SAMFORD RANGERS U13 - PREMIERS AND GRAND FINAL CHAMPIONS !!
Samford Rangers U13 won the Grand Final of the Football Brisbane U13 Division 4 North competition, by beating Ridge Hill 1-0 on Sunday Sep-9th. The final was played at Peninsula Power's ground in Redcliffe.
The game had a fantastic atmosphere with both teams having a large supporter presence, balloon decorated gazebos and never ending vocal encouragement.
It was a close game. Both teams played very well, with Ridge Hills defenders working hard at stopping our strikers' darting runs.
Ridge Hill had their chances too. They came high and low, right, centre and left ; but our well oiled defence (Euan, Tom and Owen) was focused and meaning business, and our super-sweeper, Grace, was in no mood to let anyone through (ball or player). Our "safe hands" Goalkeeper, Alex, was also in fine form, specially during corners when Ridge Hill was putting a tall player to unsettle and block his view. Our midfielders (Isabel, Darcee and Angus) were the busiest as usual, providing support to our defense when under attack, and linking with the strikers when we had the ball.
We sacrificed our left attack with our regular left striker, Danny, crowding the centre midfield, ensuring it was ours, and also allowing Angus to spend more time to venture through the middle of the Ridge Hill defense, linking with Harry and Josh.
With our 13th player unavailable (Galen, who played a fantastic semifinal) we only had one sub. Our utility (can play in any position) man, Kyle, back from 4 days of bed-bound sickness, provided the extra spark every time he came to cover for our tiring midfielders.
With five minutes to go, and a suffering coach (Jorge) losing whatever was left of hair and nails, a breakthrough. One of the Ridge Hill defenders used her hand to stop a cross inside the penalty area and a penalty was awarded. Josh kept his cool, and his shot was hard, low and to the left of the goalkeeper where he could not reach. The last minutes of the game saw our defense tighten even more and our strikers energized, but no more goals came.
The final whistle came and celebrations started, until then we were focussed. Smiles all round. Team and coach walked together to thank our supporters, who in turn thanked the kids for trying hard all season. The medal and trophy ceremony followed, with speeches from coaches, captains and Football Brisbane General manager, Reuben Robertson, who attended the game.
After the ceremony, we all went to the beach, to relax and reflect on a very successful season:
- won the Division grand final;
- won the Premiers trophy, as we also ended top of the table after 15 games;
- scored 60 goals, and only let in 11; a true reflection of a strong team in all positions;
- fastest goal in the competition, under 1 min from kickoff during semi final;
- top 3 scorers of competition are samford rangers players;
- we had 8 clean sheets (won games without letting a goal);
- first Samford Rangers team to win both Premiers and Grand Final since 2010.
- two broken arms during season (not during games), 3 twisted/hurt knees and multiple sicknesses saw us fielding 11 players and no subs for many games, against teams with several subs; and,
- all of the above and with the nicest bunch of kids, the Samford community should be very proud!!
Finally, thanks to the Club officers for their support during season and during the celebrations.
Jorge
PS: Below photos of:
- Pre-kickoff handshake (First time I notice the height difference between teams!!)
- Post game thanks to our supporters
- Grand Final Medals and Trophy
- Premiers and Grand Final Medals and Trophies ceremony at John Scott Park.
