Sport
9 November, 2022
Lowood girls win futsal title
THE Lowood State High School U19 futsal girls were crowned Chantelle Cramb Cup champions, after winning a recent tri-series.
Lowood, St Peter Claver College and Calamvale Community College took part in the October 22 event while Harristown State High School withdrew.
The event was shifted from the Toowoomba-based University of Southern Queensland (USQ) to the Oxley-based Australian Futsal Association, due to a leaking roof at the original venue.
Lowood began with a 2-0 win over St Peter Claver, and then beat Calamvale 1-0 before losing its next contest 3-0 to St Peter Claver.
Lowood bounced back with a 3-0 victory against Calamvale, before these two teams met in the decider which Lowood won 3-1.
Lilijana Sajkar, Alicija Sajkar, Talija Sajkar, Kyra Hayes, Jade Godby, Lauren Sheppard and coach Jacob Veraart backed up from Lowood’s U19 Chantelle Cramb Cup campaign from last year, in which they went down 1-0 to St Peter Claver in the final.
Mia Anderson, Leah Beecham and Hanna Shearer joined the Lowood team this year while Lilijana, Alicija, Kyra, Jade, Lauren and Jacob were also involved in Lowood’s Chantelle Cramb Cup U15 title win in 2020.
Jacob said a lot of water had passed under the bridge since 2020, with a number of the players taking part in various competitions with mixed results, including runner-up status.
Lilijana scored multiple goals in the recent title win at Oxley while Kyra, Mia and Hanna also found the back of the net.
With the Lowood players ranging from 13 to 17 years of age, Jacob said, “I’m proud of the girls, not just because they won but because of how they played and how they conducted themselves on and off the court.
“The standard they played was better than what I’d seen before.”
The coach said the Lowood players were patient with the ball and moved the opposition around, enabling Lowood to produce good passes and create opportunities.
“They completely dominated the final,” Jacob said.
Kyra said “the realisation we did win” was a highlight of the day.
Winning the title was a special moment for the three Sajkar sisters, with Lilijana saying it was “a bit emotional” considering it was her final year.
“It was my last time playing with these girls,” she said.
“I’ve been playing with them for four years.”
Of their five matches at this year’s Chantelle Cramb Cup, the Lowood players said they learned more from their sole loss than they did from their victories.
Lilijana said they learned what they needed to work on, while Alicija said, “We learned to keep our heads in the game and not zone out.”
Apart from Lilijana, the Lowood players indicated they would line up next year to defend their title.
