Shellharbour 14 girls claim Football NSW Champion of Champions glory

The victory comes after the team took out the State Cup and Football South Coast 15 girls title in undefeated fashion. The side also won the prestigious Kanga Cup in July. 

Coach Mark Dos Santos said the achievement is the result of hard work and dedication throughout the entire season. 

“To be Champion of Champions, it’s the pinnacle of the season,” Dos Santos said. “This is where everything comes into place. It’s a dream come true for many coaches, teams and players that represent their clubs in this tournament. For us to take it out with the success we’ve had is the icing on the cake.

“The girls have worked really hard since the preseason. It’s boring but we prepared ourselves really well all season.” 

The side arrived at Valentine Sports Park prepared to play and immediately put their opponents, Lowland Wanderers, to the sword. Spectators at the venue barely had time to find their seats before the girls had kicked out to a 2-0 lead inside five minutes.

A pair of goals to Mia Riza midway through the first half then blew the game wide open. Lowland were able to generate a number of chances in the second half, however they weren’t able to crack Shellharbour’s stout defence, with the match ending 4-0. 

The match was a repeat of the State Cup final and Dos Santos said his girls learnt a lot from that clash in July.

“When fate had us meeting Lowland again in the Champion of Champions, we knew what we were up against. The girls came out firing and there were no surprises from the Wanderers.”

Shellharbour were joined on grand final day by the Lake Heights 13 boys, who took on Arncliffe. The boys were unable to make it two from two for Football South Coast sides, falling 2-0. 

The team fought valiantly for the entire match, pushing throughout the final 20 minutes to cut the deficit, but they were denied their desperate opponents.