Strikers’ teen spirit proving dangerous
FNQ FOOTBALL AN EXCITING cast of young, talented football players are preparing to cause an upset in the FNQ Women’s Premier League finals.
JCU Strikers scraped into the postseason after a lastround win against Innisfail United, but caused a stir in week one of the finals when they beat Mareeba United 3-2 in extra time.
A 75th-minute penalty by Tanaya Blanco-Burns ensured the game was locked at 1-1 at full time, before two more of the region’s most exciting teenage football prospects, Astia Neckebroeck and Morgan Stanton, scored extra-time goals to seal the win.
Most of the Strikers are teenagers, which makes the side a more unpredictable outfit in the postseason.
“Young talent is always good, and this squad has some great technical ability as well,” coach Victor Neckebroeck said. “It always helps having an older or mature player out there to settle them down during the game.
“Younger players struggle mentally sometimes but we’ve brought a lot of this team through the past two years.”
Every member of the Premier League team has played for the all-conquering Fillies team, which went through the regular season undefeated and has already qualified for Friday week’s grand final, while seven members are involved with the Talent Support Program.
They will now focus their energy on formulating a second straight shock win in their preliminary final against defending Premier League champions Edge Hill United, who fell 4-1 to Leichhardt.
JCU and Edge Hill United split their first three fixtures, each recording a win, loss and draw, before the Tigers ran away with an 8-1 win in their fourth and most recent clash.
“We had a bit of a touch-up against them a few weeks ago but our girls weren’t too prepared for that game,” Neckebroeck said.