|
SSFA 2010 Grand Final Stories
The Sutherland Shire Football Association Season 2010 may be officially over but the stories live on.
SSFA presents a collection of 2010 Grand Final Stories for your reading pleasure.
11A Cronulla Seagulls vs Lilli Pilli
Here is a photo of the 11A's Seagulls team after winning their grand
final 3 nil against Lilli Pilli. It was the boys first taste of finals football after playing small sided games over the past 5-6 years Having not beaten Lilli Pilli throughout the season the Seagulls boys came out firing to record a comprehensive victory The game was played in good spirit and both teams should be very proud of their achievements throughout the year.
Regards
Mark Wedesweiler
WO30C Bundeena/Maianbar vs Sylvania Heights
Thought you might like to hear about our awesome WO30C team here in Bundeena-Maianbar. We were group of women who, after years of watching others play decided that it was our turn. We were looking to get fit and have some fun. At the beginning of this season we registered 9 players and were desperately looking to field a team. We gathered 16 players, only 5 of whom had ever played soccer before (one hadn’t played for 10 years). Of the remaining 11 none had ever put on a pair of boots and half had never even kicked a football. We learned the rules as we went along and two husbands stepped up to coach us. Despite one broken arm, one damaged knee and a case of glandular fever (three different players thank goodness!) we had a fantastic season. We made new friends, trained, laughed, played, scored, learned from one another, laughed some more and had loads of fun. And we were winning! (well, most of the time) No one was more surprised than we were.
The Grand Final is best described by our coach, Deryk Engel, in an email he sent to all his contacts in Bundeena & Maianbar recently.
For those after the short version, our Bundeena Women’s Over 30’s team drew 3 all against Sylvania Heights on Sunday. Due to points incurred during the season, this meant that our team came second.
For those after the long version... WHAT A GREAT GAME. This was an evenly matched game with a heap of skill and energy shown. There were some great goals but *Jenny Hook’s kick from the quarter line was OUTSTANDING!! Bundeena scored the first goal of the match which had a significant psychological impact on both teams. Heading into the second half Bundeena was a head 3 – 1. The second half saw Sylvania score two goals which, when the full time whistle blew meant it was 3 all. The teams then had to play two extra ten minute halves and, at the completion of that, the scores were still even. The grand final was a draw, with Sylvania taking out the competition and therefore winning the series based on points accrued during the year. *Jen Hook has not played before this season.
For the Bundeena Women, this was a great achievement. For a team that had never played together, for a lot of the players who had never even kicked a ball let alone played soccer, for several of the players to have had to learn the rules and develop their skill levels, to get in and draw a grand final (and not just a one and a half hour grand final but one that went for roughly 2 hours!!!!) in their first year is a significant achievement. These women are incredible. .... Bundeena’s achievement in light of this is amazing. If you see any of our players around town, be sure to congratulate them, they deserve it. I personally am very proud of them.
Please pass this on to anyone who may be interested.
Thanks Deryk
The team is:
Ines Swann
Alison Pritchard
Jo Vartanian
Kylie Fowler
Linda Tarrant
Michelle Parker
Sharon Hodges
Lisa Ingram
Leslie Engel
Nicole Stibbs
Rhonda Dublewicz
Sonja Bell
Jenny Willett
Jenny Hook
Kate Gurd
Amanda Bedwell
We are very proud of our team as they showed incredible heart and teamwork during the finals. Perhaps our story will encourage others to have a go.
14B Menai Hawks vs Gymea United
With regards to Football Stories, I have more of a tribute than an anecdote to make…this is in relation to Bryan Richardson; coach of Gymea United 14B’s. This season my team [Menai Hawks 14B’s] played Gymea on 4 occasions. The first 2 of course were throughout the season proper and then the last 2 being the Semi Final then the Grand Final.
The stats will show a win for Gymea (round 2) 4-3, a draw (round 11) 2-2, a win to Menai (1st Semi) 2-1 and a win to Menai (Grand Final) 1-0… so as you can see it was a fairly close contest between the 2 sides.
