A group of Illawarra youngsters have outmatched some of the country's most talented junior footballers at the recent Sydney International Cup.
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Playing against teams from around the country, the Illawarra Football Academy under 13s side impressed throughout the three-day tournament to ultimately reign supreme.
The invitation-only competition saw 160 teams across five age groups battle it out at Manly's Cromer Park.
After topping their pool, the Illawarra Football Academy side was drawn to face Peak Football Academy in a sudden-death semi-final.
The match saw Cooper Schofield and Koray Gokturk find the back of the net to fire the team to a 2-0 victory,
The Illawarra Football Academy then took on Inter Sydney in what turned out to be a tense final.
The two sides were locked at nil-all for much of the encounter, with both teams desperate to break the deadlock.
A late tactical change saw Gokturk move into an attacking role and he quickly made the most of his opportunity, the youngster beating a defender before scoring the winning goal.
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Cameron Mee
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
