Hill Top defeated Chevalier College in Youth League grand final

Matches between Hill Top and Chevalier College had been close all year.

And so it proved to be again in Saturday’s decider.

Neither team was able to break the deadlock in regular time and the match went into extra time.

It appeared the match might even go down to a penalty shootout.

But the Kookaburras were crowned premiers after Dylan Errington slotted a goal late in extra time.

Hill Top coach Mark Johnson said his message to the team at the start of extra time was just to remain calm.

“It’s been the same all year with Chev. Every game’s gone down to one goal or draws. For a young side they’re fantastic,” he said.

“The hardest thing is to stop them panicking. I said you can’t rush your game. You’ve got to still play a relaxed game. You just try to get them to enjoy the day.”

While Johnson said his team had “flagged” towards the end of the first half, he was happy with how they responded after the break and into extra time.

“With Chev, they’ll control the game all day. For the boys [Hill Top] to keep control for most of that second half and most of extra time made the difference. They did really well.

“That last couple of minutes can go either way and it’s usually a silly mistake from one team.”

He said he relied on the over-35 players David Holland and Shayne Brown to keep the younger players “calm and centered”

“It’s a great concept great having the mentors in.”

Hill Top goalkeeper Lucas Carpenter kept a clean sheet and Johnson said he had only had a handful of goal scored against him all year.

Carpenter recently won the Youth League Golden Gloves award at the HSA presentation night.

Johnson said Fynn Hessenberger (who won the golden boot and player of the year awards at the presentation night) had a strong game in Saturday’s grand final but overall it was a great team effort.

“As a team they’re just a really good unit.”

The Kookaburras went through the season unbeaten, with four father-son combinations in the team.