Live stream: Queensland bounce back from adversity to reach FA National Youth Champs grand final

Down 2-0 and staring elimination in the face, Queensland produced a rally befitting some of their Origin best to reach the U16 FA National Youth Championships grand final.

‘We have the grit.’

It was a simple mindset that produced an extraordinary result as Queensland White upset Northern NSW 3-2 to progress to the U16 FA National Youth Championships grand final.

Coming from 2-0 down just after the start of the second half to level it up at 2-2 with only minutes to spare, Isaac Cookson then capitalised on some scrappy forward play to find the back of the net and secure the shocking victory.

“It’s a feeling like no other,” Cookson said.

“It just feels wonderful, especially coming from 2-0 down.

“We had the determination to come back in that second half, score those three goals and when I saw the ball hit the back of the net I was like ‘Oh my days, there’s no way we’ve just done that.’”

Queensland skipper Jackson Riley.

The Queenslanders only had one win to their name after the pool stages, with two draws allowing them to scrape through to the quarter-finals.

Captain Jackson O’Reilly was over the moon after the 1-0 final eight victory over Victoria White, but said the semi-final win was something else.

“This feeling, there is nothing better,” O’Reilly said.

“I thought the feeling yesterday was great, but today is just a whole other level.”

Cookson said all through the competition, his team hadn’t doubted whether or not they could get the job done, no matter the score.

“The definition we’d given our team is ‘we have the grit’,” Cookson said.

“We have the determination to get through whatever is thrown at us.

Heading into the grand final will definitely be another major test for Queensland.

“We need to get in the right mindset,” O’Reilly said.

“We know it’s going to be a tough 60 minutes, but we also know that if we rely on each other, we’ll get the job done.”