Bill Turner Trophy, Bill Turner Cup NNSW finals live stream: MacKillop College have eyes on semi-final prize

There was a 9-0 thumping in the girls and a clinical victory in the boys as the Bill Turner Cup and Trophy NNSW finals came to a head on Wednesday. Catch up on the day one and two REPLAYS.

A five-goal starring display from midfielder Laura Knipe has propelled Merewether High School to the Bill Turner Trophy national finals after a 9-0 drubbing of MacKillop College on Wednesday.

Port Macquarie’s St Josephs Regional College also booked a spot in the Cup finals as it defeated St John’s Woodlawn 2-0.

Four matches from the Bill Turner Cup and Trophy Northern NSW finals were live streamed on KommunityTV on Wednesday.

It followed Tuesday’s coverage of the action from Coffs Harbour.

Scroll down to read the match reports and watch replays of every game.

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES AND REPLAYS

CUP (BOYS)

Port Macquarie’s St Josephs Regional College will head to Lake Macquarie for the national finals of the Bill Turner Cup after recording a 2-0 victory over St John’s Woodlawn in the Northern NSW regional final at Coffs Harbour.

An excellent performance from midfielders Toby Newell and Flynn Barrett and some attacking spark from winger Zac Lovett laid the platform for the side’s much deserved win.

The team had the better of the early running, with St Josephs’ midfield doing well to control possession and launch attacks forward.

REPLAY: St Joseph’s Regional College v St John’s College Woodlawn (Cup quarter final)

As the half went on the Port side’s dominance grew, with St John’s struggling to get out of their own half for large periods.

St Joseph’s winger Lovett was a constant threat down the left flank, but shot straight at keeper Aidan Tandetzke-Moran after breaking into the box in what was the best of the early chances.

Lovett was at it again a couple of minutes later, setting up teammate Joshua Baxter in the box, only for the shot to once again go straight into the keeper’s arms.

However with increasing control over possession the pressure eventually showed, with St Josephs breaking the deadlock two minutes before half-time.

Once again it started with Lovett, who picked up the ball in a tight area, managed to evade three defenders before putting in a lovely through ball behind the Woodlawn defence.

Striker Jaxson Clay won the race to the ball, getting in behind the centre defenders to head the ball over the incoming goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

The second half continued in much the same vein, with St Josephs controlling possession and the tempo of the game.

And while Woodlawn’s Will Mosse was dangerous on the break, the Port Macquarie team kept pressing for a second, with Joey Baxter, Zenden Babkuhl and Lovett all going close.

The match was still in balance until seven minutes from time when Hudson Bell showed some nice footwork to evade a couple of Woodlawn defenders at the top of the box before slotting the ball past the keeper to seal the match.

REPLAY: All Saints’ College v Whitebridge High School (Cup 3rd place playoff)

TROPHY (GIRLS)

Merewether has booked its spot in the Bill Turner Trophy national finals following a comprehensive 9-0 victory over Port Macquarie’s MacKillop College in the Northern NSW final in Coffs Harbour.

Midfielder Laura Knipe put in a five-star performance for the victors, scoring an incredible five goals and setting up another in one of the most remarkable individual performances seen in the competition.

Merewether dominated proceedings from the outset and quickly camped itself in MacKillop’s half.

REPLAY: Merewether High School v MacKillop College (Trophy quarter final)

Controlling possession and territory, the school opened the scoring after just four minutes with a brilliant solo effort from Knipe.

The midfielder had her second on 22 minutes, slotting the ball past the keeper after some excellent set-up play from her teammates.

If Merewether’s first half was impressive, then its second half was downright brilliant, with the team scoring its third five minutes after the break following some nice lead-up play down the right flank. Two minutes later it was four after another brilliant display from Knipe.

Shortly after it was five, with Knipe once again winning the ball in midfield and then putting through a lovely ball for her striker to slot the ball away past the keeper.

While Merewether’s whole team was impressive, it was well and truly the Laura Knipe show, with the number seven scoring her fourth – and the team’s sixth – midway through the half.

The school then completed the excellent performance with two late goals to ensure that it will mix it with the state’s best in September.

In the consolation match, local Coffs Harbour side Bishop Druitt College defeated Trinity Catholic College Lismore 2-0.

