Strong country week for Albany Junior Soccer Association reaching three finals and winning one title in Perth

Albany Junior Soccer Association has completed another successful country week campaign, reaching three grand finals and coming away with a title. The region also had two players named fairest and best in their respective divisions and a local official claimed the inaugural referee of the tournament award. The annual week-long competition was played at Kingsway Reserve in Perth and wrapped up on September 30 with 10 teams representing the AJSA. The under-15 boys were the stand-out as they reached the final against Karratha and then produced a terrific performance to claim the silverware on Friday. In the under-15 Risdon division Albany were emphatic 7-1 winners on the opening day over Leeuwin Naturaliste before losing 1-0 to Geraldton later that day. On Tuesday Albany beat Country Coastal 2-1 but then went down 4-1 to Karratha and followed that up with a 2-2 draw with Leeuwin Naturaliste and then had a 1-0 loss to Geraldton. Albany won their final two matches in the lead-up to the final beating Country Coastal 2-0 and then Karratha 3-0. In the decider Sam Jeffery and Bank Corser both found the back of the net to help Albany claim the title with a 2-0 win. Albany finished runners-up in the under-14 girls Kerr division after going through the qualifiers undefeated. They recorded seven wins and one draw in the first four days of competition but suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Leeuwin Naturaliste in the final on Friday. In the under-17 girls McCallum division Albany finished runners-up after a 1-0 loss to Country Coastal in the final. Country Coastal won two of their three previous encounters in the week but Albany took some momentum into the decider after a 3-1 triumph over their opponent on Wednesday. Albany won two of their eight matches in the under-17 boys Sainsbury division and they also had two wins in the under-15 boys Kruse division. In the under-13 boys Mooy division Albany had one win across the week while in the under-13 Milligan division they won seven of their nine matches but missed the final. Albany went winless in the under-12 girls Foord division, the under-11 boys had three wins in the Jedinak division and the under-11 boys were winless in the Cahill division. In the country week awards, talented Albany’s Lumeah Masih and Libby Morris won top honours. Masih was crowned fairest-and-best player in the under-14 girls Kerr division. Morris claimed the fairest-and-best award in the under-17 girls McCallum division. Albany’s Samuel Osborne was runner-up fairest and best in the under-11 boys Cahill division, Jaxon Karaman was a joint runner-up in the under-13 boys Milligan division, and Rhys Butler was runner-up in the under-15 boys Risdon division. To cap the week Albany’s Malcolm Van Burgel was named inaugural referee of the tournament.