09 Jun 2023
On Wednesday 31 May, Smith's Hill played Moss Vale High School in Round 4 of the 2023 State Cup soccer competition.
After winning the Wollongong North Gala Day earlier in the year, Smith’s Hill progressed in the competition as the top ranked team in the region. Their next match was against a strong Warilla High School team, but the boys breezed past the Wollongong South heavy weights with a 10-0 scoreline. The “most successful” Moss Vale High School team was waiting for them in the final 32 match.
Playing away from home is always difficult & driving up to the snowy Southern Highlands proved to be the case in point. The temperature plummeted as we drove up the mountain & the challenges of a bumpy and, in places, hazardous pitch was exactly what we expected. Moss Vale would play in these conditions every weekend & that’s exactly what Coach Elvis Necovski told the boys as he turned up the heat with the pre-match team talk.
Smith’s Hill started the game strongly and pinned Moss Vale deep into their own half, starving them of any quality possession of the ball. The boys spurned some early chances as they tried to adjust to the Moss Vale pitch & got reminded on a few occasions just how dangerous Moss Vale could be playing on the counterattack. The best chance of the half fell to Lucas Moreira as he headed the ball wide of the post from a corner delivery. At the half both teams were locked at 0-0 with Smith’s Hill dominating both field position & possession of the ball.
The second half proved to be an arm wrestle as both teams tried hard but again the boys from Smith’s Hill couldn’t find the elusive goal to take the lead. As the half wore on it was clear that the energy Moss Vale was expending started to take its toll. Just like a fine game of chess, Coach Elvis Necovski made the first tactical move which proved decisive. In the 68th minute, new boys, Jake Ueda and Lucas Moreira combined after Jake went on a dribble down the left flank beating a few players before whipping in a pinpoint cross for Lucas to header the ball into net. Absolute scenes as the Smith’s Hill boys celebrated what was sure to be the winning goal with two minutes left on the referee’s watch.
Smith's Hill expertly ran the clock down to win the match 1-0 progressing to the South Coast final match and continue their State Cup campaign, with only 16 teams remaining in the state. Best of luck in the coming matches!
Team list: Euan Riedy, Kai Kubota, Adam Kairis, Samuel Palermo, Louis Miller-Tamsitt, William Aston, Ted Kelly, Jake Ueda, Lucas Moreira, Arwyn Newton, Jem Benton, Aidan Shannon, Ruben Janssens, Datu Begley, Oliver Bollard, Finley Cole, Innocent Nwali
Coach: Elvis Necovski