REPLAYS: Football Australia National Youth Championships Girls’ Grand Finals Day
NSW Metro has dominated the final day of the Football Australia Girls National Youth Championships claiming the under-15 and under-16 titles. Check out the REPLAYS of grand final day here.
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NSW Metro have claimed both titles up for grabs at the Youth National Championships in Melbourne after the under-16 side claimed a stellar 4-0 win over Northern NSW on Monday.
Earlier, the NSW Metro claimed the under-15 title in a penalty shootout.
A stellar Amelia Cassar free kick from long range gave NSW Metro the 1-0 advantage in the fourth minute before Eliza Familton sealed the win with a slick finish in the 41st minute.
Tiana Fuller and Amy Barker were the other goal scorers, finding the back net either side of half time for NSW Metro.
Northern NSW pushed late but weren’t able to penetrate completely with the breeze also hurting their chances as they went up against it.
NSW Metro U16 coach Vic Guzman said it felt “really good” to get the win.
“I think they have been really consistent all week,” she said
“They have played some top football and good not to concede any goals and score quite a few, I think 29 so credit to the girls.
“I think the staff have been fantastic and excellent facilities but the girls’ consistently is key and they definitely dealt with the pressure well.”
Fuller, who scored and had a big challenge with Northern NSW’s Elizabeth Clowes in the first half, said her side were worthy winners.
“It feels really good to get the win,” she said.
“We worked hard so I felt like we deserved it.”
She said the team was “amazing” to play with.
“l love all the girls, the coaches are amazing.
“It was the best week of my life.”
NSW Metro technical director Nadine Shiels said she was “extremely proud” of the clean-sweeping championship wins at the tournament.
“The way they have conducted themselves both on and off the pitch is a credit to the staff, the support that they have around them but also to the kids themselves,“ she said.
NSW Metro also took control of the player of the tournament awards with Abbie Puckett winning it in the under-15 and Cassar in the under-16.
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REPLAYS
Field 1
Girls National Youth Championships closing ceremony
NSW Metro v Northern NSW (U16 grand final)
NSW Metro v Queensland Maroon (U15 grand final)
NSW Metro secures redemption in under-15 triumph
By Max Hatzoglou
NSW Metro have claimed the 2024 U15 National Youth Championship after prevailing 4-3 in a breathtaking penalty shootout over Queensland Maroon.
After Jada Taylor equalised in the 24th minute, Tyra Bagiante scored the winner for NSW Metro in an intense penalty shootout at The Home of the Matildas on Monday.
Queensland Maroon fought back from two misses to begin the shootout with keeper Millie-J Lino-Gofton making a diving save to her left to deny NSW Metro on their second attempt.
But it proved to be the only miss for NSW Metro in the shootout as Claire Corbett, Mikaela Gavranich and Matilda Dias-Wadewitz fired the next three goals respectively for the team before Bagiante nailed the final and match-winning penalty.
“It was the best, I can’t breathe right now,” Bagiante said soon after scoring the thrilling goal.
“I’m just proud to represent my team.
“NSW is the best, we are all a good team here and everyone loves each other.”
Earlier in the game, some fans were shocked as underdogs Queensland Maroons gained the early advantage through Zahra Ahmed in the fifth minute.
Then Gabriella White helped spark NSW Metro back into action shortly after with a header hitting the left post and nearly the right in a pulsating attempt.
Mikaela Gavranich made it count on the scoreboard for NSW after winning the ball in the front half to set up Taylor for the equaliser.
In the second half, the Maroons fired two strong attempts including one in the closing stages to nearly score victory.
It was an Ari Thake scissor kick from close range and then skipper Arabella Ryan forced Alyse Oppedisano into a full-stretch save in the final two minutes to send the game to the shootout.
NSW Metro coach Anissa Tann was pleased with the result post-game.
“It’s good because obviously last year we lost the grand final so it’s good to have a bit of redemption,” she said.
Northern NSW v Victoria Blue (U15 3rd/4th playoff)
Victoria Blue prevails in pulsating decider
By Max Hatzoglou
Victoria Blue U15 winger Alexis Pantazopoulos has produced one of the greatest individual comebacks of the 2024 National Youth Championships to score her side a third-place finish at the tournament.
With the scores level at 1-1, Victoria won the chance to win the game in the dying stages through a penalty after a player was pushed inside the box.
But Pantazopoulos missed the penalty completely to the right with three minutes left, sparking a “let’s go Northern” chant from the stands as their side remained in the game.
The enthralling contest ended up going to penalties with Izabella Rako, Emma Wilson and Teah Kotsandis respectively nailing the first Victoria three spot kicks of the shootout.
And then Pantazopoulos withstood the pressure and put through the fourth and final penalty to lead Victoria to an emphatic 4-2 win on penalties after Northern NSW had their last two penalties miss goal completely.
Earlier in the game at Pitch 1 of The Home of the Matildas, Northern NSW got the first lead after scoring from a scramble close to goal.
But then Layla Habib equalised in the 26th minute with a powerful shot to the bottom right corner.
From there minimal chances played out until midway through the second half when Mayan Harkness skilfully flicked a ball towards Makayde Goldman who ran in one-on-one with the keeper but missed the chance.
It was Victoria Blue defender Abigail Cheshire who charged in from behind defensively to make the goal-saving tackle on Goldman and keep her team in it.
The entertaining match was a stellar way to begin the finals action in Bundoora on Monday.
Queensland Maroon v Victoria (U16 3rd/4th playoff)
Victoria seals third place over Queensland
By Max Hatzoglou
Stunning performances from Queensland Maroon U15 goalkeepers Aurelia Stepanas and Lilli Dunn wasn’t enough as Victoria eventually found a way pass to triumph 1-0 and end their campaign with a third-place finish.
