MIAH O’Sullivan had some consolation for Polding’s 1-nil loss to MacKillop in the State PSSA Girls’ Touch Carnival Final at Gipps Street in Tamworth yesterday.
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The talented and versatile St Edward’s Primary School student, who heads to Perth with the NSW PSSA girls’ basketball side this weekend, earned selection in the State PSSA Girls’ Touch team to contest the national tournament in Darwin in October.
Tamworth Public School’s Tyla Endemi, an outstanding young footballer as well, joins O’Sullivan in the State team bound for Darwin despite her North West side missing out on a semi-final berth yesterday.
Endemi is also in the NSW PSSA football side to contest a national carnival in Brisbane later this year and was also named in a Northern NSW Invitational side to play in recent National Under 13 Football Championships in Coffs Harbour.
Her North West side finished its State PSSA Carnival with a 4-2 win over Sydney East and a 3-2 loss to Hunter yesterday while O’Sullivan’s Polding side made it all the way to the final after accounting for CIS (2-nil) and then drawing with Sydney South West (nil-all).
A 2-1 win over Sydney West in one semi-final earned it a final berth against fellow Catholic region, MacKillop after MacKillop upset unbeaten Sydney North 2-1 in their semi-final.
Sydney North had beaten MacKillop 1-nil in their morning round game before finishing with a 2-1 win over South Coast prior to the semis.
In yesterday’s final, Polding had the better of the first half but MacKillop finished better, with Holly Duncan’s second-half touch-down the difference in a tight 1-nil success.
“I don’t know how many seconds we’ve run this year,” St Edward’s Primary School principal and NSW Primary Schools Sports Association senior vice president Gary McSweeney said.
MacKillop coach Joanne Wong was delighted with her side’s surging finish.
“They were very patient,” she said of her young side.
“Their defence won them the championship.
“We didn’t have good field position in the first half (of the final) but they were very patient.
“It was a very hard game, a hard slog – credit to both sides.
“But any one of the top four sides could have won it.
“I’m just very proud of my girls.”
MacKillop then had three players selected in the NSW team – Taliah Lummow, Kate Ryan and Zali Dymock – while Polding had O’Sullivan and Waratahs’ Breannan O’Neill named.
Sydney North had two players selected while Endemi and Muswellbrook Public School’s Emily Harman also earned a berth in the side.
