By: Lachlan SHIRLEY

SEMI Final action took centre stage last weekend in both the Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ age divisions as clubs from all over the Geelong region fought for a place in this weekend’s Grand Finals at Myers Reserve in Bell Post Hill.

PHOTO: Lara United’s U13 Boys celebrate their dramatic semi-final penalty shootout win against Bell Park (Photo: Bec Horrocks from Soccershots Photography)

We look at all the winners and losers of all the divisions within each age group in a comprehensive Geelong Region Juniors’ semi-final roundup below…

Boys’ Under 12 Kangaroos;

Surf Coast Blue has booked a place in the U12 Kangas’ Grand Final after the Coasters defeated Geelong Black 2-0.

Elcho Park Cardinals will face the Coasters in the Grand Final after they came away with a heartstopping 2-1 victory over their semi-final opponents, Geelong Rangers Titans.

Boys’ Under 12 Wallabies/Joeys;

Drysdale Lions secured a spot in the grand final after defeating their opponents Lara United 2-0.

Elcho Park and Surf Coast will contest their semi final game at the Leisuretime Sports Precinct on Tuesday night (tomorrow) with kick-off set down for 7pm.

Boys’ Under 13A;

Geelong Rangers Blue defeated Barwon 3-1 which means that in the Grand Final Rangers will face Lara United who secured their spot in the final after the match between Lara and Bell Park finished 0-0 and United went on to snatch the win 5-4 on penalties in a dramatic shootout.

Boys’ Under 13B;

Surf Coast and Barwon will battle it out in the Under 13B’s Grand Final after they left it until a penalty shoot out which they won 4-2 to secure victory after the match ended 1-1 after extra time.

Barwon convincingly won its semi-final matchup against Surfside Waves Blue 3-0.

Boys’ Under 14A;

Geelong Rangers Blue cruised into the Grand Final after defeating their opponents’ Surfside Waves 6-0. Surf Coast will compete against Rangers in the Grand Final after winning 4-3 on penalties against Geelong after that game finished 1-1 following extra time.

Boys’ Under 14B;

The Surf Coast Under 14B team have successfully made it through to the Grand Final after they knocked out Golden Plains from the finals’ race, defeating them 2-1 in Sunday’s semi final. Breakwater will join the Coasters in the big showdown on Sunday after they defeated Surfside Waves 3-0.

Boys’ Under 16A;

Geelong Rangers White left it until penalties to secure their place in the Grand Final after the game finished in a 2-2 draw. Rangers were ruthless from the penalty spot however and won 5-0 on penalties. Surf Coast took out the other semi-final after defeating Geelong Rangers Blue 3-1, securing the Coasters a spot in the Grand Final against Rangers White.

Boys’ Under 16 B;

Elcho Park Cardinals and Geelong Rangers both booked a place in this year’s U16B Grand Final after the Cardinals managed to defeat Golden Plains 2-0 while the 4^th placed Rangers caused a major upset by defeating the top placed Geelong 4-1 to advance to the Final.

Girls’ Under 12;

Drysdale Diamonds will face off against Bell Park Blue Belles after the Diamonds were victorious 3-1 over Golden Plains while Bell Park easily defeated Geelong Rangers 5-0 in their semi-final.

Girls’ Under 14;

North Geelong Warriors secured their place in the Girls’ U14 Grand Final with an emphatic 5-1 victory in their semi-final clash with Barwon Heads. The Warriors will face Bell Park, who defeated Surf Coast 1-0 in the other semi-final.

Girls’ Under 16;

Lara United will play off against Barwon in the Girl’s Under 16 Grand Final after both teams recorded convincing wins in their respective semi-final matches. Lara defeated North Geelong 6-2, while Barwon were 3-0 victors over Golden Plains.

Lachlan Shirley is a young SEDA student, currently doing work experience with FFV Geelong. He will be compiling regular weekly reports on the Geelong Region Men’s and Women’s Division 1 competitions.