By Takis Triadafillou.
The finals of the 53rd Champion of Champions tournament in NSW were held at Valentine Sports Park on Sunday, October 22.
Football St George’s famous Hurstville City Minotaurs won a fifth Champions of Champions title in the over 45 men’s match, etching their club in the history books as one of the most successful grassroots clubs of all time.
The Minotaurs secured their title with a narrow victory over Cronulla Seagulls.
The Minotaurs started the match strongly and found the breakthrough early in the first half.
A miscommunication between Cronulla’s defence and goalkeeper allowed Manuel Sarikakis to be presented with an empty net, where he calmly put the ball away. After the goal, the Minotaurs had plenty of opportunities to double their lead.
Steve Karavatakis, although injured and “battered,” showed his class in attack. Nick Plataniotis left no room for the opponents to look dangerous. Sokratis Agiasiotis, master of the centre, encouraged his teammates. Sotiris Panagakis was the master of defence.
Goalkeeper Dragan Pupovac definitely saved a goal for the opposing team. David Barrett, with amazing dashes from the right, overwhelmed Cronulla’s defence. All the players of the Minotaurs did not lag behind at all.
Tom Pontidas (who I call the team’s Lionel Messi) gave the team a breather with confident passes in the centre by changing the game sometimes left and sometimes right.
No one was left behind. The team gave it their all.
The changes of the team’s coach “General” Peter Sarikakis were dynamic and gave life and confidence during the match.
In the end, the Minotaurs won the trophy with a good overall performance, showing their ability to create chances and control the match both with and without the ball.
The club has gone down in history as one of the most successful Football NSW clubs ever to participate in the popular Champions of Champions tournament.
The following players participated in the course of the team:
Hurstville City Minotaurs: 1. Dragan Pupovac, 3. Peter Andrios, 4. Peter Papoutsis, 5. Sotirios Panagakis, 6. John Cosentino, 7. Manuel Sarikakis, 9. Steven Karavatakis, 10. Tom Pontidas, 11. Achilleas Markopoulos, 12. Montar Schultas, 13. Nikos Plataniotis, 14. Billy Pilovsky, 16. Angelos Petratos, 17. Socrates Agiasotis, 18. Peter Mitrevski, 19. David Barrett, 20. George Ganiatsas, 21. Frank Mikuletic, 22. Emmanouil Spanoudakis, 23. Malcolm Binto, 25. Ali Jaafar, 33. Robert Hooker, 34. Gojko Sekutkoski, 38.Nikos Andreou.
