With all of our senior Futsal sides having done so well this year, last Thursday it was the turn of the Bellingen High School Under 14 boys to take centre stage in the Final of the North Coast CHS Competition. It appears that it was the first North Coast Final of any sport played at Bellingen High, so it was a great occasion for the BHS Futsal juggernaut to roll on again.

Kingscliff High is a school with double Bellingen’s student population (1300 kids) and, having won through the tough Far Northern zone, they came here with plenty of confidence. They also came with plenty of ability too and the opening exchanges were very tight. The Kingscliff outfit was spearheaded by the State under 13 striker, so early on they could afford an extra player in defence. This stifled Bello’s trademark passing game and turned the opening half into a tight and dogged affair.

While Jake Tarrant drew first blood in the 10th minute with a great, long-range shot, the honours had been reasonably evenly shared to that point. Thus it was fair enough when, following some amazing reflex saves by keeper Jesse Stamel, Kingscliff still netted the equaliser in the 15th minute. While Bello gradually clawed its way on top, the game still seemed fairly evenly poised until Patrice Jutsi tucked in our second in the 17th minute after some good lead up work. Then by the time Tim Davis netted again just before half time, Bello’s dominance was becoming more obvious.

The vocal crowd clapped them into half time and had the boys starting the second session where they had finished the first. Our passing game was improving and, as the Kingscliff boys tired, our players were getting less crowded and rushed. Far more goal-scoring opportunities started to arise. A string of second half goals to Nick O’Mullane, Jake Leslie, Pattie and Tim, then turned the scoreline into a rout. Although the result finished Bello 8, Kingscliff 1, the game was not quite as one-sided as the score implies. However it was an emphatic victory with Bello clearly superior, even though we didn’t ever totally control the game.