REPLAY: Bishop Druitt College v Trinity Catholic College (Trophy 3rd place playoff)

TUESDAY’S GAMES AND REPLAYS

St John’s wasted no time in opening the scoring, with Tom McPhee capitalising on a mistake from the goalkeeper to score the first of his hat-trick.

REPLAY: St Joseph's Regional College v All Saints Maitland (Bill Turner Cup)

McPhee’s second came soon after, despite calls for handball, and he grabbed his third before halftime following a brilliant counter-attack.

Whitebridge were able to reduce the deficit in the second half after a foul in the box resulted Clayton Watts scoring from the penalty spot.

St Joseph’s Regional were the first team through after a convincing 2-0 win over All Saints College Maitland.

REPLAY: St Johns College Woodlawn v Whitebridge High School (Bill Turner Cup)

Zac Lovett was the star of the show for St Joseph’s, scoring a brace and constantly creating chances that ensured the All Saints defenders were kept on edge.

St Joseph’s got off the mark early with Lovett breaking past the All Saints defence to score just four minutes into the match

St Joseph’s doubled their advantage late in the game, with Lovett charging down the sideline to strike a brilliant goal.

MacKillop College are set to face Merewether High in the Bill Turner Trophy quarterfinals on Wednesday after a stunning come-from-behind victory against Trinity Catholic College Lismore.

MacKillop fought back from 1-0 down early on to secure the 2-1 win and a place in the Northern NSW final.

Isabelle Slater netted the opening goal for Trinity midway through the first half after a brilliant run straight on goal.

REPLAY: Trinity Catholic College v MacKillop College (Trophy)

However, it took mere moments for MacKillop to strike back as Sophie Gallagher slotted a free kick well outside the box into the back of the net. 

With scores locked at 1-1 after the break, the second half was even more crucial to get the upper hand.

The game-winning goal came late in the second half from Abby Buttsworth.

Merewether booked their place in Wednesday’s big game after a thrilling 3-2 win over Bishop Druitt College.

Merewether looked strong in the opening half, keeping the ball consistently in their half and breaking through Bishop’s defence.

They opened the scoring midway through the first half with Edie Wilton claiming the goal.

Bishop equalised just minutes later with Phoebe Oliver timing her run perfectly, drawing the keeper out of her box and finding the back of the net from a tough angle.

But it didn’t take long for Merewether to come back courtesy of a long strike from Olivia Lukaszewicz.

REPLAY: Bishop Druitt College v Merewether High School (Trophy)

The second half was tightly contested with neither team fully in control but Bishop managed to once again equalise.

Tayla Foldes found her way through the Merewether defence off a corner kick to level the scores with just minutes remaining, forcing the game into extra time.

It only took four minutes for Merewether to wrap up the match thanks to a well directed corner that was knocked over the line by Laura Knipe.

PREVIEW

MacKillop College defeated Hunter’s St Bede’s Catholic College 4-1 to secure a match in this round and coach Denham said the girls are feeling ‘pretty confident’.

“The girls have been tracking really well,” Denham said.

“We’ve got a few wins under our belt and the girls are stringing together some impressive football.”

Their opponents, Trinity Catholic College, are ‘a bit of an unknown entity’.

“We think we have runs on the board there,” Denham said.

“We came up against them recently on a gala day for the Catholic Schools Cup, where our girls have now gone through to the quarterfinals.”

Port Macquarie's MacKillop College are vying for a spot in the Bill Turner Trophy quarters.

Also vying for a place in the next round are Bishop Druitt College, Coffs Harbour, and Merewether High School, Newcastle, with that match to kick off day one of competition on Tuesday.

In the boy’s Bill Turner Cup competition, Whitebridge High School claimed their first Area title since 2018 to progress to the round of 16 and are set to face Area 5B champions St John’s College Woodlawn for a quarterfinals place.

Whitebridge narrowly defeated St Philip’s Waratah 2-1 to progress, while St John’s smashed Armidale Secondary College 5-1 to come into the match full of confidence.

Port Macquarie side, St Joseph’s Regional College, picked up a convincing 2-0 win over St John Paul on their way to the finals series and will come up against All Saints College Maitland in their round of 16 Cup clash.