It was a David and Goliath battle on Saturday when the Wellington Warriors took on powerhouse South Dubbo Wanderers in the Dubbo and District Football Association under-13s grand final.
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The Warriors were pumped going into the match, but couldn’t convert their chances and the Wanderers took a 1-0 lead.
But after a half-time pep talk from coach Geert Woldhuis, the Warriors came out firing and scored three unanswered goals in the second half to claim the premiership 3-1.
Bryton Sarsfield opened the Warriors’ account with a long-range shot to make it 1-1. He followed it up with an individual goal, running past four defenders to slot the ball in the bottom left corner.
It was then two of the female Warriors who combined to secure the win. Midfielder Demi Owen picked out Airlie Mason on the halfway line with a precision through ball, and Mason did the rest to slot the third goal in.
Woldhuis was extremely proud of his side, which included nine girls on a 16-player squad.
“The team worked as a unit and were very strong and hard to get the ball off,” Woldhuis said. “The fullbacks … stuck to their guns and marked up well.
“For every goal that was scored, the Wellington supporters shook Dubbo. You could hear it from Wellington!”
Woldhuis offered his thanks to the players, parents and team manager Kahla Chown for their commitment throughout 2017.
“I was shell-shocked at the presentation and never got to say what I wanted to say,” he told the Wellington Times.
“I’d like to thanks the team for their commitment, for turning up and putting up with me, doing whatever I asked.
“To the manager, Kahla, for all her time spent making sure everyone knew where we were playing, who could make the game, or even come to training, filling in match cards, washing and bringing extra shirts, and balls, to the games.
“To the parents that came to the games and supported all the kids and also supported me as well.
“To the Wellington soccer club for supplying shirts and referees for the games and making sure the kids could play in the Dubbo competition.
“And a special, big thank you to my wife for putting up with me when I come home venting (complaining) about how this happened and this happened, and how I should have done this or done that, and complaining about my aching body.
“All I can say is we all did it. Not one person. All of us. Thank you to everyone.”