The pair both made cracking saves throughout but a Chelsea Biggs shot midway through the second half finally gave Victoria the advantage.
The breakthrough goal came after multiple saves from the Maroon keepers to deny the tournament’s hosts an opening goal.
Stepanas saved a penalty, sensationally diving to her left to keep the scores at nil-all minutes after being subbed on at half time.
And just before halftime, Victoria lined up for what looked like an easy goal from two metres away until Dunn bravely sacrificed her body to block the shot.
It left Dunn down and sore afterwards in a brilliant goal-saving effort to keep the scores level.
Football Queensland goalkeeping coach Dale Hill was pleased with his players efforts on the big stage.
“Both very brave goalkeepers, something that we obviously work on at training,” he said minutes after the game.
“They are both incredibly brave, we sort of see that week-to-week back in Queensland but today they definitely showed that.
“I’m super proud of their performances.”
Hill was also complementary on his goalkeepers across the board at the nationals this week at The Home of the Matildas.
Following the win, Victoria coach Seb Zancan said he thought his side played “really well”.
“We controlled most of it, created a lot of chances,” he said.
“The girls were really disappointed after yesterday’s semi-final so they were keen to respond and put in a good performance for the crowd.
“So really happy with how they were able to deal with that and play well today.
“It was nice to finish the week on a high because we won five out of our six games so I think we deserved to come away with a medal.”
Field 4
Capital Football v Tasmania (U15 placement)
Qld Silver v NSW Country (U15 placement)
Capitol Football ends campaign on a high
Capitol Football secured a 2-0 win over Tasmania to end it’s under-15 tournament on a two-game winning streak.
Two goals in the second half were enough to secure the victory over a gallant Tasmania outfit.
Both were scored by Phoebe Gordon.
Since joining the placement games, Capitol Football has been the team to beat, winning two out of three games and having a draw with NSW Country.
The other under-15 placement game saw NSW Country win 4-0 over Queensland Silver.
All four goals came in an explosive second half, which saw NSW Country put on a show.
Talia Franklin scored two goals with Muireann Kilroy and Lilly Sutcliffe also getting on the scoresheet.
Field 5
Victoria White v WA (U15 5th/6th playoff game)
SA v Invitational XI (U15 7th/8th playoff game)
Victoria White and South Australia secures last day wins
Victoria White have fought back twice from a goal down to secure fifth place in the under-15 girls tournament with a 3-2 win over Western Australia.
In an impressive performance, Victoria White rallied to be the best team out of those who missed the semi-finals.
Western Australia scored first to lead 1-0 at half time.
The second half saw the game come to life with Victoria White equalising not long after half time before WA responded with an immediate goal to get back the lead 2-1.
Victoria White then scored two goals in 10 minutes to lead 3-2, heading into the final 10 minutes.
Despite WA trying to find an equaliser, Victoria White held on to secure the win.
WA finished sixth in the tournament.
In the other game, South Australia secured seventh with a 3-0 win over the Invitational XI.
After a close first half, with scores locked at nil-all at half time, South Australia powered to victory in the second half, scoring three goals to prevail.
It was the Croweaters first win of the tournament.
PREVIEW
The scene is set for epic grand finals at the Football Australia National Youth Championships at The Home of the Matildas in Melbourne on Monday.
After enduring an intense penalty shootout, NSW Metro will face Queensland Maroon in the Under-15 decider.
In the Under 16s, Northern NSW and NSW Metro will go head-to-head after both sides scored dominant wins in their semifinals.
NSW Metro U16 captain Kiara Bonora said she was expecting the competitive spirits to be high.
“It will be a good one (the grand final game), obviously our aim for the whole tournament was to be in the finals and win the finals so it’s exciting,” she said.
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“We are just going to play our own game and do our best.
“It will be very feisty, pretty hard tackles I am expecting.”
A flurry of goals will be expected in the Under-16s decider after both sides had hat-trick heroes in the semis.
NSW Metro No.11 Tiana Fuller scored a first-half hat-trick in her side’s 5-0 win over Queensland Maroon, while Kealah Boldery emulated the feat for Northern NSW in their 5-1 win over Victoria.
Ahead of the big game, Northern NSW U16 coach Greg Brown said his side is showing encouraging signs after building up chemistry throughout the tournament.
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“They have just kept growing,” he said.
“First game we did okay against an opposition, no disrespect, that we were supposed to beat.
“We weren’t great. but we have just tightened things up, as we have gone to a point now where we are looking like a team that plays together all the time.
“And this team has only had a few sessions together, so it’s really encouraging.”
In the Under-15s, two close semi-finals went down with NSW Metro progressing after claiming a tight 4-2 win in an intense penalty shootout with Northern NSW.
The shootout came after NSW Metro pushed several times to score and win it in regulation time.
NSW Metro Under-15 captain Rubi Sullivan said she was pleased with the way her side played in the intense semi-final win.
“It was so good especially after regulation time, coming down to a penalty shootout it is always nerve-racking, but it was good to get the win,” she said.
“I thought we played very well, we had a lot of opportunities to score, I think we just need to finish those off but I think the team did play well.”
Queensland Maroon Under-15 captain Arabella Ryan had memories of losing a grand final to NSW Metro at the nationals in Coffs Harbour two years ago and said she wanted to get one back on them.
“I came here two years ago and we were in the grand final against them as well. We lost 1-0, so I am definitely back to try and beat them,” she said.
“We know it’s going to be a tough game, they are a very good team technically.
“They have very good individual players and they work well together.
“We have belief in our team that we can win definitely and we just got to try our hardest, we just got to want it more.”
Originally published as REPLAYS: Football Australia National Youth Championships Girls’ Grand Finals Day
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