Dire numbers force exit

Coomera to battle on despite league withdrawal

COOMERA football officials will wait to see how playing numbers go next season before contemplating another tilt in Coast League 1 after their doomed experiment this year.

In a blow ahead of the club’s biggest match in history – the Premier League side’s FFA Cup round of 32 match against NPL outfit Mackay and Whitsundays on July 24 – Coomera last month pulled the pin on the Football Gold Coast thirdtier league.

The Colts were winless and last in the 10-team competition before the swift departure of coach JJ D’Agostino, coupled with a string of player absences, prompted club officials to withdraw just nine games into their inaugural season.

“We had a lot of players pick up season-ending injuries,” Colts operations manager Andy Haynes said.

“Our coach also decided to leave due to personal reasons.

“We were falling away and didn’t have enough players to maintain both (Coast League 1 and Premier League) teams so we spoke to the federation and explained our situation and so we removed our team from the league. It’s very unfortunate.”

Haynes said the club would re-evaluate ahead of next season whether to pursue a Coast League 1 team again.

“We’ll have a look at it but at this stage we honestly don’t know,” he said.

“This was the first year we decided to give it a go and obviously it didn’t quite work out because we had to fold. We’ll look at it again but we need to ensure we have enough players to maintain it.”

Haynes said the Colts’ stranded players were now playing in the men’s midweek Metro division.

The Colts’ senior side will remarkably fight for a place in the final 16 of the national knockout competition later this month.