It was cold and windy conditions as the National Youth Championships for Boys kicked off in Wollongong on Tuesday.
Before the tournament began, the opening ceremony took place at WIN Stadium where the team captains and vice-captains were presented with their armbands. All member federations were welcomed to the tournament by Wollongong City Council Lord Mayor, Gordon Bradbery and Under-17s Men’s National Head Team Coach Brad Maloney.
Northern NSW kick the tournament off with a bang
Day one of the tournament saw NNSWF’s under-15s and under-16s finish the day with two wins.
The under-15s side started their campaign with a gritty 3-2 victory over Football NSW Country.
NNSWF started the match with high pressure and their efforts in attack paid off as they broke the 0-0 deadlock with an own goal. Wes Martin’s strike was saved by Football NSW Country’s goalkeeper, but the ball deflected onto a defender and into the back of the net to put NNSWF ahead.
Football NSW Country didn’t wait long to respond and the sides went into half-time locked at 1-1.
In the early minutes of the second half, Football NSW Country edged ahead but NNSWF quickly levelled the score with a strike from Dawson Mayher off a corner kick.
The confidence grew within the NNSWF squad and they took back the lead after Kai Thompson smashed the ball from outside the penalty area into the back of the net to secure all three points for his side.
The under-16s team got off to a dream start as they defeated Football NSW Country 4-0 in their opening match of the tournament.
NNSWF came firing out of the blocks and they dominated from the first whistle of the match to the last.
They were finally rewarded for their relentless attack when captain Happy Venables fired the ball from outside the penalty area into the back of the net.
The two sides went into the break with NNSWF with a 1-0 advantage before Max Wettig doubled the lead in the early minutes of the second half.
Venables was not content with one wonder strike, as he scored another superb goal from well outside the penalty area.
NNSWF continued to put their foot down in the final minutes of the game as Callan Prestwidge scored an excellent individual goal. He ducked and weaved around his defenders and he flew down the pitch before he pulled the trigger with a low and hard strike the rattled the back of the net.
The score remained 4-0 at the final whistle to seal a crucial victory to start their tournament.
NNSWF Technical Director Ryan Doidge was delighted with the efforts from the two sides in their opening matches.
“I am really pleased with the efforts of the boys today,” Doidge said.
“Day one is always difficult in the National Youth Championships as there is a lot of nervous energy. But the boys handled it really well and they showed good resilience.
“The under-15s came out on top and the under-16s showcased a really complete performance, with a lot of great individual performances.
“We are really happy with what we have seen so far and certainly know that we can build on this tomorrow in the next games for both teams.
“We will continue to keep working hard and make sure we approach each game with the right mentality as we show the nation what Northern NSW Football is about.”
More on the National Youth Championships:
CLICK HERE to view the Official National Youth Championships 2024 Boys’ Tournament Digital Program with Fixtures
CLICK HERE to watch* the National Youth Championships 2024 Boys’ Tournament thanks to Kommunity TV (*subscription required)
CLICK HERE to view the live tables and results
