Trio of trophies for Albany Junior Soccer Association after successful country week campaign in Perth

Albany Junior Soccer Association has returned from the annual junior country week with three titles after an exciting day of finals action at Yokine Reserve in Perth last Friday. Teams from around regional WA converged on Perth for the annual week-long competition run by Football West. Albany sent 10 teams to compete and had another highly successful week, reaching six finals and emerging champions in three of those. In the under-12 girls Foord division, Albany claimed victory in the final after a tense 1-0 result over close rivals Karratha which capped a terrific few days. The under-12 champions won five of their eight regular games before going on to secure the trophy. Albany also had a 1-0 win in the under-14 girls Kerr division, beating Leeuwin Naturaliste for the title. Both teams had lost only one game in the qualifying rounds but Albany proved too strong in a gritty final. Albany’s other successful side was in the under-15 boys Kruse division, as they exacted revenge on Geraldton in the decider. After their eight regular games Albany finished second, losing twice to Geraldton in the preliminaries. However, the Albany team left their best for last, as they prevailed 3-0 in the final. Albany’s under-17 boys’ team had their week finish in heartbreak in the Sainsbury division. They won seven of their eight games and drew with Goldfields in the other fixture. In a tense final Goldfields finished 3-2 winners to deny Albany a fairytale finish. The under-15 boys Risdon final went down to the wire, with Albany and the Leeuwin Naturaliste locked together at 1-1 at the end of regular time. The two sides could not be separated in extra time and penalties were needed, but Leeuwin Naturaliste emerged victorious, 4-3. In a high-scoring under-17 McCallum division final, Albany went down 3-8 to Goldfields who lost only one game for the week. Albany also had several individual trophy winners at the competition. Ella Lange was named best and fairest player in the under-12 girls competition. The under-14 girls best and fairest winner was Albany’s Siri Matthews. Escher Nash was rewarded for his strong week in the Albany under-15 boys gold team, winning the competition best and fairest. Albany player Marley Masih won the under-17 boys’ best and fairest award and his teammates Liam Murdock and Kai Thrupp-Probst finished joint runners-up. In another positive sign for the AJSA, a record number of seven referees attended country week and a couple of those officiated in finals.