The Bellingen Football Club players proved they really are a football force to be reckoned with after seven teams are through to the semi finals.
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The 15 Boys won their first versus second playoff 6-3 with an impressive victory over previously undefeated Boambee. The boys had a great passing game, with plenty of amazing saves from the keeper, and an overall brilliant team performance. They have now made it straight into the grand final, with a week's well deserved rest.
The 14 Boys were unfortunately beaten by Coffs Coast Cougars on Saturday in an extremely tight contest, going down 3-2. As the team finished second place, they still have a very good chance to make the grand final if they beat Coffs Coast Pumas in the preliminaries this weekend.
The Men’s 2nd Division also have a second chance to make the grand final, having to face tough opponents Sawtell again, who they lost 4-2 to last Saturday at home. It's sure to be another tightly fought battle, and who knows, perhaps a major upset versus the first placed Sawtell is on the cards this weekend in Toormina!
The 12 Girls, 13 Boys and 16 Girls all had brilliant wins at home - it was definitely the home field advantage last Saturday morning. For the 12 Girls, Freya Marsland Murray and Chloe Sheppard held tight in goals to leave Sawtell scoreless, and with Arkie Daro scoring a brilliant hatrick, the girls won 3-0 to take them through to the preliminaries versus Urunga. In the 13 Boys, it was an outstanding team effort with Ethan Cheers scoring a classic no doubt, all class Cheers goal, and Willow Neal breaking her scoring drought with an astounding lob over the Coffs goalie's head. Speaking of goalie's, the 13 Boys goalie, Jake Warman, never looked a doubt, under control as ever, with his classic pocket rocket dominance of the goal square, with the team holding tight in the second half to keep a 2-0 lead. They'll face off against Macksville, here's hoping they can repeat their 3-0 victory against they had against them in the last game of the regular season. The 16 Girls had a nerve-wracking encounter, letting Woolgoolga get an early lead before fighting back to a 2-1 with Jordan Healy and Kate Jandzio-Fry both scoring. When Woolgoolga scored again everyone was on the edge of their seats. With 15 minutes to go Jordan scored again to finish the game with a 3-2 victory allowing the girls to progress to the preliminaries with plenty of match confidence if it is another close battle vs Northern Storm.
It proved to be the last game of the season for the 16 Boys, with a 4-1 defeat by Sawtell. The score truly did not reflect the balance of play, nor the tenacity the boys have shown all season. Parents and fans congregated on the sideline to watch in admiration at the level of skill and commitment of the Bellingen players. The coaches of the teams in the competition agreed that the Bellingen team was the most improved. Hardly surprising when you combine the awesome coaching of Lucas Boogaard with a commitment to practice two times a week. All the effort and passion for soccer showed through as the team competed with some challenging local teams on their way to the semis.
All the players made vital contributions. Tom Toohey, Gem Harken and Noah Klipin were excellent midfielders. Upfront Lucas Cooke and Mees Boogaard kept them guessing. Sam Purcell’s dynamic speed lead to many successful attacks this season. Kye Bonventi & Kai Craig kept the ball upfront, creating opportunities. Timothy Wilson-Douglas was a tireless defender and together with goalkeeper, Max Kornhauser stopped some strong attacks. Sayf Tabikh and Braidyn Palmer maintained the pressure and were excellent all season. Isaac Alman suffered a broken collarbone, and only played 8 games. Another injury saw Jack Dowling sidelined.
Of the competitive age group teams that did not make the finals, the 12 Boys and 14 Girls, both were very unlucky to miss out. They finished only one victory away from making the finals - and showed class right to the very end. For the 14 Girls it was fabulous to see how much the girls developed their skills and understanding of the game, and with a squad of 17 to draw on, it looks like there will be no shortage of talent to draw on next year for the Bellingen girls teams. The 12 Boys also had a very large squad and where other clubs fielded two teams in a split age group, Bellingen had all their players in a single first division team. With it being their first season on the big field, they were nevertheless very competitive with only 3 losses and a fantastic 64 goals scored in just 15 games. We look forward to seeing more great things from these boys next season!
Check out our facebook page, Bellingen Football Club, today to see where and when to come to see the talents of these young players this Saturday and help them through to the grand finals.