Excitement for Junior Boys State Cup finals

It is the first Junior Boys Cup finals day in two years this Saturday with five matches at Macedonia Park.

With Covid ruling out all Junior Cup competitions in 2020, there will be plenty of excitement for the U13, U14, U15, U16 and U18 deciders.

The first match kicks off at 9am and the last game and presentations to finish around 5.30pm.

As well as the action on the pitch, there will be an eSports gaming truck on site offering PS5 and Xbox players the chance to compete at FIFA.

Football West Competition & Clubs Manager Dan Israel said: “Congratulations to the teams who have won through, it promises to be a terrific day of finals football.

“We’ll have some of the best young talent in the Junior NPL on show, including a number of players who represent the State 14 and 15 teams.

“We know how pleased players and coaches were when the Junior Cups returned this year and we’d encourage everyone to get down and watch.

“Stirling Macedonia are great hosts and the atmosphere on these occasions is always special.”

Junior Boys State Cup finals

 

9am Junior Boys U13s final - Perth SC v ECU Joondalup

The first of two successive finals between the sides, this game pits U13 NPLWA Division Two leaders Perth against Division One ECU.

ECU defeated MUM FC 2-0 in their semi-final, Andrew Bushell and Aaron Mukundu the scorers.

Meanwhile Perth got the better of fellow second division outfit Perth Glory 4-3 on penalties after their game finished scoreless.

Junior Boys State Cup finals

 

10.30am Junior Boys U14s final - Perth SC v ECU Joondalup

The second part of the Azzurri-Jacks double-header, with both sides in U14 NPL Division One.

In another co-incidence, the two finalists overcame the same last-four opposition as the U13s.

This time it was ECU who needed penalties after their tie with MUM FC ended 2-2. Jack Connolly and Oliver Evans scored the goals for ECU, who eventually progressed in a thrilling shoot-out 9-8.

Perth came through a tight-semi-final with Glory 1-0 thanks to Massimo Paiano’s second-half goal.

Junior Boys State Cup finals

 

12pm Junior Boys U15s final – Bayswater City v Sorrento

The U15s final promises to be a cracker, between two sides who know each other well.

Bayswater and Sorrento were the two dominant sides in the Blue conference in the first half of the season and both qualified for Division One without losing a match. They then met in the first match post-split with Bayswater winning 2-1.

Mustafa Mohammadi and Gold Fields Boys State U15s striker Gabe Leo are two of Bayswater’s goal threats and the pair netted in their 3-1 semi-final defeat of Perth.

Sorrento’s form has stalled a touch since the split, but they showed in their semi-final defeat of Perth Glory that they are a threat. Trailing 2-1 late on, they hit back to win 3-2 and in Daniel Khan and Lewis Moses they two players who know where the goal is.

1.40pm Junior Boys U16s final – ECU Joondalup v Bayswater City

Another all-Division One final sees ECU face Bayswater. Both are in U16 NPL Division One, with the Jacks defeating Baysie 3-0 at the start of this month.

ECU were dominant in their semi-final, winning 4-0 at Forrestfield United on the back of a double from Sarsan Ahmed and goals by Xavier Medica and Abdullah Ali.

Bayswater were pushed all the way by Balcatta in their semi. Aryan Yazarlou and Roberto Salas scored for City as they drew 2-2 before they edged the penalty shoot-out 5-4.

Bayswater could be boosted by the return of the prolific Liam Powley, who scored 23 goals in 12 matches in the first half of the season but has since been sidelined through injury.

Junior Boys State Cup finals

 

3.30pm Junior Boys U18s final – Joondalup City v MUM FC

The Junior U18s competition for Sunday teams sees Division Three Joondalup City meet Murdoch University Melville, from Division Two.

City upset Division One Gwelup Croatia in the semis, Mateo Martin netting the only goal.

Meanwhile, MUM FC had too much for Aubin Grove in their last-four tie. Tyro Carpenter, Joshua Adams, Jaffar Al Jashammi and Tyler Gordon were on target in a 4-0 win.