Hakoah FC become State League One U20 champions

After securing the Football NSW State League One U20 men’s premiership last month, and then beating Dulwich Hill 2-0 in the semis, Hakoah FC went all the way, winning the championship by edging the Bulls FC Academy at Valentine Sports Park in extra-time in an epic grand final contest on September 12.

Hakoah led 1-0 at half-time through an early Jack Hathaway goal, but they conceded an early goal in the second half, and then neither side could breach each other’s defence to seal a win in regular and stoppage time.

With the stakes at their highest deep into extra-time, Ben Cook scored in the 102nd minute, and then Hathaway scored his second in the 105th minute to earn Hakoah a hard-fought 3-1 victory, securing them the premiership-championship double.

Starters for Hakoah in the U20 men’s grand final included captain Ethan Hirst – who has been with Hakoah all the way since U12s – Maor Rubinstein, and Shannon Selby, while Jeremy Skurnik and Shiran Rubinstein were on the bench.

There were many others who contributed to the team’s success throughout the season, including Daniel Gordon and mid-season recruit Ethan De Melo, and several players earned match day call-ups from the club’s U18s squad, demonstrating the strength of Hakoah FC’s Pathways development program.

The team’s head coach was Paolo Gallo, who was assisted by Michael Newman.

Meanwhile, in Football NSW’s top tier youth league, Hakoah’s U16s brilliant season came to an end in a penalty shootout in last Sunday’s semi-final against the first-placed Marconi Stallions at Marconi Stadium.

With scores locked at 2-2, the result was determined in a penalty shootout, which Marconi won 4-3.

Starters for Hakoah were Tobi Eckowitz (captain), Aaron Foxman, Nathaniel Mizrachi, Jesse Opit, Leo Rabinowitz, Rafael Rodov and Adam Selby, while Ben Katz was on the bench.

It was still a season of great achievement for the Hakoah U16s, who won 19 games, drew four and lost seven during the 30-match regular season.