Valentine Sports Park was gripped with one of the most important dates in Football NSW’s Association calendar, the 2015 State Cup Finals which were held in Baltic but sunny conditions on Sunday 12th of July.
Swarms of fans from across NSW took in fifteen matches as thirty teams locked horns from the Grade 12s Boys and Girls competitions right through to the Over 35 Men and All Age Women in what was a memorable day for all participants of the wonderful game.
Four age groups were named after former administrators, players and football advocates who have assisted in the development of the game in NSW.
The 12 Boys were playing for the Frank Broughton Cup, the 12 Girls the Cheryl Salisbury Cup, the 21 Men’s the Robertson Cup while the All Age Men fought out for the Bill Cullinan Cup.
Connells Point Rovers kicked off proceedings with a heart wrenching 3-1 on penalty shootouts against Mt Pritchard to be awarded the Frank Broughton Cup. (Click here to view the official match report).
While in the Cheryl Salisbury Cup, Northbridge FC defeated Hornsby Heights 3-1 in what was a great spectacle. (Click here to view the official match report).
The Robertson Cup saw an all Sutherland Association final as Menai Hawks easily disposed of their opponents Lilli Pilli 5-1. (Click here to view the official match report).
While finally in the Bill Cullinan Cup, Lilli Pilli FC proved far too strong for St George Association’s Sans Souci with a convincing 4-0 victory. (Click here to view the official match report).
It was both the Sutherland Shire Football Association and Southern Districts Football Association that grabbed the plaudits on a great day for both Associations as they recorded three victories each in various age groups.
St George, Football South Coast and Nepean had two teams from each of their Associations grab silverware while Northern Suburbs, Eastern Suburbs and Canterbury each had a team that celebrated a Finals victory.
Canterbury Association’s Leichhardt Tigers JFC sported a couple of familiar faces as their Over 35’s took part in a goal scoring fiesta as they powered through their Cup match defeating Como West Jannali 7-2. Player manager Gianpaolo Buonavoglia, a former lethal NSL star marksman steered his team to victory with a goal while yet another former NSL player and ex-Australian youth international Raphael Bove, Lorenzo Merlino and Jem Richardson also got in on the act. But the day belonged to one man, Robert Pirreca who turned back the time notching up a notable hat-trick that sent the home fans into raptures.
In other matches, the 14 Boys category saw Southern Districts’ Mt Pritchard take all the glory with a 3-1 victory but had Jamie Filippone to thank bagging three goals which cancelled out Hills Puma’s only goal of the match scored by Adam Amico.
It was also monumental for club teams Connells Point Rovers from St George who had their 12 Boys and 18 Women win their Cup Final matches while Nepean Football Association’s Colo SFC collected the major titles in the 14 and 16 Girls age groups.
To view images of the event click here
State Cup Finals Results
12 Boys – Connells Point Rovers 0 v Mt Pritchard 0 (Connells Point Rovers won 3-1 on penalties)
12 Girls – Northbridge 3 v Hornsby Heights 1
13 Boys – Shellharbour JFC 5 v Connells Point Rovers 4
14 Boys – Mt Pritchard 3 (J Filippone x3) v Hills Pumas 1 (A Amico)
14 Girls – Colo SFC 3 v AC United 0
15 Boys – AC United 1 (A Chiba) v Balmain DFC 0
16 Boys – Port Kembla 1 (E Kamara) v St Augustines 0
16 Girls – Colo SFC 2 (M McKerrell, B Pelle) v Lindfield FC 1 (P Cars)
17 Boys – Southern Districts FC 3 (K Pediotis, Z Hawchar, A Talevski) v Parramatta City FC 1 (J Lagaoutaris)
18 Men – Gymea FC 5 (B Foster, J Young x 2, B Wilcox x 2) v Balmain DFC 1 (A Barca)
18 Women – Connells Point Rovers 1 (L Appleton) v Avalon SC 0
21 Mens – Menai Hawks 5 (A Agius, C Davaram, J Snellenburg, L Sparke, B Towwell) v Lilli Pilli 1 (L McCosker)
AAM – Lilli Pilli FC 4 (A Judd, S Thomas, D Reid, J Gardner) v Sans Souci FC 0
AAW – Dunbar Rovers 4 (J Novakova, B Seers x 2, M Thorarinsdottir) v Wakehurst FC 1 (A Phillips)
O35 – Leichhardt Tigers JFC 7 (R Bove, L Merlino, G Buonavoglia, J Richardson, R Pirecca x 3 ) v Como West Jannali 2 (T Calderwood, L Dowling)
-Football NSW Media Release