Errea Cup -
2007
Match Reports of
Errea Cup and Trophy Semi Finals and Finals
Semi Finals
Tuesday 28 August 2007- Seymour Shaw Stadium
Semi final
day began with the first of the girls’ semi finals played between The Hills Sports High School and Duval High School.
Although
very much the underdogs, the girls from Armidale tried to take the game to
their more fancied rivals from the start, but their attempts were short
lived as by half time Hills had established a 5-0 advantage. Some personnel
changes by Hills in the second half only served to slow down the rate of
scoring and Hills ran out eventual winners 7-0. Duval is to be commended for
being one of the top two comprehensive high schools in NSW for the second
year in a row, showing what depth and commitment they currently have. Well
done to coach Tony Jones and all his players.
The second
game was the first of the boys’ encounters between Westfields Sports High
School and Georges River College Oatley.
Again, with
Westfields being favourite, Oatley threw everything at them but just could
not stem the tide of goal scoring, and although Oatley got back to 1-2
midway through the first half Westfields went in 3-1 at half time and
finished the game off 7-1. The power of the Westfields machine was just too
strong but the Oatley boys competed well and they and coach Rob Butler can
hold their heads high for their season’s work.
Game 3 was
the second of the boys’ semi finals between Endeavour Sports High School and
Kingswood High School.
Endeavour
had a dream start with a goal inside the first 3 minutes but this seemed
only to spark the Kingswood boys into action. The game see-sawed for the
rest of the half and, with no further goals scored, Kingswood went in at
half time confident of equalising. Endeavour had other ideas of course and
replicated their first half start by scoring early on again. At 2-0
Endeavour could afford to settle in but the young Kingswood boys weren’t
going to lie down and repeatedly launched attacks, to no avail. Endeavour
held on to their lead to the final whistle but Kingswood walked off with
heads held high to the cheers of their supporters. Coach Jodi Pohl said
afterwards how proud she was with their display and the way they really took
the game to their opponents.
The final
game was the second girls’ semi final between Hunter Sports High School and
Woolgoolga High School.
Woolgoolga
entered the game after previously establishing themselves as a force in the
U/15 Bill Turner competition. But could they continue on with success at the
open level? Hunter had to battle hard in the early stages as Woolgoolga
mounted several good attacking raids and took some time to get into the
game. After a scoreless first half Woolgoolga must have fancied their
chances of springing an upset but Hunter quickly got into their rhythm and
within 20 minutes had scored 3 times to put Woolgoolga away. Being defeated
0-3 was no disgrace for coach John Morgan and his charges, who displayed
confidence and skill to compete so well for the entire game.
Finals
Wednesday 29 August 2007 - Seymour Shaw Stadium
Finals
night saw a large crowd gather at Seymour Shaw Stadium at Miranda to see the
culmination of this most prestigious competition. Over 350 schools in both
boys’ and girls’ competition began round 1 in March and it was now down to
these last 2 teams to decide the crown.
Girls
final: The Hills Sports High School 3 def Hunter Sports High School 1
The
question from everyone before the game was could Hunter reverse earlier
results during the season and surprise Hills? In the Sports High School
section of the competition Hills had defeated Hunter twice before – 3-1 each
time – and was looking good for a repeat performance in the final.
Hills began
dominating from the kickoff but Hunter was busy and their tactics of trying
to shut down Hills before they had time to settle was working well. It
wasn’t until midway through the half that Karina Roweth, who had been making
some searching runs down the right side for Hills, was able to cross a ball
which wasn’t dealt with by the Hunter defence and Lindsay Glohe pounced at
the far post to hit the ball into the roof of the net. Hills celebrated
their lead by relaxing enough for Hunter to quickly mount pressure and win a
corner. A good delivery from the left found Hunter’s Gema Simon, whose
downward header found teammate Tara Andrews, and her quick reactions saw her
hook the ball with her right foot into the open net. At 1-1 the game was
balanced again, but Hills’ Renee Rollason took matters into her own hands by
taking on 4 defenders as she incised her way into the box and hit across the
keeper into the net at the far post to make it 2-1.
The second
half saw Hills become more dominant and Hunter had to defend for long
periods. The pressure finally told when Hills’ Kyah Simon, who had several
chances through the game, latched on to a loose ball and drilled home from
20 metres to give Hills a 3-1 lead, the score remaining there until the end.
The win to
Hills was fully deserved but Hunter showed they were fully deserving of
their runners-up status. Hunter coach Mara Watts was philosophical
afterwards, disappointed with the loss but pleased with the huge effort her
players had put in. Hills coach Alen Stajcic praised his players for a
wonderful result, and was pleased with the development over the season.
Player of
the final: Elizabeth O’Reilly (Hills)
Player of
the series: Renee Rollason (Hills)
Boys final: Westfields Sports High School 2 def Endeavour Sports High School
1
The game
promised to deliver much and all in attendance weren’t disappointed! From
the first whistle play was intense, frantic and passionate. Both sides had
chances in a very even first half but it wasn’t until the busy Stefan Heleta
from Westfields stormed into the Endeavour penalty box and hit his shot
across the keeper into the net that play really opened up. The celebrations
were short lived as Endeavour continued their pressure, Marc Warren
inspiring his troops on, and Westfields had to knuckle down again but the
scoreline remained at 1-0 until half time.
The second
half began evenly as Westfields tried to take the game by the throat and
Endeavour went searching for their equaliser. But again midway through the
half a good build up from Westfields down the left side saw the ball squared
across to Sean Mitchell, who turned and hit an unstoppable shot from 20
metres, sending the Westfields fans into raptures. It was just reward for
Mitchell, who had been causing Endeavour headaches with his running and off
ball movement all game.
Endeavour
had to throw caution to the wind but their reply came unexpectedly.
Endeavour won a free kick in centrefield about 30 metres out. With players
thrown forward into the box David Nastoski unleashed a piledriver which was
still going up when it lashed into the top corner of the net! Thomas Berger
in the Westfields goal must have wondered which missile had had just been
shot because it was an absolutely unstoppable strike. At 1-2 Endeavour was
now back in the game and they threw players forward for the last 10 minutes
to try and grab an equaliser. Westfields of course had other ideas, and some
intelligent play from Trifiro and Mitchell slowed down the action and
frustrated the Endeavour attempts. The final whistle blew and Westfields
players and supporters delight and relief overwhelmed the stadium. Rival
coaches Casey DeBruin and Trevor Morgan from Westfields, and Michael
Tzavellas and Chris Bradley from Endeavour are to be congratulated for
producing two teams playing with such great spirit and class. This final was
as good a game as any seen in recent history in any competition in
Australia, a remark made by Sports Plus Errea representative Nahuel Arrarte
at the presentation ceremony.
Players and
spectators alike had a fantastic night; great atmosphere, classy football,
excitement and entertainment. A wonderful finish to the 2007 Errea knockout
series.
Player of
the final: Sean Mitchell (Westfields)
Player of
the series: Glen Trifiro (Westfields)
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