the half, Liolio-Davis struck at the far post before Abdullah Karim scored a hat-trick thanks to some individual skill and some nice passes from Crane and Liolio-Davis.
At half time the Aussies made some chances and continued where they left off.
Both Chris Turnbull and Chris Suffield scored hat-tricks in the second half before Josh Merkas scored himself after setting up most of the play through the half. Australia won the match 11-0 but the Kiwis made them work hard for it. Throughout the tornament New Zealand improved and the Aussies should be prepared for a much closer game in 2014.
The Australian side selected the previous night included New South Wales players Jordan Crane, Chris Turnbull, Abdullah Karim, Dimitri Liolio-Davis and Chris Suffield, Queenslanders Josh Merkas and Tristram Peters and Victorian Luke David.
The first half was a surprisingly tight affair with the Kiwis holding the Aussies out for most of the half, Liolio-Davis struck at the far post before Abdullah Karim scored a hat-trick thanks to some individual skill and some nice passes from Crane and Liolio-Davis.
At half time the Aussies made some chances and continued where they left off.
Both Chris Turnbull and Chris Suffield scored hat-tricks in the second half before Josh Merkas scored himself after setting up most of the play through the half. Australia won the match 11-0 but the Kiwis made them work hard for it. Throughout the tornament New Zealand improved and the Aussies should be prepared for a much closer game in 2014.
At the presentation dinner later that night, South Australia’s Santo Bongiovanni was awarded the MVP trophy and Tristram Peters was awarded the Top Goal Scorer with 13 through the tournament.
New South Wales’ Abdullah Karim won the Best Defence award.
The South Australian Sabres also won the Fair Play award.
An exciting tournament eventually came to a close and competition will be closer once again in 2014.
New South Wales’ Abdullah Karim won the Best Defence award.
The South Australian Sabres also won the Fair Play award.
An exciting tournament eventually came to a close and competition will be closer once again in 2014.
