Northern NSW Football secured third and sixth place at the 2024 National Youth Championships for Boys tournament.
The final day of action in Wollongong on Sunday saw NNSWF’s under-15s and under-16s sides fight to the final whistle.
The under-16s side placed second in their group after two wins and a loss to progress to the quarter-finals. They defeated Football NSW Metro White 3-2 to move into the semi-finals, where Football Queensland White beat them 3-2.
The under-16s faced Football Victoria Blue on the final day of the tournament in the third-place play-off, where they won 2-1 to secure third place.
NNSWF took the lead early when Oliver Cockle weaved between Victoria Blue defenders to find Dash Baker, who struck the ball hard and low past the goalkeeper.
Victoria Blue levelled in the 20th minute when an unmarked player inside the penalty area received the ball and found his way to an empty net.
NNSWF took the lead in the 36th minute when a deflected pass found its way to Logan Sambrook's foot, where he produced a spectacular longshot.
Despite Victoria Blue's strong offensive efforts, NNSWF held onto the lead and ended their tournament run on a high.
The under-15s kicked off their final tournament day, continuing day five's match against Football Victoria Silver after it was postponed at half-time due to poor weather conditions.
NNSWF went into the match leading 1-0 and quickly extended their lead in the eighth minute when Alexander Little found the back of the net.
Victoria Silver clawed one back after weaving through NNSWF's defence and narrowly beating goalkeeper Jett Manulat.
Victoria Silver equalised moments before full-time when the attacker struck the ball over Manulat’s head, sending the game to penalties.
Samuel Collins, Darcy Goodwin and Chase McFayden all converted their penalties and shot-stopper Jett Manulat deflected two of Victoria Silver's penalties, sending NNSWF into the fifth-place play-off.
The under-15s went head-to-head with Football NSW Metro Sky Blue just 90 minutes after their first game of the day and were defeated by a solid attacking side 8-0.
NSW Metro Sky Blue came out firing, scoring three minutes into the first-half and did not slow down after that. They went into half-time leading 4-0.
NNSWF continued to push to claw one back but were unable to capitalise on any opportunities they created.
The momentum remained in NSW Metro Sky Blue's favour, doubling their advantage in the second half.
NNSWF Technical Director Ryan Doidge was delighted that the two NNSWF sides were able to showcase their talents on the national stage.
"The two sides did themselves, the region and everyone involved in Northern NSW Football proud," Doidge said.
"They demonstrated abilities to adapt to different games, were brave in moments and showed good determination to turn games around. These are attributes that we at NNSWF wanted to see from our players.
"I will take this time to acknowledge the clubs of the players there and the work they do with the players throughout the season.
"I look forward to continuing to develop our player development efforts as we prepare for other events in 2024 and National Youth Championships in 2025."
