Following on from their premiership victory last month, the Goulburn Stags Under 15’s girls made it to the semi-finals of the NSW Champion of Champions competition on Sunday.
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Although the team was unfortunately defeated 4-0 by Wakehurst FC, coach Graham ‘Fred’ Eddy said that making the semis was a massive result for the team.
“They played really well in different conditions,” Eddy said.
“It was a synthetic pitch and it was full-sized … I’m proud of the way they played.”
The Stags’ semi-final loss was preceded by a tough victory at home against Blacktown St Pats in the quarter finals, 4-3.
“We won last week and played brilliantly,” Eddy said.
“We were two nil down at half time and came back and won the game. We played really good football, that was the best I’ve seen us play at home.”
The Champion of Champions competition features all of the teams which win their respective competitions pitted against one another to determine the best team in the state for the year.
It is a prestigious competition for all involved, and Eddy said that it was a “very impressive” effort from his girls to make the semi-finals.
“Considering too that we’ve only got two Under 15’s [players] and the rest are 13’s, 14’s, I think we’ve even got a 12-year-old.
“So to do what they have is pretty impressive.”
Although the result did not go in their favour, the girls on the team were pleased with the effort they put in to the tournament and acknowledged that they took some valuable lessons away from it.
“They’re happy, they really enjoyed the game,” Eddy said.
“It was a really good experience for them, they played on a synthetic pitch which none of them had ever played on before.
“They had to work hard, and they did … and I think they were all happy. Disappointed they didn’t get the win, but they were still happy with their performance.”
The home ground advantage, Eddy believes, was the reason for the result going the way of the Stags’ opponents on Sunday.
“I think if we’d played that same team at home, we’d beat ‘em,” he said.
“It was just playing on that pitch, and away, and it was a 10 o’clock game, so we got up at 5.30 this morning and left at six.”
Overall, the girls have come away from the experience much more confident and excited about the 2019 season.
“They’ll all be better, and the improvement they’ve made in the last couple of games has just been enormous,” Eddy said.
“They’re a lot better players for it, and they’re all looking forward to next year as well.”