Northern NSW All-Stars represented the region with pride when they faced Capital Football in the inaugural Northern NSW Football All-Stars Challenge on Saturday.
NNSWF selected senior men’s and women’s representative teams to compete as the Cardiff Motor Group Northern NSW Women’s All-Stars and Umbro Northern NSW Men’s All-Stars against Capital Football’s men’s and women’s All-Stars.
The event built on the successful return of representative football to the region last season, when Northern NSW All-Stars teams faced the Newcastle Jets in front of strong community support.
Cardiff Motor Group NNSW Women’s All-Stars 0(2)-0(4) Capital Football Women’s All-Stars
Capital Football Women’s All-Stars prevailed in a hard-fought encounter against Cardiff Motor Group NNSW Women’s All-Stars, winning 4-2 on penalties after the sides played out a goalless draw.
Capital Football started strongly but as Northern NSW settled into the match, the home side began to look the more threatening of the two.
Brianna Trappett came close to opening the scoring for the CMG NNSW Women’s All-Stars in the 25th minute. After a short corner from Elodie Dagg, Trappett struck from the edge of the box, only to be denied by the woodwork.
Both sides continued to battle for the opener, with resolute defensive efforts keeping the scores level at 0-0 heading into half-time.
The CMG NNSW Women’s All-Stars wasted no time creating chances after the restart, with Willow Neal linking up with Renee Pountney, whose attempt was denied by Capital Football goalkeeper Matilde Laurel Tighe.
As the match reached its closing stages, Capital Football forced several outstanding saves from Northern NSW goalkeeper Olivia Sneddon, while Jemma House and Georgia Amess continued to test Tighe at the other end.
Neither side could find a breakthrough in regulation time, sending the match to a penalty shootout. Capital Football ultimately prevailed with Tighe making two saves to help secure the victory.
Pountney admitted Capital Football had proved a tougher opponent than expected but believed the CMG NNSW Women’s All-Stars had created the better opportunities.
“It was a tough game and pretty 50/50. We definitely had more opportunities to score but just couldn't put them in the back of the net,” Pountney said.
“Capital Football were just a tough competition that we weren't expecting.”
CMG NNSW Women’s All-Stars co-coach Craig Atkins was proud of his side’s efforts despite the result.
“I'm very proud of the side. We've had four sessions together but we felt the girls gelled really well,” Atkins said.
“They put in a really dominant performance today. We just couldn't get that one goal to win it.
“Football can be cruel sometimes but full credit to the girls they did a fantastic job over the 90 minutes.”
Capital Football’s Tianah Miro was awarded the inaugural Player of the Match award for the fixture.
Umbro NNSW Men’s All-Stars 2-0 Capital Football Men’s All-Stars
A strong Umbro NNSW Men’s All-Stars outfit defeated Capital Football Men’s All-Stars 2-0, with goals in either half proving the difference.
The sides came out firing, bringing high intensity from the opening whistle but it was the Umbro NNSW Men’s All-Stars who capitalised on the early momentum.
Jeremy Wilson delivered a ball across the face of goal to Flynn Goodman in the 14th minute, with Goodman directing the ball towards Luis Lara Delgado.
Delgado then slotted it through Capital Football goalkeeper Willem Lejeune’s legs and into the back of the net.
The Umbro NNSW Men’s All-Stars continued to search for a second goal as the half progressed, while Capital Football struggled to move the ball out of their own half for extended periods.
Capital Football gradually found more opportunities to push forward as the half wore on but went into the break trailing 1-0.
The Umbro NNSW Men’s All-Stars maintained their momentum after the restart, with Max Wettig doubling the lead inside the opening four minutes of the second half.
Wettig pounced on a misplaced pass from Capital Football and charged towards goal before striking from the edge of the penalty area into the bottom left corner.
Mana Iwasaki threatened to add a third when he rose highest to meet a corner but his effort was collected by Capital Football goalkeeper Gabriele Taurasi.