In each meeting of the teams, it was an absolute pleasure to try to match wits with Bryan, who is one of Football’s real gentlemen!!! Bryan has a terrific attitude towards the game and he mentors his team with an enormous amount of respect and professionalism. I recall watching, with Bryan, another two teams in our division, where I was becoming quite anxious at the probable outcome… my friend though maintained his composure and was confident with the likely result (which of course benefited both our sides). So not only does he calmly coach his team, he also has a good affect on those around him! Suffice to say, Bryan inadvertently showed me the value of patience in junior football…
On Grand Final day, his demeanor was that of a person in control and satisfied with his charges… however I’m sure his nerves were working overtime (as were mine). Notwithstanding he remained professional and a great role model for his team. Throughout the game he kept his cool and he provided a high level of support for the players which helped them play what was a very good game… I found that being around a coach such as Bryan I too maintained a certain level of composure which made for a very appropriate ‘technical area’ devoid of any grief or silly clashes!
In the end, we came out the victors, but Bryan, always the gentleman, congratulated us [players, coach & manager] warmly and reserved strong accolades for his team (and rightly so).
I sincerely hope we come up against Bryan and his team next season, as he is one of the better coaches I’ve seen; his ideals to develop a football team rather than a team of strong individuals is refreshing and what this sport really needs. This is not only my opinion, it is the collective thoughts of my manager, my players and their parents…we all agreed that the matches against Gymea were the best in regards to style, attitude and outcome…even when we were beaten, we were happy to lose to a side like Gymea.
I thank you for the opportunity of having my say and I hope that Bryan receives the recognition he so rightly deserves!
Thanks and Regards
John Cachia
Coach – 14B’s
Menai Hawks
35G St Patricks FC
The Story of the 35G’s has been one in the making for three years. This is a team that got together in 2008, a bunch of guys who had no idea how to play football, no idea of the rules, and not much more than a “let’s have some fun and see how we go” attitude. That first year they won only two games late in the year which was enough for them to reform the following year. The goals for and against in that first year reads 7 goals for, 56 against. Any other group of men may not have been as resilient.
The second year saw a few new faces, the skills get better and a real understanding of the game come to the fore. So much so that half way through the year you could hear the whispers of “you know, if we win a couple more we might give the semi’s a shake”. And sure enough they did. The team came in fourth and nobody rated them to go any further then that. But again, the spirit of this team shone threw when in that first semi they defeated a team which they hadn’t throughout the season putting them one game away from form a grand final. Although they played with an enormous amount of pride in the final that year, it was not to be.
This year they have played as a team, supporting each other, encouraging each other, sharing the ups and downs as they had done over the past couple of years. There was only one slight difference this year, they kept on winning, one game after another, one game at a time. First it was “hey we just won the first five games, how good is that” then, 6,7,8, undefeated after the first round. Then they where staring down the barrel of an undefeated season. Confidence grew and now they believed they where real contenders for the title. They have ended this season undefeated minor premiers. The only loss for this team this year was the first semi final when the lost to the Bangor team. They won the grand final 3 – 1 to claim the premiership but as you can see this is a long way from the humble beginnings
The one thing that has always been constant with this team has been its support base. All the wives, girlfriends, partners, children and others, who have supported this team so proudly over the past three years, should be congratulated and thanked for their dedication just as much as the players. To watch a team grow like this has been a privilege and a pleasure. As a proud St Pat’s supporter it has been wonderful to see a team with this much heart, who has worked hard for three years to win a premiership, who will continue on again next year just as strong, and display the spirit and values of the St Pats Club every time they take the field.
Darren Mc Donald
Long Pathway to Success for Bonnet Bay FC’s Men’s All Age 2
Hundreds of Bonnet Bay FC fans were at Seymour Shaw Stadium to watch Bonnet Bay FC overcome a talented young Barden Ridge side 2-1 in the Men’s All Age 2 grand final.
When a team enjoys grand final success it is easy to get caught up in the moment and forget the many years of work by many people that goes into the achievement. This is certainly the case for Bonnet Bay FC’s victorious Men’s All Age 2.
The genesis of this side lay in a group of predominantly club juniors in their mid 20s who returned to the club in 2004 to form what was our only all age team at that time. The team’s development since then has been remarkable and it mirrors the development of the club’s unique fan base (The Lime Army) and all our all age ranks where the club now has 5 teams and is still growing.
While many players have moved in and out of the side over the year’s their list of achievements is very unique:
2004 - AL7 premiers
2005 - AL6 premiers
2006 - AL4 premiers
2007 - AL3 premiers
2008 - AL2 grand finalists
2009 - Failed to make AL2 semis
2010 - AL2 premiers
2011 – A place in PL1 competition
Players in the team have accumulated over 130 years service with the club with 6 having more than 10 years. Many of their former coaches and managers and former club officials were on hand to watch this win which was certainly a career highlight for a group of great club men and their legion of supporters.
|
