Shellharbour and Balgownie youth teams crowned best in the state

Shellharbour U18 girls and Balgownie U14 boys both claimed victories in their respective finals over the weekend.

The next generation of female Shellharbour footballers won the Football NSW State Cup after defeating Manly Vale 3-0 in the decider on Saturday.

Whilst on Sunday, Balgownie defeated Quakers Hill 3-0 thanks to goals from Jacob Donev, Ben Garbutt and Oscar Holden Kim.

The U-18 Shellharbour side - who are mostly made up of 15 and 16 year olds - went into the match knowing it was going to be a battle after facing the same opposition in the quarter finals of the 2022 'Champions of Champions' tournament.

The side went up early in the contest thanks to a goal from Jessica Bell and the score remained 1-0 going into half-time.

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The match was put to bed late in the second half thanks to a 70^th minute strike from Matilda Pearson before Alyssa Vassallo wrapped up the result in the final stages.

But in the end Ben Thurgar's team prevailed at Cromer Park in the northern beaches in a 3-0 victory.

The achievement of taking out the Cup is something never done before by a team that has played together for nearly a decade.

There have been plenty of trophies in that nearly 10 year period, but the team had never got past the quarter final stage of the state-wide competition before 2023.

Now, they are the best in the state.

Shellharbour coach Thurgar said it was a brilliant feeling.

"It was amazing to be honest," he said.

"It will take a while to sink in. It's one of those things in hindsight in years to come when they see those memories looking back retrospectively everyone will see how great of an achievement it was.

"Especially last year we were champions of champions winners and to back it up with a State Cup. It's a special moment that's really hard to replicate. It doesn't come along as often as people might think. When you're in the moment you don't realise how rare those opportunities are."

The coach added that whilst he was not one for praise, it was a proud moment as a coach.

"I am and the girls are quiet achievers. I don't like getting praise heaps and when the girls are out there playing I can't do anything," Thurgar added.

"At the end of the day it comes down to the girls and how they apply themselves and how they switch on during the day.

"You just do your best to guide and nurture them and help them to be able to perform at the best of their ability."

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