Hill Top Soccer Club hosted the annual Antony Liberale Cup on May 13.
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The under-13 Hill Top Kookaburras scored the 2017 Cup victory at Boronia Park.
This was the second time Hill Top had won the Cup, with the club first winning the trophy in 2013.
The Antony Liberale Cup is one of the oldest junior cup competitions in the Highlands Soccer Association (HSA).
Its inaugural year was in 1994, with the Hill Top Soccer Club holding annual hosting rights.
The round robin event featured all 10 of the HSA under-13 teams.
Hill Top won its four pool matches and finished at the top of Pool A.
In all four of their games, the Kookaburras managed to keep their defence strong and did not concede a single goal.
Hill Top faced off against Exeter in the semi-final and took a 3-1 victory.
Exeter’s goal was the only one scored against the home team all tournament.
Hill Top Soccer Club under-13s coach Michael Gilkes said Hill Top’s performance strengthened toward the back end of the pool games.
“I think it’s fair to say Hill Top started off slowly,” he said.
“But they only got better as the day went on. All 14 players were fantastic, I think all of them deserve a big pat on the back.”
Hill Top’s win secured them a position in the final which was played against Bundanoon.
The high intensity match was hotly contested by both teams.
Strong attacking and defence from both sides ended the match in a 0-0 scoreline at the final buzzer.
An additional ten minutes golden goal was played.
Callum Fraser scored the Cup winning goal for Hill Top in the sixth minute.
“They played really well all day and I’m very proud of my boys,” Gilkes said.
Brody Gilkes was named player’s player and also player of the final.
Brody put on a strong effort and scored a goal in every match except the final.
Hill Top Soccer Club secretary Craig Napper said it was a great day not just for the Hill Top Soccer Club, but the whole of the Highlands Soccer Association.
“It was fantastic to have all 10 HSA teams present at the venue,” he said.
The Antony Liberale Cup is the busiest day on the calendar for Hill Top, and Napper said it was a huge success.
“It is the day that we raise the most money through our canteen the whole year,” he said.
“We made a tremendous profit, which will really help our club.”
Napper thanked Judi Packer and the ladies who worked in the canteen for their efforts on the day.