LCFA Under 12 Development Boys
The LCFA Under 12 Development boys joined seven energetic teams in one of the larger pools of the tournament.
The boys gelled, settled into their positional roles and even gave themselves their own nickname of the “Coasters”.
Despite the cold early morning start LCFA hit the ground running against Broken Hill.
Good ball movement through the centre of the pitch, led to good finishing from the left and right of the final attacking third.
Elijah Loef in centre finished with four goals after a strong full 50 minute effort.
Harrison Stockwell’s attacking balls from defence to attack were outstanding. A solid team effort all round.
The next game against Adelaide Hills was poised to be our toughest hit out and the boys were amped.
Connach O’Flaherty playing out of position was a stand out in defence to seal a tight 3-1 win.
Riverland turned out to be our toughest opponent on the first day and it was a huge test for the boys both mentally and physically.
Maximos Prantsidis was solid in the keeper position while Loef and Jack Koopman managed to break through a strong defensive line to grind out a 2-0 win.
Port Pirie was the toughest opponent of the carnival and a strong midfield battle ensured a lot of backwards and forwards play.
The game was very even going into half time at 1-1 but Port Pirie was too strong coming home with a 4-1 win.
The Port Lincoln game was probably our most exciting game of the championships being back on grass.
Port Lincoln came out hard in the first half but, to the LCFA’s credit, they withstood the onslaught.
Class finishes by Koopman and Tait Grgetic sealed a 2-1 win.
The boys needed to beat Noarlunga to secure the runner up trophy and they managed to play the ball wider to get the breakthroughs.
Michael Edey sealed the win with a strong finish from the striker position in the 4-1 win which completed an enjoyable championships.
LCFA Under 12 Representative Team
The Under 12 Limestone Coast Football Association representative team battled a string of nail-biting games at the 2022 SAJSA state championships in Adelaide over the weekend.
The young chargers capped off their campaign by finishing fourth after beating Broken Hill 3-0 in the play-off game at the new State Centre for Football.
Ably led by captain Will Dower, the team won two games over the three-day carnival, but narrow losses to Noarlunga (2-1) and the Riverland (5-4) relegated the side to the minor placings.
After losing 3-0 against Adelaide Hills in the first game, the Coasters re-grouped to beat Roxby Downs 5-1.
Strikers Solomon Htoo and Mustafa Akbari proved a handful for defenders, while midfielders/wingers Noah Corfield and Sebastian Morello toiled hard all tournament.
Centre back Ethan Harleigh defended superbly at centre back and keeper Jamison Howley made several impressive saves to keep the games alive.
First-year player Nathan Chatindiara scored his first goal and will be a force in years to come.
All players acquitted themselves with distinction, demonstrating their passion for the sport and respect for one another.
The team fought with intensity and determination every game, irrespective of the scoreline.
The championships have been an invaluable learning opportunity for the young footballers, who are keen to improve their standings at the Country Championships later this year.
LCFA Under 13 Boys
The Under 13 Limestone Coast boys had a successful weekend, finishing second by goal difference.
They had a game on all three days which made it hard to keep the momentum flowing into the games.
First game was against Adelaide Hills and the boys came away with their first win 13-0.
The second game was the top team Noarlunga which ended up winning the carnival but the LCFA still played its best game.
The boys played at a high tempo all game coming away with a 2-0 win which gave us our best chance of winning.
One hour later we played our third game against Port Lincoln.
The boys were depleted of energy from the game which led us to make two silly mistakes and a 2-1 loss.
The last game of the tournament was against Port Pirie where we needed to kick 14 goals to increase our goal difference to give us the best chance of winning.
The boys used all their last energy winning 9-0 which was enough second place.
It was an extremely great weekend away with the boys getting to know them and well done to all teams over the weekend.
LCFA Under 14 Boys
Confidence surrounded the Under 14 Boys LCFA representative squad this year after winning last year’s event undefeated.
With four 60 minute games scheduled over two days it was always going to be tough but manageable through rotations and first up was Broken Hill in what all I believe was the most disgraceful and difficult pitch conditions provided to a representative game I have ever seen.
But the professionalism shown by the group was outstanding in the 8-0 victory.
Main rival Adelaide Hills was next who were a little upset from losing both our encounters last year. The pitch we were due to play on was deemed dangerous so the game was postponed but it did not disappoint as the high scoring game ended in a 4-4 draw.
Sunday morning was an early start at 8:30am playing a well spirited Whyalla team.
Another great team performance registered another big 5-0 win to keep the pressure on Adelaide Hills as it became a fight between goal difference.
The fourth and final game was against a quick Port Pirie, but with another final win 3-0 with many goal scoring opportunities missed to increase the goal difference, it left Adelaide Hills needing to score six goals to tie for first or seven goals against Whyalla to win.
This meant Monday morning was a very nervy day, but in the end Adelaide Hills was only able to win 4-1 making the Under 14 Boys LCFA Representative Squad back to back champions.
Congratulations to all the players on another well earned State Country Championship trophy and medals.
LCFA Under 15 Boys
The Limestone Coast Football Association Under 15 Boys team opened its campaign against Riverland.
