James Murphy
THE Limestone Coast Football Association had a successful long weekend away at the South Australian Junior Soccer Association State Championships in Adelaide.
Of the eight representative teams sent by the LCFA, five finished in the top two, while two won the title.
The Under 16 Boys topped their grade to bring home the state honours, as did the Under 14 Boys.
An undefeated campaign set up the Under 16’s for the championship win.
A one-all draw against runner-up Adelaide Hills was their closest contest.
Skills were high in the clash, with plenty of back-and-forth play.
Scores were locked at nil-all at the half and it was not until 10 minutes into the second LCFA converted to claim the lead.
However, Adelaide Hills chipped one back to tie things up and despite LCFA’s best efforts the scores remained locked at the final whistle.
With a couple of big wins LCFA finished with a goal difference of 12 and with another draw for Adelaide Hills, the Limestone Coast boys finished comfortable victors.
The Under 16 girls also fared well to finish runners-up.
In a competitive division, LCFA lost two games on their way to second place.
Eventual winners Riverland proved too strong and won 7-0 over the Limestone Coast girls, while a 3-0 loss to Port Lincoln was the only other hurdle the girls faced.
The Under 15 Boys finished runners-up, also to Riverland.
In a four-team competition, sides played each other twice, with the first meeting between the top teams won by Riverland 2-0.
LCFA impressed in the rematch and managed a one-all draw, which cemented its place in second.
Another close game was had with Adelaide Hills, which resulted in a two-all draw, before the rematch yielded a close 4-3 win to LCFA.
The Under 14 Boys claimed back-to-back titles, with the group having won the Under 13 state championship last year.
In a narrow finish the verdict came down to goal difference, where LCFA edged out Adelaide Hills by three goals.
Their meeting was a high-scoring affair and resulted in a four-all draw which accurately reflected the closeness of the two teams.
A bit of controversy surrounded the Under 13 Boys’ competition.
In a tight division the top three placings were decided on goal difference.
At the end of the weekend LCFA fell four goals short of Noarlunga to settle for the runner-up position.
LCFA managed a good 2-0 win over Noarlunga in their meeting, but a 2-1 loss to Port Lincoln in a backed-up game left the overall result down to goal difference.
Unfortunately, with conditions on the Roma Mitchell pitches becoming unplayable, one of LCFA’s games were cut short, which potentially cost them the required goal difference.
“They had buffalo grass on it and when they ran it was like they were running on mats with water underneath,” LCFA men’s director Bruno Vadori said.
“They cancelled the games there and had to rejig the fixture.
“When the boys had their game cut short they still had over 10 minutes to go.
“Unfortunately they got hurt by the conditions.”
A third-place finish for the Under 13 Girls was well received by the group, having not won a game in the grade since 2019.
This year they managed a win and a draw, with the latter coming against an undefeated Adelaide Hills where a valiant effort from LCFA finished with a two-all result.
A 4-2 loss to eventual champions Noarlunga was also impressive, with a couple of defensive mistakes costing them in the end.
The Under 12A Boys had a tough championships, with a single win over Roxby Downs earning them a fourth-place finish, while the Under 12 Boys Development side impressed to finish runners-up.
They dropped only a single game – to champions Port Pirie – to sit comfortably in second at the tournament’s conclusion.
Vadori said the carnival was a great success and a strong reflection of the talent in the Limestone Coast.
“Our juniors have been really good,” he said.
“We are quite blessed with some of the coaching we have in our district.
“Every year we seem to be right up there against all the big teams.”
Played at Football SA’s Centre of Football, the chance to play on world-class facilities was an added bonus for Limestone Coast youngsters.
“It was fantastic,” Vadori said.
“The main pitch is where the Matildas are going to play a game come the World Cup and that is where they are going to be training and using as a base camp.
“Some of the kids got to play on that pitch, which was a great atmosphere.”
The LCFA will now look towards the Country Championships, which will be held at the end of August in Mildura.
