The football semi-finals took place over the weekend which saw eight Bellingen teams take to the field in an effort to qualify for the Grand Final Series.
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Back in March it was dubious as to whether the season would even go ahead due to COVID-19, so the players have been very grateful to participate in what was a relatively normal season.
The first semi saw the 17s Boys team take on Coffs FC at MacLean St on Friday night. Coach Tom Willett has done a great job developing this rather young 17s team into third position on the ladder.
Despite many opportunities it was not to be, as the boys lost in a close game, 3-1.
Next up was an early game for our 14s Girls team played at Bellingen against Urunga Raiders.
These two teams had some close matches leading up to the semi-final, but Bellingen went in quietly confident with a much higher goal difference and dominated the game with a 2-0 win.
The girls will take on an undefeated Coffs FC team, who they have drawn with, in the grand final. Coffs FC nearly didn't make it there though, only beating Woolgoolga FC in extra time.
The 14s Grand final will be held at Leisure Park at 12pm this Saturday, October 17.
On Bellingen Field 2, the 12 Boys 2nd Division team, minor premiers of their competition, faced Scotts Head in the semi final. Unfortunately things did not go their way and a close match finished 3-1 in the way of their southern opposition. Well done to the boys on a great season.
Both the 12s Girls and 13s Boys 1st Division teams, finishing in fourth place, knew they had difficult matches against the minor premiers of their competition. Both Woolgoolga and Sawtell had been exceedingly dominant in these competitions.
The boys ended up losing 6-0 to Sawtell, while the girls stepped up to Woolgoolga and only lost 1-0 in the dying minutes of the game. A great effort by the girls and coach, Matt Birch.
The 16s Girls team also played at Bellingen in the semi-final, after finishing second on the ladder.
The game saw them take on Sawtell Scorpions to whom they had not yet lost a game. The game started off a little sluggish from both sides but the Bats brought it home in the second half to secure a 4-0 win and book themselves a place in the grand final against Boambee FC.
This will be played on Friday, October 16, at 7:30pm at Leisure Park. Good luck girls!
Finally, the two Bellingen Men's teams played at Connell Park on Saturday afternoon.
The 3rd Division Men's took on Coffs FC but went down 2-0.
The minor premier 2nd Division team didn't have it easy either, as their game against Nambucca Strikers went into extra time.
Bellingen took charge in the extra minutes to win 4-2 and grab themselves a place in the Grand final.
Club President and player Mick Klippin said both games were good competitive matches. The 2nd Division Grand Final will be played at 11:15am this Saturday, October 17, at the Coffs Ex International Stadium, however you will need to buy tickets to attend.
Thank you to everyone that came out to support the teams, and a big thanks especially to all of our volunteers for the season including coaches, line markers, the field set up team, duty officers, canteen staff and the committee.