The team was competitive in their first match but ultimately succumbed to a goal in each half despite Kade Turnbull’s best efforts with the gloves.
Truthfully, we did not test the opposition keeper enough which became a focus in future games.
Matt Winter covered a lot of ground in the midfield whilst Desire Kinyamba marshalled the defence well.
We started game two against Adelaide Hills passing the ball well.
However, the Limestone Coast went behind against the run of play after failing to clear a free kick effectively.
We finished the first half on top but were unable to convert several chances created by Alex Obedi. Within two minutes of the restart Kobe Cole pulled one back, but as the LCFA pushed for another they found a way through the defence to retake the lead.
We were unable to convert an indirect free kick in the box, then hit the post and made the keeper save several more shots, before Moo Bya Say unlocked the defence with an excellent through ball that Cole raced onto before beating the goalie for another equaliser.
Either team could have won it at the death but neither team could claim the win in the 1-1 draw.
Ethan Mcrorie and Cole were the most consistent players, while Matt Winter and Mustafa Hussaini also performed.
LCFA Under 16 Boys
The Limestone Coast Under 16 Boys endured a tense start on the main pitch against Riverland.
They kept pressing and finally Nasir made a pin-point pass and Jack finished it past the keeper.
Despite being placed under a bit of pressure the LCFA took a 3-0 lead into half time.
But some confusion and an unlucky bounce off the crossbar leaked a goal but a series of skillful plays from the Limestone Coast confirmed the 6-1 win.
With the delay in games we started off a bit sluggish against Broken Hill.
Some amazing shots by Nasir and Jack ensured the LCFA enjoyed an early 3-0 lead, while Seth started the second half in style with a great goal.
After a few changes to rotate the bench we played the back and forth game again and the defence remained solid to maintain a clean sheet in the 6-0 win.
The game started with some tension in the air as Adelaide Hills was tipped to win.
Despite a couple of close shots at goal, neither team could trouble the scorers before the break.
After 10 minutes Seth attempted a goal which got saved by their keeper but Jack was waiting to capitalise and smacked one into the back of the net.
However, a bit of confusion in the defence allowed the opponents to sneak one through to confirm a 1-1 draw.
LCFA got off to a fast start against Whyalla with Jack and Nasir on fire.
The opposition put pressure on our defence but they stood strong until an unfortunate one got through with the scoreboard reading 3-2 Limestone Coast’s way at half time.
After a physical time in the middle and a few questionable calls, Jack, Nasir, Seth, Jayden and Mee Reh ensured the LCFA secured a 5-2 triumph.
LCFA Under 13 Girls
The Under 13 Girls headed off to Adelaide having not won a game since 2019 and only scoring one goal at last year’s state championships.
But with a new coach and new set of players, hopes were high and the team impressed.
Last year’s reigning champions Whyalla was the first opponent and the Coasters started well scoring first but Whyalla equalised pretty quickly.
Both teams exchanged goals back and forth up until the last 10 minutes when eventually Whyalla took the lead and managed to keep it.
There was a late chance for the girls to equalise through Emmy Jeffrey for a draw but a dubious decision from the linesman secured Whyalla the lead and the 5-4 win.
Game two we faced eventual champions Noarlunga and LCFA started well again scoring first.
But, a couple of defensive mistakes cost the team the final score 4-2 to Noarlunga.
Game three was against Riverland and after two games to settle, this is when the team really started to play.
The goals started coming through Jeffrey and captain Ashlyn Cornolo and the final score was 6-2 to Limestone Coast.
Game four saw us play the undefeated Adelaide Hills, who needed to win by five goals to take the championship.
But they did not count on a much-improved young LCFA team as the action went from end to end with scoring chances everywhere.
The defences held strong for both teams as the nerves and pressure mounted before a well-deserved 0-0 draw.
This young team finished third on the table, a much improved from last year where they ended up bottom.
LCFA Under 16 Girls
The LCFA’s Under 16 girls were eager for a win going into the State championship and headed into the first game against Broken Hill confident and excited.
The side came out hard and made an impression by leading 3-0 at half time.
Limestone Coast continued its dominance to win 11-1.
A stronger Port Pirie team was up next and the LCFA struggled to score with lots of sloppy play in the first 10 minutes.
But eventually a breakthrough was found and the young team held on 2-1 thanks to some tight defence.
The final game of the opening day was against Adelaide Hills and despite starting slow the girls did not drop their heads.
They came back strong and went 2-1 up before half time.
Tough tackles and constant fighting cemented a 3-1 win.
Whyalla was the first opponent on day two and the Limestone Coast played one of their better games and put away two goals in the first half.
The defensive line held strong to edge out the tight win thanks to goals from Lana Shepherd and Charlotte Stafford .
The Riverland was the second and final opponent on Sunday and the LCFA players went into this game knowing it would be a tough one.
They played their hearts out but Riverland was just too strong and finished its opportunities to win 7-0.
The final game of the campaign took place on Monday morning against Port Lincoln.
Unfortunately sore bodies and fatigue got the better of the girls and they went down 3-0.