Capital Football’s defensive efforts prevented the Umbro NNSW Men’s All-Stars from extending their lead further but the Northern NSW side held firm to secure an impressive 2-0 victory.
Wilson was proud of his side’s performance and acknowledged the importance of fitness, particularly for players who had finished their seasons some time ago.
“We performed really well especially with a few of the boys finishing their seasons a while ago. The fitness kind of told by the end but it was the same for Capital Football,” Wilson said.
“It was a good win and I think we played some pretty good football for the crowd, so it was a good event for all.”
Umbro NNSW Men’s All-Stars co-coach Peter McGuinness was impressed by the team’s performance and pleased with how the players implemented the adjustments they had worked on.
“I thought it was a great performance. We didn't get a lot of time to spend with them but they're all good footballers,” McGuinness said.
“There were a few things we touched on, particularly on how we want to keep the representative football going. We want to give opportunities to young players to represent Northern NSW Football, so it was important that we put on a good performance.
“We worked on a few things on how we want to press and a few things with the ball and they applied them today and I thought they were really good value.”
Capital Football’s Spencer Barber was awarded the inaugural Player of the Match award for the fixture.
Northern NSW Football Technical Director Ryan Doidge was pleased to see talented players from across the region given the opportunity to showcase their abilities against another member federation.
“Overall I thought it was a really strong performance from both teams and a really positive way to showcase the talent we’ve got in our competitions,” Doidge said.
“We were really pleased to get the win in the Umbro NNSW Men’s game and I thought the Cardiff Motor Group NNSW Women were extremely competitive as well. To lose on penalties after the performance they put in was obviously disappointing but I think there were a lot of positives to take from it.
“To come up against an unknown opponent is always difficult but I thought the players approached it in the right way. For me, that was a big part of what the event was about, making sure we competed, took it seriously and showed the quality we’ve got across the competitions.
“I think we can be really pleased with how the teams performed. For me it was about the level of performance, the competitiveness and the way the players represented their competitions. I thought we did that really well across the day.”
HIT106.9 Northern League One All-Stars 7-1 Zone Football League All-Stars
The HIT106.9 Northern League One All-Stars produced an outstanding performance to defeat the Zone Football League All-Stars 7-1 in the curtain-raiser.
The HIT106.9 NL1 All-Stars came out determined to settle the contest between the two sides and their efforts paid off in the 31st minute.
Carter Smith’s initial shot was saved by goalkeeper Killian McCarthy but Aiden Halpin reacted quickest to the rebound and tapped the ball into the net.
Cody Halpin doubled the lead just three minutes later, finding the end of a through ball from Smith before sending the ball past two defenders and into the goal following a scramble in the goalmouth.
A dominant six-minute spell was capped in the 37th minute when Campbell Ross collected a deflected shot from Cade Thompson and calmly tapped the ball into the bottom-right corner to give his side a 3-0 lead at half-time.
The ZFL All-Stars returned from the break with renewed energy and kept the HIT106.9 NL1 All-Stars scoreless during the opening 10 minutes of the second half.
But Thompson added a fourth goal in the 57th minute before strikes from Bailey Newton and Wes Pryce in the 64th and 68th minutes extended the lead to 6-0.
The ZFL All-Stars continued to push forward in search of a goal and their persistence paid off in the 72nd minute when Mamadou Diop was fouled inside the penalty area.
Diop stepped up and calmly converted the penalty to pull one back for his side.
The HIT106.9 NL1 All-Stars had the final say, with captain Michael Sessions rising highest in the 85th minute to head home and seal an emphatic 7-1 victory.
HIT106.9 Northern League One All-Stars co-coach Michael Body was proud of his side and impressed by the way the players grew into the contest.
“I'm exceptionally proud of them. It was a small time together with the four sessions but to put it all together on a day like today was really enjoyable to watch,” Body said.
“The first 30 minutes was a little bit cagey, obviously with the Zone League team I think they sat in and defended really well but once we got that first goal it made us a lot more open and created a lot more opportunities.”
HIT106.9 Northern League One All-Star Cade Thompson was awarded the Player of the Match award.