Congratulations to Lilli Pilli 18 Boys and Miranda Magpies 21 Women for winning their Grand Final of the Champion of Champions at Valentine Park yesterday.
UNDER 18
LINDFIELD V. LILLI PILLI 0 – 3
UNDER 21
BURWOOD V. MIRANDA 3 – 2
W21
BURWOOD V. MIRANDA 1 – 5
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Lilli Pilli FC Under 18A side clinch the Football NSW Champion of Champions 2011 Title
On Sunday 23rd October, the Lilli Pilli 18A side travelled to Parklea, to the ‘home of NSW football’ to play Lindfield in the U18s Final.
Having secured the 18A competition title in 2011, the boys sought to do one better than 2010 where they were runners up in the same tournament.
To make the Final, Lilli Pilli FC U18s defeated the champion teams from St George, Manly and Southern Districts Associations.
The match itself was a tough game and a superb spectacle of football, particularly in the first half. Lilli Pilli FC went ahead 1-0 and it stayed like that till minutes before the full time whistle. A second and third goal came and resulted in the 3-0 scoreline.
Captain Ned Stelzer and the team, together with coaches Dave Paget and Dave Smith were presented their medals following their tournament victory and they paid tribute to their Association, their Club and their parents and friends for the support they have received throughout the year.
A team shot is attached. More pics from the day can be found on facebook… http://www.facebook.com/LilliPilliFC
It was a great day at Parklea and these boys did a tremendous job.
======Below Extracts from FNSW website =============================
Women Under 21s: Impressive Miranda dismantle Burwood
A dominant performance from Miranda Magpies saw the Sutherland Shire representatives overcome Burwood 5-1 in the Women’s 21s Champions of Champions final on Sunday afternoon at Valentine Sports Park.
Brittany van der Hart gave Miranda an early lead with a well-placed spot kick after Burwood conceded a foul in the box from the first corner of the match.
A couple of well taken saves by Sophie Hayre kept Burwood in the match either side of Brittany Bultitude’s brave last ditch challenge to deny Kathryn Pearce at the other end.
Burwood almost grabbed an equaliser through Zoe Zaromi’s 25-yard drive; however the Miranda keeper was on hand to tip the ball over to maintain her side’s lead.
Miranda doubled their advantage through Gabbie Johnson before Michelle Smith pulled one back for Burwood shortly before the interval.
Lisa Stewart did exceptionally well to put Miranda further ahead after the hour mark as she shrugged off her marker on the wing before producing a lethal shot that dipped inside the far post.
Lara Haly Smith confirmed the win for Miranda with a quarter of an hour remaining as she skinned two defenders before capping off her run with a crisp finish inside the far post.
She then rounded off the scoring with her second goal minutes later, controlling a long ball before neatly clipping her shot between her marker and the onrushing keeper.
Danna Cicco saw her late effort saved by Hayre in the match’s final goal scoring opportunity as Miranda controlled the closing stages of their impressive victory.
Burwood 1
Miranda Magpies 5
By Michael Shoolman
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Under 18 Men; Lilli Pilli too strong for Lindfield in Under 18 men’s final
Lilli Pilli secured the Under 18 Men’s final with a hard fought effort to overcome Lindfield, despite the final 3-0 result suggesting it was an easy victory.
Played at a fast pace throughout the 90’ minutes in very muggy conditions, both sides created goal scoring chances.
In what proved a well-balanced opening, Lilli Pilli found the opening goal of the match on the 30’ minute mark. Chris Boland scored his first of two goals with an exceptionally well hit long-range effort. The striker’s left-foot drive packed a huge punch, and left Lindfield goalkeeper Greg Joffe helpless as he failed to get a hand to the attempt.
Boland nearly doubled his side’s lead just before the break as his shot had Joffe beaten. The striker however was denied by Maxwell Margalit who kept his nerve to clear off the goal line.
After the break, Ned Stelzer forced Greg Joffe into a fine save before Lindfield captain Romaan Thorpe showed all his passion with a series of timely interventions in the defensive third.
Lindfield went close to an equalizer on the hour mark as Antoine Cleuet floated into the penalty-area unmarked before side-footing his effort wide of the target.
The Greg Joffe show then began as the shot-stopper pulled off a series of world class saves to deny Lilli Pilli. The Lindfield goalkeeper, despite being on the losing side, was without a doubt one of the star performer from the final.
After being denied by Joffe late-on, Boland finally managed to put another one past the shot-stopper.
A poorly dealt with corner by Lilli Pilli saw the ball fall to Boland at the back post, the striker didn’t waste any time, blasting his effort into the top right-hand corner.
Stelzer then added a third for Lilli Pilli deep into injury-time, converting powerfully from close-range to cap off a tremendous Champion of Champions campaign.
Lindfield 0
Lilli Pilli 3 (Chris Boland 30’, 90’+1’, Ned Stelzer 90’+2’)
-By Joseph Carlucci
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Under 21 Men: Burwood’s golden goal thriller pips Magpies
Canterbury Association side Burwood clinched the U-21 Men’s Champion of Champions title with a dramatic last minute golden goal to defeat Miranda Magpies.
Without a doubt the best two teams across the state this season – the two sides met in the State Cup earlier in the year, where Burwood again piped the Magpies via the penalty-shootout – both sides gave a fabulous account of their skill and football mentality.
The match didn’t start in the best manner for Burwood as Miranda took a 6’ minute lead courtesy of a fine talent by the name of Jason Skyllas. The left-sided winger reacted quickest to re-position his body and convert a tremendous overhead bicycle kick past Burwood goalkeeper Yannick Milligan-Saville. The ball sat up nicely for the pint-sized winger as Skyllas showed exceptional technique to give his side the lead.
Milligan-Saville then denied Miranda a second goal as Christian Zeleny went through one-on-one. The shot-stopper showed agility and strength to close the angle and thwart any danger.
Gaetano La Ianca tested Magpies’ goalkeeper Kieran Rossenrode with a free-kick on 39’ minutes – the shot-stopper came up trumps – though 4’ minutes later, La Ianca’s delivery from the left found its way through a crowded penalty-area and into the back of the net to draw Burwood level.
Burwood wasn’t finished there as Jack Avery blasted a loose ball inside the Miranda penalty-area to give his side the lead only 60’’ seconds later.
Miranda should have drawn level after the break when Jason Haggar found an opening on the edge of the penalty-area. The Magpies player shot his effort wide of the target.
At the other end on the hour mark, La Ianca should have added a third for Burwood when the referee awarded the side a penalty following Adam Wilson’s poorly timed challenge on the number 9.
La Ianca dusted himself off to take the penalty, though his powerful drive was a little too central as Rossenrode guessed correctly to make a fine save down to his left.
Despite the miss, Burwood seemed in control of proceedings until 2’ minutes from the end. Samuel Fenning made the most of some slack marking as he forced the match into extra-time with a well taken goal.
The 20’ minutes of extra-time produced chances at both ends before Miranda were reduced to ten-men following Zeleny’s second yellow card of the afternoon.
Miranda found themselves with the numerical advantage shortly after as both Nathan Leto and Gaetano La Ianca were shown red cards following a melee that broke out with the Miranda players.
The setback didn’t deter Burwood as Steven Gabor, with the last kick of the match, blasted a pin-point free-kick into the back of the net to secure victory.
Burwood 3 (Gaetano La Ianca 43’, Jack Avery 44’, Steven Gabor 110’+1’)
Miranda Magpies 2 (Jason Skyllas 6’, Samuel Fenning 88’)
2-2 at full-time. Burwood won via extra-time golden goal.
-By Joseph Carlucci
