MA Olympic young guns a force to be reckoned with
ALL they needed was one goal, and MA Olympic youth coach Jeremy Dajski was convinced a triumph would be “a sure thing”.
As it turns out he was right on the money, as his young men stormed to a 4-1 Crad Evans Shield win – even without their finest goalscorer making a statement.
Faced with an imposing Edge Hill United outfit, North
Queensland football pundits would have expected Mundingburra striker Stefan Kolar to be the difference on the back of his 39-goal campaign.
And yet it was the likes of John Halliday who made an impression on the scoreboard, with Dajski instead praising Kolar’s ability off the ball in the highly anticipated affair.
“We always knew if we got a goal it would be a sure thing. The team oozes goals, and the thing with that is we didn’t even have our top striker score any – Stefan didn’t kick one,” he said.
“But the work effort he does and what he does on and off the ball also facilitates those other guys scoring. He may do a job, he might take one or two defenders out the game and it frees up someone else.
“I know we can rely on him, but we know we can rely on all the others, too. They live for the big games and that’s shown throughout the season, they’ve always stepped up on the big occasions.”
The victory cemented a competition treble for MA Olympic’s rising stars, having claimed the North Queensland Premier League premiership and grand final.
It indicates a bright future for the club should the youngsters remain in its ranks.
“(I’m) ecstatic. We didn’t get any trophies last year and this year we’ve smashed it out of the park. I have no words to describe the feeling taking all three, it’s phenomenal,” Dajski said.
“For some of these boys it’s their last year playing colts because they’re stepping up this year, which a lot already have been. They’ve been eager to and they’ve got a very bright future.
“It was a fairytale ending to go out, and I hope the guys that do stick around are going to be the next generation.”