THE Under-18s Sunraysia Boys team has bounced back from adversity to be crowned regional soccer champions.
Proud coach Stuart Pain praised the boys’ sense of mateship said they would remember the victory “for a long time”.
They were among nine teams representing Sunraysia at the Country Championships in Geelong, an annual tournament which features sides from across regional Victoria.
The Sunraysia Under-16s boys also tasted success, defeating Albury 2-1 in their final on Monday after coming through the group stage unbeaten.
After a heavy 5-1 loss to La Trobe Valley in their first match, the Under-18s team qualified for a rematch with their first-up opponent by earning a crucial 3-nil win on Sunday while playing without a reserve.
Pain said the Under-18 boys showed more composure with the ball in the final, jumping out to a two-goal lead before holding on for 30 minutes to a 2-1 lead.
“It was just a thrilling atmosphere, and everyone was tense on the bench,” Pain said.
Pain said the 12-player squad had shown they have resilience to play through tired legs and would grow from their shared experience at the tournament.
“They can draw a lot (from) the resilience (they showed) to keep going under pressure,” he said.
“When you know you can’t come off because you’re letting the side down, it just shows commitment to the team.”
Conditions did not favour any of the 1400 competitors at the three-day event. Pain said Saturday’s matches were played in “tough” weather which contributed to sore players.
“It was heavy on the ground and had misty rain all day. It was just blowing – it would have been 50 or 60km/h winds,” Pain said.
“We had lots of injuries and our backs were against the wall. I rubbed down five or six kids with Deep Heat before the game and did a bit of physio.
“These kids come from three or four clubs in Mildura and that team bonding and mateship, they’ll remember this for a long time.”
