15 November 2024
Army footballers reclaimed their crown with a last-minute goal by a first-time player at the ADF Football Federation National Championships.
The competition was held at the Valentine Sports Park in Glenwood, NSW, from October 11 to 18, following a week of training and team selection.
The open men’s tournament kicked off against Air Force, who spoiled Army’s attempted four-peat at the 2023 championships.
Army scored early, but a send-off soon after put them down to 10 men; however, the team showed grit and determination to pile on four more unanswered goals to win 5-0.
Victory over the defending champions was a great way to set the tone for the tournament according to team captain Corporal Kieren Delaney.
“Navy were watching us from the grandstand, so they knew we were there for business,” he said.
The game against Navy was much tighter, with the sailors scoring in the first 10 minutes, a lead they held until Army equalised in the 74th minute.
Corporal Delaney rallied the team to push for a result, as a draw would mean a tournament win would rely on Air Force beating Navy in the final game.
With only minutes left, first-time Army player Private Jake Cottam fired a goal into the back of the net from outside the box with the last kick of the game to seal the victory 2-1.
“The whole bench ran onto the field knowing we had pretty much won the game. It just felt right that we had the championship back,” Corporal Delaney said.
The women retained their title in a clean sweep, using fitness and quick play of the ball to steamroll Air Force 7-0 and Navy 7-3.
Playing in her second championships, Army centre Private Emily Benton said the team worked well to get the win, despite only playing one game together before the tournament.
“We all played really well against Air Force, did some good passes and gelled really well together,” she said.
“The second game was against Navy, which is always tougher for us because we have a bit of a rivalry, but again we all worked really hard and came away with the win.”
Army’s over-35s lost their opening game against defending champs Air Force, going down 2-1 in a tight contest, but bounced back with a 2-0 result against Navy in the second game.
Navy were hoping for an upset in the final game of the competition, but Air Force drowned the sailors 5-0 to retain the masters championship, leaving Army in second place.
Stand-out players from the tournament, including Corporal Delaney and Private Benton, were selected for the ADF representative teams.
They have already started preparing for a tour to Solomon Islands in late November.
