Klopper, Clint Fennamore, Chris Rollo, Lyndsay Klopper, Bonnie Buckman, Jade
Buckman, Kristie Behan and Sam Dixon won the indoor soccer grand final 1-0 against Wii Not Fit last Wednesday night at the youth centre .
The outcome of the Indoor Soccer grand final last week was decided by just a few millimetres with Hotshots pulling off a miraculous 1-0 win to upset minor premiers and competition favourites, Wii Not Fit.
The Cinderella story was complete.
Coming off a one game win/eight loss record in the regular season, Hotshots weren’t considered to feature in the finals.
After defeating CSA in the minor semi-final two weeks ago, they took on the competition’s powerhouse M&C Parisi Floorboards in the final and after trailing 5-0 at half-time, Hotshot staged a remarkable comeback to win the match and advance to last week’s grand final.
A goal from the season’s top goal scorer, Jade Buckman, that was deemed to had just crossed the line midway through the second half of last Wednesday’s grand final at the youth centre, was all that separated the two teams who put on a fast and furious display of football for the final game of the season.
Buckman and Wii Not Fit’s Josh Brown were the danger men for both sides and the pair featured regularly in raids on their respective goals.
But with one marking the other for the full 50 minutes of the game, it virtually nullified either’s superior skills and presence on the court and so it was left to their remaining team members to create some extra spark in each team’s attack.
Wii Not Fit had the better of the possession and opportunities in the first half but both teams’ defence was exceptional and clean shots on goal were hard to come by.
Wii Not Fit’s attackers Brown, Bianka Jacobson, Alex Hernandez and Shane Eickenloff constantly peppered Hotshots’ goal.
Hotshots were creating their own chances with Lyndsay Klopper, Sam Dixon and Mark Rakecki stretching Wii Not Fit’s defence.
Both teams however were unable to find the back of the net in the first half thanks largely to their respective goalkeepers Jay Coburn (Wii Not Fit) and Matthew Klopper (Hotshots).
The second half started in the best possible way for Wii Not Fit when they were awarded a penalty after Hotshots committed a hand ball inside the goalie box.
Up stepped Brown but his penalty kick was saved by Klopper.
Klopper’s outstanding performance throughout the entire game earned him the Player of the Grand Final honour.
Mid way through the second half Wii Not Fit made a tactical change swapping out their goalie Coburn with Hernandez in an attempt to mix up their attack and break the 0-all deadlock. Having been restricted to shooting from long range, Buckman finally got one on target and, despite a desperate effort from the goalie, the ball was deemed to have crossed the goal line and Hotshots went ahead 1–0.
Both sides were giving it their all in the final 15 minutes.
Hotshots had another chance to score when Buckman linked up with Lyndsay Klopper but her shot went wide in front of an open goal.
Defending desperately, Hotshots hung on to win 1-0 and be crowned champions.
Following the match the end of season awards were presented with Buckman collecting the trophy for Most Goals scored by a male this season while Kathleen Hardie (from Wii Not Fit) was the season’s highest female scorer. Klopper was named the Male Best and Fairest of the season and CSA’s Sarah Barber was the Best and Fairest female player.
