Shellharbour JFC crowned Frank Broughton Cup Champions
Shellharbour Junior FC ousted Winston Hills 3-0 in a dominant Frank Broughton Cup Grand Final victory at Valentine Sports Park on Sunday morning to claim a first U12 Boy’s DEPLOY State Cup trophy for Football South Coast.
The Illawarra based outfit proved far too strong for their Hills counterparts and broke the deadlock on the cusp of half time when forward Sonny Randle steered a corner delivery into the top corner.
Shellharbour added to their advantage shortly after the half time interval when Kaiden Markovic combined with Joel Palermo on the counter attack for the latter to confidently slide the ball past Winston Hills goalkeeper Joel Mumford.
The Peter Grujevski-coached side secured the trophy minutes later when Markovic’s effort from outside the box sailed over Mumford and in.
The triumph was thoroughly deserved for the visiting Shellharbour side who defended their lead resolutely throughout the second stanza and kept any hopes of a Winston Hills fightback at bay.
Shellharbour might’ve stretched their advantage further but for the heroics of Winston Hills keeper Mumford who enjoyed a fine morning between the sticks and made a particularly excellent double save late on to deny Edvard Grujevski and Kayne Strong.
Although the visitors would seize control of the match in the second half the opening twenty-five minutes was fiercely contested with Winston Hills’ Jy Windle going close for the hosts while Shellharbour’s Dylan Griffiths saw a snapshot from the edge of the box clip the post.
But the South Coast outfit landed a killer blow seconds before half time when Randle smartly lifted Thomas Harrison’s corner over Mumford at the back post to give Shellharbour the lead.
The second half began with a flurry of chances for both sides with Markovic and Cassander Grujevski going close for Shellharbour before Kasra Manoochehry threatened to restore parity for Winston Hills.
Nick Koutzas’ Hills boys upped the ante in search of an equalizer but were undone by a rapid transition from Shellharbour that saw Markovic feed Palermo at the back post to double the advantage.
The Shellharbour number ten enjoyed a man of the match winning performance spearheading the visitors’ attack and forced two excellent saves from Mumford before rattling the crossbar with a superb solo effort from distance.
Palermo crowned his exciting display with the award of the Deploy IGNITE match ball following the Grand Final presentation.
Mumford denied Shellharbour again with an excellent double save but was unable to prevent a killer third when Markovic’s attempt from outside the box looped over his head and clinched a fine Grand Final victory for Football South Coast.
Shellharbour began their Frank Broughton Cup campaign back in May’s round one clash with Harrington United and are the victors of a tournament consisting of 51 teams from 15 differing district associations.
Match Stats
Winston Hills 0
Shellharbour Junior FC 3 (Randle 24’, Palermo 35’, Markovic 39’)
Sunday 16th of July 2017,
Valentine Sports Park, Glenwood
Winston Hills: 1. Joel Mumford, 2. Joshua Adams, 3. Joseph Sabbouh, 4. Kasra Manoochehry, 5. Luke Maguire, 6. Ben Pentland, 7. Matthew Harragon, 8. Zac koutzas, 9. Joshua Telford, 10. Jordan Decri, 11. Jy Windle, 13. Zachary Porter, 14. Jayden West, 32. Peter Elliott, 38. Samuel Luo, 39. Subhan Zabul
Coach: Nick Koutzas
Assistant Coach: Matt Telford
Manager: Robert Decri
Shellharbour Junior FC: 60. Leo Atkins, 2. Jayden D’Angelo, 8. Dylan Griffiths, 7. Cassander Grujevski, 6. Edvard Grujevski, 13. Thomas Harrison, 11. Kaiden Markovic, 12. Zak Markovski, 10. Joel Palermo, 4. Kyan Phillips, 3. Jayden Rakovski, 9. Sonny Randle, 1. Daniel Simpson, 5. Kayne Strong
Coach: Peter Grujevski
Assistant Coach: Gary Griffiths
Manager: Gerry Phillips
-By Jacob Windon
