Champion of Champions: BTH Raiders, Eschol Park, Lindfield, Quakers Hill champs on GF day one
Day one of the Champion of Champions grand finals is in the books with new winners crowned. Check out all the highlights from day one
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Day one of a huge grand final weekend is done and dusted with nine new Champion of Champion winners crowned.
Belrose-Terrey Hills Raiders took home two titles with their U13 girls and U14 boys winning their respective grand finals.
Quakers Hill Tigers wrote a new chapter in the club’s history and Eschol Park Wolves finished the season undefeated.
Check out all the highlights from day one of the Football NSW Champion of Champions grand finals.
Historic win for Quakers Hill
Quakers Hill Tigers has claimed its first Champions of Champions title with the U16 boys taking down Lindfield FC in an extra time thriller.
The boys had plenty of support, with the club showing up to cheer for the Tigers through the whole match.
Coach Nick Howarth said it was an incredible feeling.
“I’m starting to lose words,” Howarth said.
“The boys, they just push and push and push and they always seem to get the ball in the back of the net.
“It’s not always pretty but at the end of the day, it counts.
“That’s what I’ve taught them, sometimes beautiful football and nice football isn’t the way to win a game, sometimes you just got to push and put your heart out.”
Lindfield G18 gets it done
After a disappointing 2-0 loss for the U13 girls earlier in the day, Lindfield’s U18 girls downed Central Coast club Terrigal United to claim the Champions title.
It was a tense match despite the 4-1 scoreline, with Terrigal fighting until the final whistle.
Paul Grundy from Lindfield said it was a full circle moment for a lot of the girls.
“It’s just such huge excitement,” Grundy said.
“A lot of these girls won Champ of Champs in under 12s, so now they’re finishing their juniors with Lindfield to bookend it with another win in under 18s.
“The girls have worked really hard this year so it’s a lot of joy, a lot of satisfaction and a lot of relief.”
Undefeated Eschol Park dominant in victory
Eschol Park are the U15 boys Champion of Champions after slipping five goals past Kellyville Kolts for a 5-0 win.
Coach James English said the team weren’t expecting such a margin.
“I wasn’t expecting that result,” English said.
“Kellyville came out really fast and with a very strong and fast forward line that put us under a lot of pressure, and I was actually quite nervous and worried for the first 10-15 minutes there.”
The result caps off an undefeated season for the Wolves, who secured 18 wins in 18 matches in the Southern Districts and Macarthur FA Super League.
After finishing runners-up in last year’s tournament, English said it was great to finally get the trophy.
“This year is a much better feeling being the champions,” English said.
“The team is mostly unchanged with the addition of two players from last year and that definitely helps with chemistry.
“The team has been pretty much the same for the last five or six years, but also it’s one big group.
“They’re just one big, strong, solid group that all get along really well with each other and enjoy each other’s time and that definitely shows when we play the game on the field.”
Double title delight for Belrose-Terrey Hills Raiders
Belrose-Terrey Hills Raiders have pulled off an incredible double title haul in the first two matches of the weekend.
The U13 girls defeated Lindfield FC 2-0, while the U14 boys took down Ryde Panthers 1-0 to claim two Champion of Champions titles.
It caps off an incredible season for the teams, with the boys and girls both taking home five trophies each.
Coach for both teams Nate Gray said it’s an outstanding achievement for the small club.
“It’s a pretty incredible treat for the kids,” Gray said.
“If you look at the history, no one has ever won all five.
“Last year the boys and the girls won four out of five so they were pretty hungry to get that fifth one this year.”
BTH Raiders is proud to call themselves a community club and Gray said the community really got behind their teams.
“It’s a real tight community,” Gray said.
“These teams trained together, they played together, we work in together, we do everything together.
“Being a small club, we don’t have a division two side in any age group, so for us to compete against the big clubs with five or six thousand people, it’s pretty outstanding.”
Full results
U13G Belrose-Terrey Hills Raiders defeated Lindfield FC U13 2-0
U14B Belrose-Terrey-Hills Raiders defeated Ryde Panthers U14 boys 1-0
O30W North Sydney United defeated Wakehurst FC 2-0
O35M APIA Leichhardt JFC defeated Penrith Rovers FC 3-1
U17B Eschol Park FC defeated Kellyville Kolts SC 5-0
U18W Lindfield FC defeated Terrigal United FC 4-1
U16B Quakers Hill Tigers defeated Lindfield FC 2-1 AET
U21W Balmain DFC defeated Thirroul JFC 4-3 AET
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