THE National Youth Championship is back where it belongs, thanks to the hard work and tenacity of the NSW Country under 15s team at Coffs Harbour recently.
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The NSW Country Team, headlined by Shoalhaven products Chloe Hain, Ella Hewson, Charlotte Hampshire, Camille Falshaw, Poppy Tay, Sam Cefai and Millicent Eyland, took out the Group B division crown, at the championships held from July 15-19 at C.ex Coffs Harbour International Stadium.
The week-long tournament, which involves more than 330 players aged 14 and 15, is Football Federation Australia's main way of identifying the top talents across the country.
Hain (Southern Branch FC), Eyland (Southern Branch FC), Tay (Sydney University SFC), Hampshire (Sydney University SFC), Hewson (Illawarra Stingrays), Falshaw (Macarthur Rams Womens FC) and Cefai (Camden Tigers FC) their side, coached by Brad Davis opened their assault with a commanding 5-1 win against South Australia.
In the four-goal win, Shoalhaven's Tay put one goal away with Megan Castle and Zarli Goldworthy scoring braces respectively.
Next up for the Shoalhaven septet and their NSW Country side was the Newcastle Jets - a Group A division side.
Although no points were awarded for this crossover game, Country gave their all and nearly caused an upset against the more fancied Newcastle outfit - losing 1-nil in the end.
Country carried this strong form into their day three match with Northern NSW.
Despite their best efforts, Country went into the break down 1-nil.
But Country weren't going down without a fight and a Piper Lockley-Hinschen goal levelled the scores.
The game opened up after this goal but neither team could find the decisive winner, as the match ended 1-all.
Heading into day four NSW Country led their Group B division, on goal difference ahead of Northern NSW.
This meant it was all to play for on days for and five, starting with Country's match with Football West and Northern NSW's battle Capital Football on Thursday.
Goals from Anna Hunt and Zarlie Goldsworthy, the latter set-up by Ella Hewson, secured NSW Country a tight 2-1 win.
Heading into the final day, Country knew anything but a win wouldn't be good enough, as they chased the national title.
Thankfully, goals from Sam Cefai (16th minute) and Anna Hunt (21st minute) sealed Country's 2-1 win against Tasmania, seeing them crowned at national youth champions - going through the tournament undefeated and on 10 points, three clear of second place.
If winning the national title wasn't enough, NSW Country goalkeeper Lily Smith was named 'Goalkeeper of the Tournament'.
Not to be outdone was the NSW Country under 14s team, featuring Milton-Ulladulla duo Jaya Bowman and Anna Simon, as well as former star Jorgi Webb - who now plays for MaCarthur.
This trio's side easily won their opener against Northern Territory 6-nil, with Aimee Longhurst (four), Ashleigh Carty and Amy Moore scoring the goals.
Day two saw them taste defeat for the first time, going down 1-nil to Football West, before going down 3-1 to Capital Football on day three - despite Ashleigh Carty finding the back of the net.
Country shared the spoils on day four, drawing 2-all with Northern NSW, with Claire Ferguson and Ashleigh Carty scoring, before ending their week with a loss to Victoria 3-1, with Aimee Longhurst adding another goal to her collection.
These results saw NSW Country finish the week in fourth place on the ladder.