THE all-conquering Sunraysia boys’ under 15 soccer team just keeps rolling along.
Over the King’s Birthday weekend, the side claimed its second Football Victoria Country title in a row in Albury-Wodonga.
In a mixed grouping of under 15s and 16s, the team dropped its first game to the hosts but then went undefeated the rest of the way, including a 1-0 win over arch-rivals Albury-Wodonga in the final.
That victory continued a remarkable run for the young squad which has risen through the age groups with repeat titles at the South Australian Country Championships, the Bendigo tournament and now the Vic Country champs.
“They just keep building and building,” said coach Glen Breeze, who has guided the team the past four years along with assistant coach Evan Spain.
“It started off when we went back to back in Bendigo and then this past weekend in Albury-Wodonga we got caught up in a bit of a mixed competition between the 16 and 15 boys because a few 15 teams pulled out.
“But all the standings still counted so, on paper, we would have actually made the final of the under 16 competition but we were 15s.
“We had our last round game against the Goulburn Valley under 16 team on the morning of the final and then we had our first final about an hour after that, and we beat Bendigo 5-1. Then an hour or so after that we played Albury-Wodonga in the final.
“We talked to the boys about how the final would probably unfold and to just be strong.
“We knew they were probably going to try to get under their skin but just told them to take the contact, walk away and just show them how to win the game with the ball at your feet.
“We scored within 30 seconds of the kick-off and then for the 49 minutes and 30 seconds we kept repelling them to win back-to-back championships.
“It was particularly good to have a win against the home team because they are really good and had all their family and friends watching.
“They executed the game plans we put together perfectly and I couldn’t be more proud just to coach them. They are really receptive to how we have to play and go out there and execute it.
“Once they go across that line it’s up to them to put that game plan into action and, without sounding like a broken record, they do it perfectly every time.”
Next on the agenda are the South Australian Country Championships in late September in Port Pirie and a possible threepeat.
That would be some feat, but Breeze believes the key to sustained success is relatively simple.
“We just tell the players it’s OK when they make mistakes and trust in your teammates,” he said.
“They all come from different clubs and are very competitive, but when they get together it’s making them play like a team and having confidence in your teammates.”
Other Sunraysia teams that performed well over the long weekend in the state’s east included the boys’ under 11 and 12s sides who finished runners-up in their divisions and the boys’ U14s and girls’ U14s and 16s who made the semis.
