Saturday, September 14 was finals day for soccer in the Southern Highlands.
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Robertson had four matches scheduled at Boronia Park in Hill Top and we had a member of the Hol family in all of them.
Jesse lead off in the U13s, followed by his dad Danny in the youth grade team. His uncle Garry was running with the Gold men and finally his sister Kiera in the ladies Maroon team.
The U13s took the field against Minor Premiers Yerrinbool in their major semi-final.
We struck first with a big effort from Harry Eyding to find the back of the net and went into the half time break at 1 - 0 up. As expected Yerrinbool made a big effort in the second half and the match closed with a 2 - 2 draw having seen Jesse Hol adding one to the tally.
Extra time was controversial with only five minutes being played each way instead of the 10 minutes each way intended. The first period ended with the score as it was.
Upon turning for the second period Yerrinbool made a tactical move that paid off, scoring from the kick off with our goalie sitting high and unable to scramble in time. It turned out to be the move of the match - a beautifully aimed match winner that just couldn't be answered in the shortened time frame.
The U13s move on to play a mid-week final against Moss Vale for a second chance to move into the Grand Final.
The Youth Grade lads took the field next against Moss Vale. They worked hard in warm conditions and although competitive just could not find the back of the net. They bow out of the 2019 season in third place with pride.
The men's Gold team followed with their turn for a crack at the Grand Final.
The Gold boys couldn't quite finish it off though and went down to Yerrinbool Green 2 - 1. Luiz Goncalves scored their only goal. With a few players out for various social and work events (who gets married in finals month?) there will no doubt be much wondering as to whether it may have ended differently with all aboard. They're looking forward to another crack next season with a team building year under their belt.
The ladies Maroon team took over for the last of our finals matches and put in a solid performance against Hill Top in a close fought match.
The difference was two free kicks, one a penalty, for handball which lead to the goals from Abby Doyle and Erin Sommers.
They move into the Grand Final on Saturday against Minor Premiers Moss Vale White which is sure to be a strong contest.
And so the 2019 is almost done - with just the big one to play.
No doubt the nerves are building for the players involved and so my standard tip for a finals match - turn those nerves into excitement, concentrate on the basics and the rest will come.
