A bright morning greeted the best of the best community boy's sides for the final day of the 2022 Champion of Champions tournament.
The teams played one last round of football in the morning before the highly anticipated finals happening at daytime's peak.
As the highlight for the day, Alstonville FC smothered the headlines as the club appeared in three of the five boys' finals. Coffs City United were the other club with multiple sides in finals, with their 13s and 14s qualifying for the big dance.
Under-12s Boys: Nelson Bay upset in dramatic fashion
Nelson Bay confirmed their spot in the under-12s grand final during the morning fixtures after a 5-0 win over Gunnedah, including a first half hattrick for Ashton Kime. The impressive win meant Nelson Bay picked up some desired form to face an invincible Alstonville later in the day. Concurrently, Villa beat Sawtell 3-0 to wrap up an unstoppable round-robin campaign.
In an intense and physical battle, Valentine narrowly beat fellow Interdistrict side Maitland 1-0 through Henry Tucker, placing Valentine in third position to finish the tournament.
An energetic football game played out in the under-12s final between Alstonville and Nelson Bay.
Alstonville found the opener with an astonishing pelter from outside the penalty area. When the opportunity arrived in the 2nd minute, composed midfielder Bailey Titcume played to his strengths and shot from afar, scoring the inaugural goal of the 12s final.
But after a Villa free-kick hit the crossbar, Nelson Bay found a quick breakaway as Noah Dunphy finished the rapid move to equalise.
It was all-square as the second half commenced, but a turn of the tides saw Nelson Bay on the front foot. Muhammed Kareem was the saviour for Nelson Bay. Kareem capitalised on an Alstonville collision leaving the ball loose for Kareem to score.
A last-second handball in the box by Nelson Bay gave Alstonville a sure-fire chance to score, but the read from goalkeeper Amos Marshall was perfect as the final whistle blew 2-1 to Nelson Bay for the title.
Jaybien Johnson carried Sawtell to a third-against-fourth final victory, defeating Valentine 2-1, while Maitland kept Gunnedah scoreless all tournament, winning 1-0.
Under-13/14s Boys: Baxter’s scorcher caps a successful tournament
Western Phoenix 13s gave top-of-the-table Alstonville 14s a shake-up in the first half putting in a serious effort. Still, they ultimately went down 3-1 before their final against Coffs City United 13s in the day's final fixture.
Iona 13s could not muster a goal against the superior Byron Bay 14s during the final round, losing 3-0. But the added three-goal advantage was not enough for Byron Bay. Coffs City United 14s beat their clubs' 13s counterparts 4-0, qualifying for the final against Alstonville by one goal difference.
The 14s kicked off their grand final first. It was a relatively tame affair between Alstonville and Coffs City United, with minimal chances created and either goalkeeper not given an intense workout, with the game ending 0-0 and penalties commencing.
The two sides converted every goal throughout the shoot-out except for one Alstonville attempt rocketing over the bar.
With the final penalty, the quick and agile Fadi Aldakh stepped up and placed his shot into the bottom left corner beyond the goalkeeper's reach.
The under-13s final played directly after involving Coffs City United and Western Phoenix, displayed a little more extraordinary action.
The first goal struck early in the second half. A collision in Coffs City United’s box gave way to a needed penalty for Western Phoenix. Coby Annetts put his hand up for the 12-yard shot, but his attempt sailed down the eye line of the goalkeeper and was saved. But unfortunately for the Lions, the goalkeeper stepped off his line, meaning Annetts would retake the penalty, correct his mistake, and pick a corner to plot his shot and score.
Coffs City United played some great football throughout the final and made deep cuts into Western Phoenix’s half. But the crucial efforts from Phoenix’s defence allowed first-half goalkeeper Tiger Stone and second-half goalkeeper Ethan Batchelor to relax and make good saves when called upon.
After an injury early in the second half to Kalan Clark, an all-female front line of Harmoni Clark, Shaylee Wilcox, and Demi Isherwood was to lead Phoenix for the final 15 minutes of their 2022 Champion of Champions campaign.
But the star of the show was the pacy central-midfielder Joshua Baxter. Having plenty of opportunities throughout the game, including a missed sitter within 6 metres only seconds before his goal, Baxter hit a shot from distance and found the top corner well out of the goalkeeper's reach.
The tournament's final game ended 2-0 in favour of Western Phoenix, wrapping up a successful campaign and the entire 2022 Champion of Champions.
Under-15s Boys: Treble for Bolwarra
A hint of rivalry, intensity and fierceness brewed between Bolwarra and Alstonville in the under-15s final round-robin matchup. The 0-0 draw provided a visceral battle as the physicality magnified towards the end of the game, setting up a greatly anticipated final.
Despite Port United being tied with Alstonville on points after their 1-0 victory over Sawtell, Riley Berecry’s wonder strike was not enough to qualify for the 15s grand final due to an inferior goal difference. The two sides went home in third and fourth, respectively.
A highly physical battle ensued between Bolwarra Lorn and Alstonville in the under-15s final. Both sides profusely attacked their counterpart's box, but a solo effort from Charlie Gutsch-Berry gave Bolwarra the lead in the first half.
Gutsch-Berry collected the ball and dribbled across the face of the goal outside the penalty area. When the opportunity arose, Gutsch-Berry lined up and smashed the ball into the top right corner leaving the goalkeeper with no chance of saving it.
Alstonville stepped up a gear in the second half, creating many more chances.
A yellow card for Leo Paleologos on the edge of the penalty area gave Villa’s Darcy Hampson a prime opportunity to equalise. Striking it well, Hampson curled his shot to just inside the frame of the goal, but a top-drawer save from Tyler Peel prevented the leveller.
Alstonville’s persistence was evenly matched by Bolwarra’s resilience, perseverance, and quality defending to retain the 1-0 scoreline. Bolwarra take the Champion of Champions trophy back to Victoria Road Complex, completing the treble.
Under 16s Boys: Dhariwal decisive in shoot-out
To open the day for the 16s, Valentine conserved their energy for their later final, drawing 0-0 with Alstonville during a lacklustre fixture.
With Valentine and Northern Storm at one win-a-piece in their head-to-head games, a winner would be decisively crowned not only bragging rights but also the Champion of Champions title.
Valentine drew blood first. With Valentine winning a free kick on the far edge of the penalty area on an acute angle, Tom Kennedy curled the ball effortlessly around the wall into the side netting.
As Valentine’s momentum continued to excel, two more free kicks were awarded for either side, but they could not convert.
Midway through the second half, Northern Storm player Benny Dove caught the Valentine goalkeeper off their line shooting from near the sideline and equalising at a crucial time.
No clear-cut chances would avail for the remainder of the fixture, forcing a penalty shoot-out.
As Northern Storm put it, “Cometh the hour, cometh the man” goalkeeper Gurkirit Dhariwal miraculously saved three penalties, gifting his side the title of Champion of Champions.
Explainer: How the Champion of Champions works
The Northern NSW Football Champion of Champions tournament brings together the best youth community football teams from across NNSWF's seven Member Zones' top competitions to challenge for the title of Champion of Champions in their age group.
In a change to previous formats, in 2022 all clubs are invited to enter any teams competing in their Member Zone’s top division. The tournament kicked off on Monday and will see seven age groups across girls and boys competitions to determine the NNSWF community football Champion of Champions.
More about the 2022 Champion of Champions tournament can be found HERE.
Key Champion of Champions Information:
